It was a dreary Monday afternoon. The sky was painted grey and there was a slight chill in the air, just enough to let you know that fall was quickly coming to an end. Leaves rattled in a whirlwind on the uneven pavement of the cracked sidewalk. Soon all the madness that comes with dismissing an elementary school gradually unfolded: parents and children faded away into the cloudy mist; middle school students rushed to the corner store to purchase overpriced snacks; and exhausted teachers headed into a cramped parking lot with papers to grade, lessons to plan and action plans to revise.
I walked back into the building, up the stairs and entered my office. I took a moment to reflect on it all. Most days, the life of a school administrator moves way too fast to process. You learn to salvage every minute to make sure you are doing all that you can for the good of your community. In this moment I chose to process it all. It had been seven years since we first opened this school and I honestly donât know how we did it. I was a West Indian woman who was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ, with enough ambition to pursue my dreams, knowing that my actions were guided by my lifeâs purpose and by the responsibilities that had been bestowed upon me by my ancestors. I had been fortunate enough to have an opportunity to create and lead a school in the same city that raised me. Although, it was not easy to discover my voice and style as a leader, I didnât give up or walk away from the path chosen.
So much has changed in those seven years; so many ups and downs, experiences filled with life lessons, growth and evolution, both personally and professionally. As an administrator you learn to become selfless; you prioritize your work above all else and make sacrifices for those that look to you for guidance as they navigate lifeâs obstacles. I was grateful for all experiences â good, bad and indifferent â because they all brought with them lessons and experience.
Usually a positive person, I was reminded of the notable disparities that existed during my instructional observations earlier that day. I was drowning in despair of recent test scores that indicated we digressed in math. Even a slight decline in test scores is alarming for an administrator. A shortage of efficient teachers made the start of the year even more challenging than expected and an influx of valid parental concerns about the quality of instruction dimmed my spirit. To make matters worse, I found that some teachers went harder than others; some easily found connections and formed relationships with students, while others struggled to see students as they really were and what they could be. Those who struggled to form genuine connections and bonds with students also lacked the management skills necessary to teach, along with the ability to maintain student engagement. Valuable instructional time was being lost and this bothered me a great deal. My vow to the community was that every child would be treated with integrity, respect, and valued for who they were. Part of that promise included the notion that each educator would be able to develop a genuine relationship with students. Letâs face it, our children instinctively know who authentically cares for them and who does not and they can smell a fake from a mile away. What I have learned throughout the years is that teaching is serious business. It is indeed an art form. More than simply the implementation of instruction, teaching is the willingness to confront and unveil truths that cause discomfort; it is investing time in connecting with both learners and their families on a personal level and understanding all the elements that compose their identity. And let us not forget, the willingness to exude hope and be open-minded.
But the dayâs experiences reminded me of the methodologies that I used to connect with students in the past. As an educator, I found that my instructional style evolved with time. Initially, a highly structured teacher that stuck to curricular guides and followed administrative directives, after a few years in the game, I began to question things: the outdated resources used, the rationale behind decisions being made as well as the overwhelming emphasis on skill and drill test preparation. If we could teach to kidsâ strengths, expose them to life skills, and engage them in the learning process by promoting creative and critical-analytical thinking skills, then they would naturally perform well on state tests.
Teaching in predominately urban districts close to home, my most memorable instructional experiences occurred in Newark, NJ, as middle school ELA teacher. However, teaching classes with similar lessons in a similar manner for two to three periods a day became cumbersome and mundane. Students experienced difficulty reading textbook based stories that they couldnât relate to, with characters and themes they couldnât identify with in their lives. And who could blame them? The pieces selected by textbook companies were overly generalized and written for a less than diverse audience.
