Educators Gather to Inquire, Reflect, and Share
By Elijah Hawkes and Monica Nachemja-Bunton
As we were getting ready for “After the Election,” our special online convening in late November, we surveyed all who had signed up, to help us plan with their needs in mind.
“I care about the well-being of my students,” one participant wrote. She went on to say, “I am focused on attending to the social-emotional needs and development of my students; I care about belonging. Although I am not currently observing urgent need around processing the election results with my students…I see a need for adults processing together.” Another person wrote that their reason for attending was informed by their goal to “build an inclusive, safe, and welcoming community in the midst of willful division.” These comments helped to shape our agenda, which included time for reflection on the current state of adult and student learning communities in their schools, and time for sharing both challenges in community building and resources that can support this work in the post-election weeks and months to come.
The idea for this convening came up last spring, as we were reviewing themes which came out of convenings we held over the course of the 2023-2024 school year and wondering what teachers, leaders, and students may need going into the 2024-2025 school year. With a focus on building connections across contexts and encouraging dialogue in schools and communities, the idea to hold this gathering came forward. With the turmoil leading up to the election and the heavy emotions all around, educators were clear about how much it was needed.
The meeting was a concrete reminder that solidarity and connection are important for educators – at all times and very much today.
We proposed some discussion norms/agreements for the gathering, drawn from some work a few years ago, which produced the “Freedom & Unity Discussion Norms/Agreements.” One of the agreements for our discussions was: “Share stories: use “I statements” to communicate your experiences and thinking.” Throughout the evening, participants were generous in sharing their thoughts, experiences and questions.
The first chunk of our agenda, after connections and introductions, was to look together at a resource about how to support difficult conversations. We asked what such practices might look like in each person’s setting, including strengths and challenges faced in having such conversations. After sharing thoughts in small groups, we turned to another topic, less focused on divisions and more focused on potential commonalities in our communities.
We looked at some data about policy issues about which people in the democrat and republican parties agree. Then we asked, “What common needs or beliefs do people with different identities share in your community?” We wondered, together, what it might look like to use points of common need and belief as a point of departure for meeting, planning curriculum, and planning work with school stakeholders more broadly.
The meeting was a concrete reminder that solidarity and connection are important for educators – at all times and very much today. This particular group included about 15 educators from a variety of schools and roles across VT and NH – even Mexico and the University of California! To build on the connections, participants have been invited to stay in touch and to utilize the resources included in our slides/agenda for the evening. If events such as this are of interest to you, please connect with us anytime. We would be happy to be a sounding board for similar conversations that you might be having at your schools, or to include you in our communications about similar events and efforts.
