As a teacher, I think about community a lot. I remember back to my experience at institute, where my friend Lexy and I created the "Master Learners Kitchen" in order to create a community of learners for our students in the Mississippi Delta. I now work daily to build a sense of community for my students. I went to observe in my old 6th grade classrooms last week, and thought about the community there, the constant celebration of students as individuals. In college I had multiple communities that helped me develop as an individual, and I have a community of friends who do the same for me today.
I studied the sociology of education in school, and thought a lot about the communities that are developed in public schools. In every paper I wrote, or research project that I did my thesis always seemed to come back to the importance of a school's culture in transforming a school. I work in a school that is in the process of transformation. We focus heavily on assessment, management, professional development, etc., but we rarely talk about community. We rarely stop and metaphorically say "namaste" to each other. Teachers, children, administrators, counselors, secretaries, etc. are rarely celebrated for the light inside of each of them. When I began Teach For America I was set on making a difference and I think through yoga and my Quaker values I've found the way that I personally can transform my school. I am going to say "namaste" to my children hourly, to other teachers daily, and to my administrators at least once a week. I hope through modeling this behavior I can influence others to do the same.
So I will start with all of you, my friends, family, and coworkers who read my blog, "Namaste!"
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