Feb. 16 SEL In-House Pro-D: Morning Session 2 - Fitting in vs. Belonging (Michelle Nederlof)

 Fitting in vs Belonging: Recognizing the Difference and its Impact on Classroom Culture

Book Recommendation: Just Teaching 

• What is the significant difference between fitting in and belonging? 
• Brene Brown clip
• Imagine belonging:
• What does belonging:
• look like? 
• feel like?
• sound like? 
• Shared ideas: Sounds like laughter; looks happy; feels like the ability to be vulnerable; feels safe; safe space to make mistakes/be quirky;  safety and vulnerability vs. fear and judgement; don't feel like you have to hide your achievements; true belonging comes with ease, comes naturally
• "What did you hear at your tables? Not necessarily what you said. What did you hear?" 
• Imagine Belonging as a Student in a Classroom
• What does belonging:
• look like? 
• feel like?
• sound like? 
• Overlap with above: able to take a risk, be vulnerable, be quirky, sense of ease, safety
• Imagine yourself as a student trying to constantly "fit in"...
• Socially
• Academically
• Having to advocate for themselves all day, with multiple people/teachers

We need to make sure that our students have a 

place to shine at least once every single day.

How does that fit into your planning, into your day, into your classroom?

If you do this, your classroom culture will shift. 

• Frustration in the Classroom = Stress in the Classroom
  
• Q: Do you "live" in a pro-active or a re-active state? (It is possible to be in-between)
• Reactive: (High Energy/High Stress state)
• Changing train of thought
• Increased in the moment decision making
• Think on feet
• Uses more emotion
• Short term solutions
• Could make one feel less than
• Exhausting
• Proactive: (High Energy/Low Stress state)
• Initiative
• Ability to think through
• Control
• 
  Anticipate (prepare)
• Considerate
  
• Time
• Longer term solutions
• Sports analogy: Games move FAST. As you start to understand the game more, the plays slow down. This is the same as educating. If you are new, be gracious with yourself. 
• What does my environment look like when everyone has the opportunity for success?
  (UDL - Universal Design for Learning)
• Often questions (or other "irritating" behaviours) come from something else - anxiety, etc. 
• Can you share the plan? Can you give a signal? Can you release control in some way to provide safety?
• Instead of trying to change the people, can we change the system, being generous to the people? Will that change the education or will it change the belonging? 
• Create systems that allow students to engage as they can. (Ex: Quote on the board in the morning for discussion, until everyone arrives, then devotions/class can start. Time is still meaningful, but those who have other things are still there for the "actual" start.) (Ex: Come in and start writing. You don't have to finish, just start writing. Everyone gets to start and there is no stress to finish, so those who are late or overwhelmed, etc. can focus in and everyone starts together. Then, later, "Pick ONE and make it excellent." Everyone can do that, because they will have been there for at least one or two. It doesn't matter that they're done, just that they've tried.)

• Replacement Strategies

• Enter content into ChatGPT - "Use fewer adjectives", "More interesting", "Fewer paragraphs" -- content doesn't change, the things around it doesn't. Any students can take this, are still getting the same info, and are accessing it in ways possible for them to process it. 
• Have ChatGPT create depth of understanding content for you to quickly assess students' understanding in short assignments for those who aren't present very often. 
• Connecting with EA's: Take a few minutes at the beginning of the day to anticipate the needs and potential obstacles for the day. A quick note - "If this happens, do this" - will change the feel in the classroom for both staff and students. 
• We have to teach them how to be HS (MS/ES) students. We are the influencers in the room. They won't automatically know how to keep track of things, how to come prepared, etc. We need to teach them.
• Clean up your classroom. If your area if tidy and calm, you'll feel better; if you feel better, the students feel better. 
• UDL - Tools available to everyone (no worries about fitting in)
• Replacement Strategies Thinksheet
• 4-5 sets of noise-cancelling headsets, available to everyone
• Planning for students is equally, if not more important, than planning for curriculum. Students first, curriculum second. 
• Post-it note holders on desk: 3 post-it note organizers. What 3 things are you going to do during this work block? When you are done, remove the post-it notes. Then get 3 more things. 
• Students often can't think about more than 3 things at a time, so don't expect them to.

Failure we can do alone. Success always takes help.

"If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday."
Isaiah 58:10