We gently acknowledge how we are all entwined with humanity at Willowstone Academy.
I just dropped my daughter off at her summer job at an ice cream shop. On the way she discussed the volleyball team for next year and her coach’s strategy. With her generous and courageous heart, she passionately described, “It’s all about team, Mom. He wants us to get together over the summer. He knows that we’ll win if we work together and have great friendships. I think I’ll organize a beach trip for everyone this summer.”
We practice this team concept within our school’s teaching team and we call it “collaboration.” In many ways those relationships form the bedrock for the climb of learning.
Recently, as a direct result of our work with University of British Columbia – Okanagan’s Education Department, we received an email describing how the department is transforming the practicum experience for student teachers. They want the experience to align with what the two teachers experienced together within our learning community over the past year.
The email provided the rationale:
Building capacity for collaboration and shared practice is vital for effective 21st Century teaching. Immersing…teacher candidates in a collaborative professional context as part of their first teaching experience will provide a strong foundation for developing their teaching competency as a ‘we’ practice instead of an exclusively ‘me’ practice.
A ‘we’ practice shows up in many tender ways each week in our work.
This most valuable connection each week within our halls and classrooms is the connection amongst the team of professional educators. Just this week along, our team:
- prayed
- sacrificed
- advocated
- championed
- challenged
- encouraged, and
- supported
each other. At times the label “collaboration” seems too simple. It results in teachers who truly want to engage and create a learning environment over the long-term…together.
We’re authentic in our journey. It’s human. It’s real and raw.
With our honesty hats on, we also discussed how it is often difficult to celebrate each others’ victories instead of feeling threatened or ‘less than.’ We discussed this awareness with hopefulness. Awareness is everything. In our hearts, we feel challenged to continue to celebrate risk-taking, achievement, and success in each other and for each other in meaningful ways.
Here is what we know for sure, “Great relationships are a recipe for students success!”
The students benefit from the active and warm relationships amongst the educational team. Remember high school volleyball, the stakes are high, let’s create ‘team’ in our schools!
How do you experience teamwork within your child’s learning community? How can you be a part of creating team? How do you feel your child would benefit from a #LearnForward environment that embraced the notion of ‘we are all entwined with humanity?’