This class reminded me of some projects that I had completed myself in school, and have also heard mention in other courses. Some of them included family heritage projects, where students worked with their families to construct family trees that extended as far back as they could go. That was a common activity when I was growing up, and I remember making a family tree with my parents in elementary school. I wonder how this activity has evolved as we are learning more about the different family structures that exist, and the possible inequities that may be magnified from a project like that. How can one celebrate the different types of families and backgrounds of all students and also teach the importance of personal history while also being sensitive to students whose family life may be painful or non-existent? I am noticing more and more that almost every activity or project could benefit from looking at it through the lens of trauma informed teaching.
The other main thing I noticed this class was how personally engaged I felt because of the interaction with the authentic documents. This further reinforces the idea that the delivery of content should be through meaningful and engaging tasks that have many open ended and deeper thinking questions as well as answers.
Deborah, Wow…what a great point you bring up about the idea of considering instruction through trauma informed teaching. A teacher would definitely have to know the backgrounds of each student in the classroom before assigning an activity like this with the entire class. My thought would be to offer a variety of project ideas and let students choose one they like.
I love that you recognize the importance of making authentic connections during instruction. It really is a game changer. Thank you for your reflection.
Hi Deborah,
I love this question: “How can one celebrate the different types of families and backgrounds of all students and also teach the importance of personal history while also being sensitive to students whose family life may be painful or non-existent?”
I think about this a lot. I was adopted, so when I had to projects like this in school, I always felt a bit like I was cheating. Was this really my family? I asked myself that question constantly. I don’t think presenting documents that show a more traditional family structure is a problem, but asking kids to collect resources and information like this might well be difficult.
I do think we have to be intentional about the way we present families and must make every effort to be broadly inclusive of all kinds of structures and make considerations for not only how families are composed, but where they reside. (I’m thinking about the increasing number of homeless kids in schools.)