Word Shift!

Here's the inside story...

If you read this post, you may feel a tad bit uncomfortable.
The same goes for when you read Word Shift...

http://shiftthis.weebly.com/

Shift This had been out for a few months, and readers had been connecting with me about the resistance they had felt, and how, after reading the last chapter (on resistance!), they felt less alone. They felt less "crazy." We are not alone. There are a TON of educators who want to shift what's happening in their classrooms.

And we are not crazy - we are readers, researchers, writers, contributors, explorers, collaborators, hypothesizers, experimenters, adventurers, risk takers, learners, visionaries, coaches, guides, amplifiers, leaders, and change makers! We are trying to do what we believe is right and good for the young learners in front of us every day.

I shared this message in my first keynote session in Boston last year, after I'd written that part of the book. (I'm sharing it again at IETC in November.) I then dug into the tough stuff... how educators speak at school when there are no children around, and how this affects our students.

One student who had issues at home was an angry child. He was angry with his parents for their divorce, I'd heard he was not a fan of his step-dad, and I'm not sure he was getting the attention he desired at home, as much of it was being directed to his younger sister for various reasons. This is how I saw him in our class. I saw him as someone needing my attention and caring. He wasn't the best behaved, for sure, and it was pretty rough on me. So... I did what I could. I learned about him slowly over the first few months. We developed a pretty good relationship, as we figured out a plan that worked for him, and we even shared a couple of jokes (the ones that didn't distract the class too much). He knew how to make me sing, even - he would hum the first five notes of "Try Everything" by Shakira, and I was hooked!

Then my mind was spun in circles one day. Frustrations can run high in school settings, and educators (I'm no exception) don't always say the perfect words. One coworker of mine, while talking amongst other teachers, called this child an a-----. I tried to help steer my own thoughts by saying even though he may ACT like an a-----, he's still a child. That day, the next day, and the day after that, my brain was tainted with this label for this child. NO. Nonononono. I did NOT want to think of this child as an a-----, and yet the seed had been planted. I worked my butt off the rest of that year trying to get that word out of my head. Trying to get this LABEL out of my head.

We use so many labels. It makes my stomach turn. I started writing down all the labels I've heard used and have used myself. I then began to listen better and hear more words I've used that may be better left unsaid.

What pushed me over the edge was the last day of the 2017-2018 school year. My coworker Yvette and I asked students for further feedback. The question that day was, "What did we do well, and where can we improve for next year?" One sweet seventh grader said, "Thank you for not saying you're going to chop off my knee caps," and another piped in with "...or light us on fire!"

Nonononono. Some twelve year olds do not do well with sarcasm. These words were the ones that encouraged me to write with the full intent to ask the DBCI group to help me publish it. The ideas in this book came from many educators' words from around the world, not solely from my experiences at my current school, obviously.

I've said some harsh things to students - and teachers - in my past. For sure I won't be perfect moving forward. (Oh, goodness, how I have to learn how to listen more than I speak!!) I want to be better. I want to communicate precisely what I mean, without attaching any negative labels to students or peers. There are also all those words we leave unsaid, that really need to be said - to students and to peers. Consider when we close our mouths in class, and yet we could use that instance to teach about grief, mental health, racial inequalities, or any of the myriad other relevant topics that our students know more and more about due to their access to information.

Writing this book has helped me consider words we use in a new light. As we read Word Shift (yes, I'll be reading bits and pieces again), I hope we evaluate words we, our peers, and our students use, and share others that work more effectively and can be used more often in our schools. How will we find our voice and use it when we hear negative language in schools? How will we elevate and amplify positive messages so they reach more students and colleagues?