ADVOCACY
As an educator, it is my charge to prepare the learners of today and leaders of tomorrow to become successful members of society. However, I do not only want them to thrive individually within that society, but to become the driving forces of positive change within it as well. In order to meet that goal, I consistently ensure that my fifth graders practice navigating real-world issues and understandings so that when they do take on those leadership roles later in life, they are armed with an arsenal of skills and strategies at their disposal in order to not just request, but actively demand societal justice and equity.
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My students demonstrated an ability to utilize their understandings of their roles, rights, and responsibilities as citizens of this nation in order to seek out necessities that they did not have, and to take action in utilizing initial resources to ensure the growth and success of others. I am a firm believer in giving back to my community, and many of my students have begun to represent those ideals as well - not only through discussions, but also through their actions around campus.
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My implementation of these advocacy lessons will not only increase student confidence and achievement in terms of becoming agents of change in their own academic lives, but will also invariably spur positive change within any community in which they choose to live in the future.
DISCUSSION -BASED
"Global warming, why is it such a bad thing?"
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This was a question posed by one of my students during a discussion. In response, I facilitated a unit centered around student-led discussions and writing prompts to ensure that all students were able to demonstrate a deep understanding of the real-world issue of global warming.
In our ever changing society, it is more imperative now than ever that students are well equipped with an understanding of their own roles within the context of the whole society. With that understanding comes a responsibility to the health of the society - both of its people and of the actual land on which those individuals reside.
The student led needs assessment and culminating anti-bullying campaign allowed students to take charge of the former aspect - the health of other individuals within their own community. In facilitating a discussion and allowing students to take charge in making positive changes within the school, I instilled a spark of advocacy within my students that will hopefully remain lit long after they walk out of my classroom and into middle school. Introducing and facilitating a navigation of real world issues within my classroom ensured that my students had a safe and comfortable space to explore understandings about the world around them without being forced to make informed decisions immediately. My students were able to hit the ground running with our global warming discussion, and after my initial front loading of information, they were invested in identifying additional solutions to, as well as impacts of, climate change.
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As an educator, it is my job to implement, reflect upon, and adjust my instruction for each student at their individual levels in order to meet their needs. However, by instilling in my students a sense of self-advocacy, I am ensuring that they will continue to seek out and meet those needs independently long after they have walked out of my classroom.