As a 2022 Fellow of the National Black and Latina Male Educators Fellowship, I am a member of the National Fellowship of Black and Latinx Male Educators, a year dedicated to providing support and resources to fellows and alumni so that we can all achieve our common goal of becoming educational leaders. I am attending the next retreat. This event provides leadership development skills, provides a psychologically safe space to process our experiences, and instills the spirit of brotherhood and community necessary to uphold our values and work. Nurture.
At this year’s retreat, New York State Board of Regents Chairman Lester Young Jr. will inspire us with the sublime story of his journey as a Black male educational leader and step boldly into leadership. It has given me tremendous insight into the value of In the middle of the presentation, he asked the group a question that resonated deeply with me. “Are you worried about leading a school where kids love you but fail academically?”
At first, I knew that if I had to choose between leading a school where my kids loved themselves and succeeding academically, I would prioritize self-love, and I said, “Of course. Yes, I thought to myself. But even after I left the hideout, this question persisted. After a week of reflection, I wondered why I couldn’t do both.
Across America, more schools are realizing the value of teaching students self-love – American Psychological Association Define Social-emotional learning (SEL) is incorporated into the curriculum as “concern and interest in one’s own existence and satisfaction.” Positively impact student satisfaction, including increasing self-esteem, self-efficacy, and perseverance. Research shows that students become more confident, optimistic, and insightful when exposed to a learning environment that prioritizes the well-being of the whole child, not just academic performance. In essence, they develop greater senses. Narcissism That is, they can understand what contributes to their well-being and take steps to promote it.
Although there is evidence that SEL is beneficial; Personality development and character development, these skills are not explicitly assessed or systematically tracked across American schools, making it difficult to ascertain broader impacts or best practices. Student success is defined by what my grandmother called “the three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic,” meaning that learners demonstrate achievement of the core academic skills needed to demonstrate proficiency on standardized assessments. It is often defined by whether or not
This is a dilemma.
For many years, our nation has strived to provide national standards for the quality of education in our public schools, and multiple administrations have advanced federal efforts and national goals to define academic outcomes for American students. . I have never seen anyone incorporate self-love as a priority outcome.
That’s probably because self-love is difficult to assess or measure. This is not a mastery-based criterion and is not given the same weight as constructing a clear argument in an essay or explaining the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
Although there are clearly defined standards and metrics to track and measure student success, they rely solely on academic growth, particularly in specific content areas. Although standardized academic assessments may provide some insight into the academic status of students, these assessments do not provide a complete picture of how people develop.
Identifying ways to structure self-love and capture growth is key to student progress. For many of these difficult-to-assess development areas, we have yet to see systematic integration around a set of standards, pillars, and guidance, but there are organizations and organizations working valiantly to advance this area. We can learn from individuals.
For years, luminaries in the world of education have studied and acknowledged the non-academic non-negotiables that lead to great student outcomes. In fact, many of the mentors who have shaped my teaching and learning philosophy have provided research, insight, and resources that reinforce the importance of developing a strong sense of self, a key component to developing self-love. I did.
And this is not a new conversation.
in essay In this book written in 1935, which has been one of the anchor texts I have quoted throughout my career, WEB Du Bois believes that “the proper education of all people requires an empathetic relationship between teacher and student. “It includes a lot of touching.” His words helped establish my position that all children need a loving environment. Most recently published by Bettina Love in 2020. Framework and guiding questions For creating a classroom that affirms Black, Latinx, and Indigenous children, I have provided my own insight into how I can use that to create the conditions for love and acceptance to grow within the school culture. We have expanded our understanding of
Leaders like Du Bois and Love shaped my belief that I could lead a school where students love themselves and succeed academically. But until the importance of nurturing these areas and understanding progress is widely examined, there will be no data to inform whether my school is accurately striking this balance.
However, we did not stop trying.
When I was a teacher, I was obsessed with finding ways to make my classroom a space where students felt safe and inspired. After nearly two years as a high school principal, my obsession remains: In this role, I am in a position to help all teachers in my school create learning spaces that foster self-love. It is located in
One of the things I’m focused on is how our leadership team coaches teachers. Because we believe that supportive leadership sets the stage for great education. We are focusing on her two main goals:
- Supporting instructional policies that prioritize the development of the whole child,
- Utilize best practices that acknowledge children’s humanity and encourage them to see the best in themselves.
We support teachers by always observing what they do best in the classroom: engaging students. During these visits, my leadership team and I use an instructional rubric developed by the network’s teaching learning team to guide us in creating high-quality, highly functional classrooms.
One component of this rubric is dedicated to assessing the classroom environment, and there are specific things we are looking for within this component. We call this “belief and sense of belonging.” My instructional team and I pay attention to the overall classroom climate and look for evidence of the level of belief and belonging in the classroom. Is it characterized by enthusiasm, love, compassion, and purposeful focus? Teachers frequently recognize and describe positive behavior and use challenge and aspiration to motivate students If so, it is a good sign that the student is respected. The foundation for cultivating self-love.
Rubrics provide good guidance, but they are not enough.
In order to lead schools where children unapologetically love themselves and succeed academically, we need to recognize nationally the importance of self-love and codify this aspect of self-love development in American public schools. , need guidance on how to measure and track. There has to be a common image that principals like me can use to ensure that children grow into complete adults. We need a national, interstate movement to bring love back to our schools.
