Dr. Joaquin Garcia High, Lake Worth FL
Enroll in the Japanese American National Museum’s conference “Little Tokyo: How History Shapes our Past and Present" in Los Angeles to expand cultural and historical awareness with Japanese English Learners and gain valuable perspectives on their role in US history.
I love centering student voice and choice consistently. This learning experience allowed me to recognize two critical perspectives in the classroom: high school students finish the year and many times do not know each other's names, and students do not feel comfortable enough to ask for help. Therefore, I used my innovation learning as a catalyst for the power of narrative. Understanding that people can experience the same thing differently allows people greater comfort to share their truth.
Most important is the power of narrative and although people experience the same thing, they may have different perceptions, perspectives, and truths from what they experienced, though they may share some characteristics. Secondly, what you see, hear, or read, most definitely has multiple perspectives so we need to be intentional in our pedagogy to create a safe space by building community in classrooms where students feel comfortable enough to ask for help.
I created Lunch 'N Learn opportunities for students to learn about the Japanese and Japanese-American experience after WWII and facilitate study circles where students may share their narratives. This leads to facilitated inquiry in student voice around students seeking help. I have taken that valuable information and also created Lunch 'N Learns for teacher conversations and reflections around how we allow for questioning and solicited assistance in our classrooms. These will continue monthly.
One of the most affirming comments from my students this year reflecting the implementation of my innovation grant learning was "Dr. Almashy, you are one of the most approachable teachers I've ever had!" Implementing community builders, daily, in classes have created safer spaces for my students to ask for help. This year, there are far more questions and clarifications initiated in my classes. Moreover, the students have been collaborating and helping each other!
Students have taken more initiative in their advocacy in the form of questions, conversations, and collaborations. Learning the content of my innovation empowered students to share their own stories and perspectives. That has enabled me to do some innovative whole group workshops with the content. Doing so, has fostered a climate where students take more responsibility and demonstrate their learning in more authentic ways, lending to social contracts and more effective grading policies.
The most transformative part of my learning experience was the first-person testimonies that reflected how many different perspectives can be reflected from the same lived experience. There are so many variables to consider, and many times, as a teacher, I feel like I am able to "size-up" or "assess" students but what I see or experience with them. However, that is only one possibility. My experience has transformed how I center students and their stories in my pedagogical practices.
The key moments for the summer were the days when we were able to hear from people who were actually living in the internment camps. They stayed and we were able to ask questions, interact, and engage in discussions. The other day was the field trip to Manzanar. Being in a space is powerful and transformative in and of itself as experiential learning stays with you and doesn't fade, rather it becomes a part of who we are and impacts how we teach and learn.
