Preemptive Education weekend

On Friday, September 26 and Sunday September 28, I attended the Preemptive Education Weekend hosted by Urban Word, Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Steinhardt, and NYU’s Center for Multicultural Education.

Friday evening was a program called Word Life: An Evening of Performance and Conversation on Language, Identity and Power. It featured three spoken word performances from four young women involved in Urban Word’s program. After each performance, a respondent spoke about it, commenting on both the form and content, and then three panelists also responded to the poem, usually by discussing the social issues the piece brought up.

The piece that stood out to me was the first performance. Jamila’s piece was called Broken English and focused on the different languages she, as a black young woman, uses everyday. She calls herself trilingual because she has one language for school, another for home, and another for with her peers. Her piece also questioned the definition of what it means to be articulate – she points out that it means clearly expressing yourself, which of course can be done without Standard English or perfect grammar according to someone else’s rules. This was very powerful for me to think about as an educator because I want all of my students to be successful, and in this society it means being able to write and speak Standard English. This, however, should not completely replace whatever other language the students speak because it devalues this part of their culture and identity. A student should know that all aspects of their identity are important and valued, so I will make sure I include opportunities for students to speak or write when they are not bound by the rules of Standard English.

Sunday was part of the training weekend, and I attended several different workshops that day. The first workshop I went to was about Creative Classroom Management. We played an ice-breaker, which they called a gathering activity, in which we had to get to know someone, switch name tags and assume their identity, introduce them to someone else, then again switch name tags and assume that new identity. This last identity was then shared with the group. Activities such as these not only help students get to know each other, but force people to really listen knowing they will be held accountable for the information. Some information that I found very helpful was about the creative classroom management cycle. It begins at supervision, which doesn’t mean looking for what’s wrong but just being available. If a student needs more guidance, proximity to them can often help, such as just standing nearby, commenting on the work of a student sitting next to them, or even just saying their name quietly. Finally, communication is also important, but it is important to remember that this should be a dialogue and redirection, not just telling them what they are doing wrong. This information really reminded me that it is often just as effective not to say anything as it is to confront the student, and it is important to give students the opportunity to exit the situation (fix what is wrong) with dignity.

The second workshop was about Urban Text, or graffiti, and this workshop provided some background information about graffiti as well as some ideas about how to incorporate in the classroom. I learned a lot about the history of graffiti and how it really is a way of life to many people, especially those who consider themselves writers and would really study and practice their skills.  Literacy “equips the oppressed with tools to re-appropriate their history, culture and language practices.” Graffiti and other elements of hip-hop culture can definitely be useful tools in the classroom. I learned several different ways to incorporate graffiti, such as starting small by just having students choose and research images that represent them. The presenter showed pictures of several schools where huge pieces had been painted on the walls to represent what was important in that community. Another idea was to have a “wall of fame” where people could paint their name, their tag, or even just a handprint to show that they had been there.

The closing workshop was about creating a truly student-centered classroom. We first thought up our fantasy writing class, then we had to think about ways to make that fantasy a reality. We also worked together to brainstorm ways of making classes student centered and came up with many ideas, ranging from sitting in a circle to having a process for peer critiquing. The ending activity kind of summarized the weekend – we went around the room and everyone had to say a maximum to three words about what the weekend meant to them. It was a fairly large group, but no one exactly repeated someone else’s response, but they all had similar themes – appreciation for new styles, more knowledge about other people’s experiences and cultures, and perhaps most importantly excitement to take what was learned back to our students.