For Educators

Self-awareness is the ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and the influence of these on behavior. It includes reflecting on one’s strengths and limitations. We embed activities to increase self-awareness as we believe when we are better able to recognize our internal cues, we can gain greater insight into our blind spots and the lens through which we interpret the world.

Adult learners want to be actively engaged in learning, solving problems, and meeting real world challenges. We incorporate these concepts to  maximize learning and meet the needs of participants who have diverse knowledge, experiences, interests, and backgrounds. 

Brofenbrenner’s ecological systems theory  examines child development within the context of various systems and their relationship to one another. This model examines how a child’s environment and social relationships impact their development and behavior and focuses on the  intersection of factors and systems. When we talk about students and families, we encourage participants to think about how all the environments and systems impact their development. 

Caregivers and families are essential to a student’s growth and development as well as to their school experience. Our work with students can be impacted by the relationships that we develop with their caregivers and families. When discussing programming and strategies in our training, we highlight how schools can include caregiver and family voice and partner with families to support students’ needs. 

It is important that school professionals strive to be culturally aware and understand the dynamics of cultural interactions. All of our best practices need to be looked at through this lens so that they are adapted as one size does not fit all. A key component within our trainings includes discussing the role of culture and diverse perspectives and experiences of students, families, and staff and how this shapes our work in school communities.

Literature tells us that anti-racist practices include thinking, acting, and advocating for equality and actively working to change policies and systems. We will invite you to reflect on your role and school community and consider how anti-racist practices have been incorporated or could be further implemented.