An avid lover of all things hip-hop, I began using music to connect learning themes and concepts. It provided the cure for a repetitive schedule and became a pathway to connect with students on an emotional and mental level. In many ways, hip-hop enabled me to develop a classroom characterized by elements of loyalty, mutual respect, and trust, replicating a family like atmosphere. As a class, we were able to discuss social norms and issues that affected the larger community while learning life skills through the means of a powerful culturally relevant resource. Collectively, we engaged in meaningful learning and work: we studied music producers, artists, explored themes in conscious rap, wrote rhymes about life using literary devices, and analyzed deeper issues such as race and racism in society, police brutality, domestic violence, etc. Through this untraditional pathway, we discovered a commitment to each otherâs growth, evolution, and to our own sense of self-awareness.
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if certain things could be taught: How to develop an authentic relationship with students grounded in cultural values and show that you care? And could you teach someone to care? Was teaching a natural form of art or could it be the type of craft that someone could grasp and learn with intensive training? If so, what training would be needed? With each question asked, countless more followed. I stepped out of the classroom and into the role of an administrative leader in the hopes of impacting lives and propelling humanity toward liberation through the use of education. That day, I made another commitment to my community. I pledged to utilize my school as a platform to implement the change students needed, even if meant we needed to abandon traditional measures and step outside of our comfort zone. I outlined a plan that focused on academic excellence with life skills embedded in the curriculum, as co-developed by students and teachers, with an integration of cultural diversity and sense of self, investing time in building relationships and an instructional model that emphasizes lived experience as an integral starting point of the learning process.
So now I dream a bigger dream, a vision compelled by a quest to confront traditional practices and transform school systems. This is my vision as set forth in the Pedagogy of Consciousness, based upon my personal experiences as an educator, principal, and superintendent.
Each day our children face multiple battles in an ongoing war beyond the scope of their control. Naturally borne with excellence embedded within their souls, they must maneuver through a fragmented system intricately designed to dismiss their identity and self-worth. False truths and broken promises occupy their minds and, subsequently, their fate. The notion of academic excellence, as constructed and developed by others, aims to shift the perception of self among children, coercing them into the belief that they are incapable of achieving more, doing more, and becoming more.
Education serves the dynamic and multi-faceted purpose of providing interconnected and enriched learning experiences to students that propel freedom and liberation of the mind, deepening their state of consciousness. Values of self-love, hope, perseverance, are crucial to this process as is knowledge of universal laws which might be applicable and accessible throughout their lifeâs journey. Knowing this to be true, we need to unveil and expose learners to historical truths that have impacted and shaped cyclical patterns that still permeate our society today, causing negative vibrations to flourish. Only through acknowledging the past can we truly raise the consciousness of the world and awaken our children. Life is more than recalling facts for a test or defining terms in a robotic fashion; but rather, it is a complex journey distinct to each individual and the life path one has chosen. We owe our children the opportunity to construct and create their own paths, defining their own journeys by providing the guidance necessary for them to embrace their futures with confidence.
At a Glanceâ¦
Chapter 1: This chapter focuses on the historical foundation of Americaâs school system and also features a brief discussion of the philosophical dispositions of advocates that sought to propel change in the field of education. Additionally, it presents a portrait of current trends that continue to stagnate the growth and creativity of children, characterizing school systems as institutions engaging in continuous systemic oppression. An increase in the adoption of core standards along with standardized assessments has turned the field of education into a capitalistic business venture, one in which the needs of students are neglected and in which the quality of instruction they receive is compromised.
Chapter 2: This chapter traces various forms of inequity in education, ranging from the implementation of standardized curriculum models and the quality of services provided to students to the lack of appreciation for cultural diversity present within school systems. Much of this chapter emphasizes the need to expose students to a universal life curriculum that mirrors the challenges and obstacles present within the communities where they live. This chapter also focuses on various perspectives as they relate to the current state of education and confronts the traditional roles of educators and students in the system. Educators are typically perceived to be the owners of the classroom environment, dictating lessons while students simply listen and adhere to the rules and regulations provided. Any deviation from this antiquated model typically results in severe consequences for educators which threaten their careers.
