Earlier this month:
- I shared a bit about where I’ve landed in terms of my own learning and work over the last few years. I spoke about my experiences as a facilitator of change and my interest in helping young people assume greater role in leading it.
- I suggested that an important part of such an effort involves empowering children to advocate for themselves, and I identified reflection as an entry point.
- And then I dipped a toe into the ocean that is reflective practice, focusing specifically on strategies and prompts that have been adapted for the young writers that I work with.
I’ve found that helping learners advocate for themselves is quite a challenge. The young people that I know are often unaware of what this means, when it’s necessary, or how to go about doing it effectively. Can you imagine what we could learn from children if all of them were able to voice their needs in ways that allowed teachers to help them better, though?
Ruminating on all of this inspired me to develop the following strategy, which will be shared with Studio writers this summer. I plan to reconnect them to the feelings that come up when they try to ride a see-saw……alone. I’m hoping that revisiting this feeling might help them identify when it’s coming up for them as learners too and inspire them to take action. I plan to study how the kids that I work with might use this strategy in the future and what might happen as a result. But before I do that, I’m wondering how you might modify this approach, based upon what you know of self-advocacy?
