[…]“In this moment nothing is lacking; in this moment there is always something to be grateful for.” Similar to Carol Dweck’s growth mindset, which cultivates learners’ sense of intelligence as malleable and dynamic, a gratitude mindset cultivates optimism by emphasizing not what is lacking, but what is present. When we appreciate, we sidestep the contemporary conditioned response of shame for what we lack (in wealth, sex appeal, status, relationships, physique, material goods …). Well who cares? What if we let go of the American Dream? Let us take wisdom from Ma Joad, Steinbeck’s (1939) heroine during the Dust Bowl of […]
[…]was worried about Danno. “I keep texting him. He’s not responding. Why isn’t he responding?” “I don’t know, Eddy. I’ll call his parents after class.” In every class we checked in, holding up our fingers. My students were all over the map. Some held up fists; terrible, and buried their faces in their arms. A couple students held up four fingers; it was a good day for them. “Okay.” I took a deep breath. “I’m really glad to see you today. I am so glad you came to school today and that I get to see you. We’re all still […]
[…]the design process. By the time they left, the members of Team Blend had stepped far out of their comfort zones, immersed themselves in a different culture, faced challenges they never expected, learned an extraordinary amount about the power of collaborative engineering between groups, and built two functional, human-powered blenders. EVOLUTION OF TEAM BLEND In the years which followed the overall process stayed roughly the same, even though the focus of the engineering project changed annually. Each year, starting in October or November, the team engaged in a seven-month engineering process while simultaneously raising funds to make sure all participants […]
[…]and in-service high school mathematics teachers. Her work with teachers was the catalyst for her dissertation work studying math teachers’ classroom practice, where one of the outcomes was a description of seven features that define equitable classroom spaces. These features served as the foundation for an article that she wrote. She has presented at regional and national conferences and has authored blogs and articles, and co-authored a book about mathematics teaching. Ayanna is especially interested in supporting teachers to teach students who have been historically excluded in science and mathematics. She continues to focus on this topic as an area of […]
[…]is a space where Black folx truly matter to each other, where souls are nurtured, comforted, and fed. Homeplace is a community, typically led by women, where White power and the damages done by it are healed by loving Blackness and restoring dignity . . . “homeplace” is a site of resistance. (p. 64) As teachers trying to unpack students’ sense of belonging, it is important to recognize our group’s collective positionality. We are all White and thus members of the dominant racial group in the United States. This racial identity, combined with our own socialization into the racial narratives […]
[…]teaching, I thought about my high school student self. It wasn’t about all the times I had felt comfortable taking up space as a student, it was about all the times that I had become small in fear that adults wouldn’t listen to me or believe me. I never want my students to feel small the way I had felt all those years ago. So even in the depths of pandemic teaching survival, even when I was lost as a first-year teacher, I always took the time to listen to my students. I always took them seriously and listened so […]
[…]society in the country. Much later, “The George & Judy Wohlreich Junior Fellows Program,” for underserved youth, from below the poverty level, was established and has had a singularly successful history. He retired from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, after a tenure of more than fifteen (15) years, on June 30, 2021. He received the Jacob Ehrenzeller Award (highest achieving former resident of Pennsylvania Hospital), the Barbara Bell Award of the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Association, the Lawler Award from the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society, and the President’s Award (the Society’s highest award) from the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Association. A Fellow of […]
