Using Texts to Build Relationships

The habit of building community can face some real challenges in the reality of our classrooms. We serve a diverse population of students, many of whom do not share similar stories to ours. Racial, cultural, socio-economic divides exist and play an important role in how easy or difficult it is to make every student feel safe, valued, seen, and heard, and whether we're able to create an authentic sense of community that nurtures and builds on this work. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it feels like we're just not connecting to some of our students. It's not for lack of trying but is often due to the disconnect in our stories. We don't come with the same knowledge or understanding that our students have. And THAT has to be addressed before true community-building can happen. 

This month, we are sharing resources that we hope can help you begin to hear and understand the voices and stories of your students and use this new knowledge to create the healthy, nurturing communities that breed resilience.