This week’s article, Radically Healing Communities, was a very good read. The need for relational pedagogy resonated with me the most. The article shed light on several teacher classrooms to show the impact and importance of relational pedagogy. For instance, the students trusted Ms. Woods because she had established a relationship with them outside the school. As a result of their relationship, the students trusted and respected Ms. Woods. Ms. Jennings too connected with the students by allowing them to share details about their life through her class assignments. I really loved the idea of the students creating a real mask that represented something in their life. This provided a great opportunity for the students to share something personal about themselves, which helps with creating trust and regard of others. Whereas, the young English teacher failed to incorporate relational pedagogy into his classroom resulting in the students being inattentive and disrespectful.
To me, this article was another reminder about the benefits of creating a classroom environment in which students feel personally connected. We as teachers could really transform our classrooms in a positive way by integrating our students cultural and background experiences. I think this could be done in many ways such as through morning circle, class projects, student poems and writings, just to name a few. Activities such as these will help our students feel even more engaged, safe, welcomed and respected.
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