By means of comparison, the position of todayâs educator has significantly shifted and encompasses many dynamic roles. Many teachers serve in the capacity of a role model, nurturing students, particularly when parental figures are absent from the home environment due to lifeâs obstacles. Most often in such situations, teachers step outside their normal realm of perceived duties to provide students with compassion, love, and the structure needed to flourish. As the role of educators has changed, so too has the role of the learner. Students have more life responsibilities, face increasingly complex challenges, and suffer from emotional distress that severely affects their ability to learn and excel in school. Despite these changes, the educational model in practice today relies on conventional roles for all participants involved in the learning process. This chapter calls for a paradigm shift in which educators are facilitators of instruction, while students are held accountable for their own learning.
Chapter 3: This chapter focuses on providing administrative leaders and educators with practical tools to gather student input, insights, and opinions on curricular goals. By providing an environment that acknowledges the inner self, students can activate deeper levels of consciousness to obtain a glimpse of the higher purpose they serve in life. Further emphasis is placed on providing students with the learning experiences and opportunities necessary to develop creative and innovative skills. In order to effectively accomplish this, administrative leaders and educators must deconstruct adopted standards and construct measures conducive to the needs of students and their home environments. This is followed by an exploration of how innovative leaders and educators, willing to take risks, can minimize inequities and foster the growth of critical consciousness. Through the process of collaborating with students in the development of learning experiences and opportunities, there is a strong sense of shared accountability in the learning process. Collectively, educators and students develop an adaptable life curriculum with the flexibility to accommodate student needs, address cultural shifts, and recognize significant issues facing particular communities and regions by integrating real life situations. Learners transform into agents of social change by developing solutions to the issues prevalent in their lives. As students and educators work collaboratively, both participants of the learning process experience a shared sense of empowerment as well as accountability; each member is held accountable by his/or her peers and thus becomes responsible for his or her learning. This environment transcends into an atmosphere of consciousness, one in which any topic area of concern and interest can be explored or discussed in depth; more importantly, this lends itself to the concept of exploring principles of identity, ethics, and diverse cultures. When we look at the world we live in and trace the number of injustices that are experienced by humanity, combined with increasing numbers of random acts of violence and crime, we clearly see that there is a need to focus on helping children achieve solidarity through principles of internal peace and consciousness.
Chapter 4: This chapter opens with an analysis of the components necessary to facilitate all phases in the Pedagogy of Consciousness. Only through the elements of loyalty, respect, and trust can educators create a collaborative and transparent classroom environment conducive to learning in which students can truly explore topic areas of interest relevant to their daily lives. The next section of this chapter pertains to nontraditional coping mechanisms and tools that educators can utilize to help students proactively deal with the dilemmas and challenges they face in their everyday lives. Ranging from gaining diverse perspectives and learning through the shared experiences of others to understanding how to overcome systemic oppression and the use of meditation exercises, unconventional tools can be used to help students gain control of their decisions and lives. This chapter emphasizes the notion that our lives are indeed our message to the larger world in which we dwell and, as such, we should live each day exuding positivity, seeking to empower and inspire others through our individual stories. As human beings we face an abominable amount of adversity; these adversities help us to grow in strength and enable us to accomplish our goals with determination and perseverance.
Chapter 5: This chapter focuses on the changes needed in the educational arena in order to successfully ensure that children learn and grow in a positive atmosphere. An alternative universal framework is then provided for administrative leaders, policymakers, and educators to actively integrate the needs, insights, and opinions of students into the overall educational process as partners accountable for their own learning. This model is offered as an innovative tool that can easily be infused into systems of schooling as a whole school reform model or gradually in stages with pre-selected components. This chapter also discusses various coping mechanisms used to help children deal with personal challenges, discovering their lifeâs purpose as a part of a curriculum that emphasizes real-life skills. The underlying idea is to provide students with mechanisms to help them cope with real world problems and issues they experience on a daily basis, and to intertwine these challenges with material learned in school.