On today’s podcast, host Lori Boll speaks with Katie Fowle and Sharoya Ham, authors of the #1 Bestselling book, Help! My Kid Won’t Go to School: Finding Hope on a Bad Day.
On today’s podcast, host Lori Boll speaks with Heidi Mermis-Cava, the Director of Student Support Services at the Shanghai American School. Heidi recently presented at the in-person SENIA conference in Vietnam, where she received overwhelmingly positive feedback for her work.
“Student Agency boils down to students having a voice in the classroom…”
- Laurie Manville & Dr. Alva Lefevre
Towards the end of the school year 2022-2023, my class roster started to grow. Students that chose to withdraw from IB classes were transferred to our Math class feeling defeated. It was painful to witness how they don’t fully realize that curriculums are not one-size-fits-all and there are many opportunities for them to be successful given the right placement. Our class was mainly seen as credit recovery, a tick mark to complete the required units for graduation. It was a hard sell to keep them motivated and to top it all off, our first order of business was to administer a diagnostic test and discuss their challenges. That’s when I knew something had to change.
I had an ambitious goal; to co-construct a Math class from scratch with our seniors. My students and I brainstormed,co-planned, and questioned what they wanted to gain from a Math class. This reflection was a healing process as they slowly realized that the respective pathways they were choosing (sailing, theater, social work, etc.) did not require extensive math skills.
Creating this course became my passion project over the summer break. After my students finish a task, I always ask them “Is this something you’re proud of?” This very same prompt resonated in my head – I wanted to build something that I will be proud of and that my students are proud of participating in. I wanted to create a robust and rigorous class wherein they felt challenged but not debilitated or bored while seeing the value and connection on the units we discuss throughout the year. I reached out to former colleagues and spent some of my afternoons reading Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics by Peter Liljedahl. I must admit that there were days when I thought to myself, “What did I get myself into?” Fostering a new routine while building, learning, and editing materials was quite overwhelming.
While difficult, there were many good days when my class was engaged in a roundtable discussion on emergency funds or the effects of inflation. On other days, they were engrossed in computing compound interest and arguing why credit cards are a bad idea over personal loans. Our course covered Basics of Money, Credit, Investing, and Personal Beliefs Influencing Money Decisions.
On our last week of instruction, one of my students wrote in her reflection – “These past two years learning Financial Literacy with Mr Lingo has been the best math experience I have ever had and I am so grateful.” This just pierced through my heart. It took me back to our first days together when my students were enveloped with anger, disappointment, or self-doubt.
Now, they walked away engaged with pride and prepared for the years beyond high school.
Here are my key takeaways from this experience.
The Power of Choice
Our course was anchored to what they wanted to gain from it. Co-constructing a class gave our students an instant buy-in which was challenging to achieve in many of the classes. Knowing that this might not be possible in several contexts but giving our students power over which activity they wanted to do next was important. Did they want to spend the next lesson reviewing or give options in taking down notes. The power of choice is a nod to our students that they are in control and clearing the path for them to take full ownership of their learning.
Everybody wants to do well
A lot of our students came to our class and said, “I don’t really care about this class.” or “I am not even trying.” This may stem from pre-empting all the anxieties and negative emotions from failure. Once students see pockets of success, they will be invested. Make sure to celebrate these successes no matter how big or small. Highlight a student’s project when discussing the rubrics. Synthesize a student’s solution when revising the test. It’s through these moments that they regain their confidence and slowly we validate that they truly care about their growth and development.
Finding Balance
Lastly, the key is finding the right balance. Our instructional decisions should revolve around finding the appropriate challenge for our students. Design tasks and evaluations that are not too easy that they will be bored but also create scaffolds that will not be too difficult wherein they would freeze and be overwhelmed. This may entail constant changes in the curriculum such as providing extension questions, reteaching of previous concepts, visual representations for understanding and many more. When the challenge is balanced, the motivation will not be sacrificed.
As I write this article, I am pondering again if this is something I am proud of? 100%! This professional milestone was worth every minute of preparation and I would like to give a huge shout out to the class of 2024 for creating a classroom that brings out the best in each other.
Financial Literacy Reflections:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wofMXYTGCyLlX7oWS9ZRBrghrzDzTWGN?usp=sharing
Raw Reflections:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DhT4xMrs–ykByf-IyvQP9WDm037MwhVu97o00JMqqU/edit?usp=sharing
Hello SENIA Peeps,
Last week, I had the privilege of virtually attending The Brookings Institute Symposium on Inclusion and Education Systems Transformation. Inclusive leaders from around the world gathered to address a critical issue:
“Despite global policy efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for equitable education, no nation has succeeded in creating truly inclusive classrooms and school communities on a large scale. While some countries have made significant strides in meeting the needs of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), nearly every nation has fallen short in developing schools as settings for full social inclusion. This requires going beyond physical inclusion to create accessible and meaningful learning environments for all, including children with IDD.”
World Leaders Discuss Inclusion
As international school leaders, educators, and families, we must prioritize this concern. Sustainable Development Goal 4 demands that schools be places where all children matter equally, participate fully, and develop the skills, knowledge, beliefs, and practices they need to thrive.
Becoming fully inclusive is not easy, but it can be achieved. The conference offered these recommendations: First, we need a mindset shift which is embraced school-wide and community-wide. Second, we must dismantle the silos in education, and encourage synergy in our roles. Third, according to Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, “The central impediment to implementing effective inclusive education is the capabilities of a trained teacher workforce. You cannot ask teachers to become ‘includers’ in their schools or to manage children with complex learning needs without training.” Mr. Shriver also believes we need to empower young people as agents of change. Our students want inclusive schools. Are we ready to listen to their voices?
At SENIA, we endorse these points and strive to support schools on their inclusive journey by facilitating mindset changes, helping to create systems of support that involve the entire school community, and providing professional development opportunities through our conference and coursework. As well, our SENIA Youth are emerging as a strong voice advocating for change and will be our inclusive leaders of tomorrow.
With Sustainable Development Goal 4 as our guiding principle, we call on our schools to become more inclusive. We don’t expect you to do it alone. SENIA is here to support you.
Lori Boll
If you’d like to watch some of this symposium, check out this link.
SENIA International Honored with IFIP Global Inclusion Award
Kevin is the founding director of the Common Ground Collaborative (CGC), one of SENIA’s partner organizations. CGC is a learning ecosystem used by schools in 20 countries. Kevin has led schools in Tanzania, Austria, Namibia and Belgium.
Ceci Gomez-Galvez who was one of our SENIA virtual conference speakers this year. Ceci (she.her.ella) is a collaborator, coach and advocate who empowers educators to create equitable learning opportunities for all language learners.
Max has demonstrated a proven track record in the inclusion space from establishing 3 vocational training centers, modelling 11 inclusive and sustainable social businesses, and delivering essential consultancy services to organizations seeking enhanced inclusivity.
Host Lori Boll speaks with Kathi Silva, author of ‘Extraordinary Experiences: Tales of Special Needs Abroad,’ a book about living with special needs as expats. Kathi wrote this book as a way to share stories and help others prepare for adventures overseas while parenting their neurodiverse children.
Sam Drazin, Founder and Executive Director of Changing Perspectives, one of SENIA’s sponsor organizations and partners