After reading Restler's article, Mapping Interconnected Care, I learned about the ways teachers care for young people. The first story, talked about Sarah, who identifies as queer and cares for her students by connecting with them in the way that she dresses and the things she says to them. She developed a relationship with them by openly talking to them and telling her students about herself. She runs a support group and students know they can go to her to talk about things such as questions, they have, exploring their own queerness, etc. Her caring comes from being able to connect with her students by relating to them and providing support.
In the story of Michelle, she shows her caring ways by providing snacks for her students. Not all the students get snacks all the time, and she only brings snacks two or three days a week to create a "safe space" for her students. Some people might not think that providing snacks is creating a safe space but for some students, seeing that their teacher cares about them by bringing snacks, when they might not have one or just need one to stay awake during class, that is safe for them. Also, having a teacher who provides things such as snacks, materials, whatever it may be, creates that safe space for students and lets them know that they can develop trust and talk to their teacher.
These examples from Restler's article are only a couple of ways that teachers show they care for their students. Of course, every teacher is different and there are many other ways teachers provide care for their students. Although I haven't started my internship hours yet, I don't have that perspective but I have witnessed the way teachers care about their students in other areas such as, when I was going through school or from the two placements I have gone through for my FNED class and my SPED class. My placement to volunteer for my FNED class was in a kindergarten classroom in Providence and the teacher cared for her students immensely. I saw her caring ways from the firs day I started until the last. She was strict with her students but in a way that she knew was helping them and pushing them to succeed. I also noticed that she cared by providing materials for her classroom and the students and because most of her students come from Spanish speaking households and backgrounds, she was getting her ESL degree.
There's no distinct way to learn how to care for your students and I feel as though, it depends on you as a person, the values you believe in and how you choose to connect with your students. I also believe any person who's working with youth should have a caring personality and want the best for the youth they are working with.
In the story of Michelle, she shows her caring ways by providing snacks for her students. Not all the students get snacks all the time, and she only brings snacks two or three days a week to create a "safe space" for her students. Some people might not think that providing snacks is creating a safe space but for some students, seeing that their teacher cares about them by bringing snacks, when they might not have one or just need one to stay awake during class, that is safe for them. Also, having a teacher who provides things such as snacks, materials, whatever it may be, creates that safe space for students and lets them know that they can develop trust and talk to their teacher.
These examples from Restler's article are only a couple of ways that teachers show they care for their students. Of course, every teacher is different and there are many other ways teachers provide care for their students. Although I haven't started my internship hours yet, I don't have that perspective but I have witnessed the way teachers care about their students in other areas such as, when I was going through school or from the two placements I have gone through for my FNED class and my SPED class. My placement to volunteer for my FNED class was in a kindergarten classroom in Providence and the teacher cared for her students immensely. I saw her caring ways from the firs day I started until the last. She was strict with her students but in a way that she knew was helping them and pushing them to succeed. I also noticed that she cared by providing materials for her classroom and the students and because most of her students come from Spanish speaking households and backgrounds, she was getting her ESL degree.
There's no distinct way to learn how to care for your students and I feel as though, it depends on you as a person, the values you believe in and how you choose to connect with your students. I also believe any person who's working with youth should have a caring personality and want the best for the youth they are working with.
Thanks for this great post Ashlee.. Language is such a critical piece of care--whether pronouncing students' names correctly or supporting Emergent Bilinguals to engage their home languages and cultures in the classroom/ youth space. I like the connection that you made about the teacher taking on her own professional development (ESL cert) as a way to care for and support her students.
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