The Goal of this
Blog is to share…
A
reflective space of how I am thinking about Sense of Place and the importance
of Sense of Place at this moment. I will attempt to use the experiences,
information, readings and other resource to help articulate my thoughts.
Focus Question:
Why
does Sense of Place matter and what does it mean to the practice of teaching
for there to be multiple senses of place in any one moment and in any one place
(i.e. a classroom)?
There
is so much information, so many thoughts, too many ideas, and a plethora of content
racing through my mind at this moment… With any new endeavor, I feel the
overwhelming excitement of getting wrapped-up in the moment balanced with my
family and work responsibilities. All of
these elements are in a constant tug-of-war with my energies; I want to
dedicate my life and my work to meaning.
I want to capture and relish in the opportunities all around me. I Need to honor my obligations through
applying what I know now to every aspect of my life. This co-mingling of ideas, ideals, lessons,
experiences, and insights corresponds to my current Sense of Place. To be honest, I’m in a place where I don’t
have the answers nor do I feel I need to have them. Questions rule my thoughts; an amazing
quagmire of my ever-evolving spaces and places.
My
current Place is in full acknowledgement of the need to continue cultivating a
true Sense of Place. My current Place is
opening my eyes to fostering each of my students’ senses of Place in my
classroom so they can carry this sense throughout their lives. I want my students to KILO their world and
fortify their experiences in conscientious thought and questioning. I also feel the immense gravity of
instilling a true sense of Place in my young son; connecting our understandings
into my home. So, sense of place not
only matters, it encompasses every fiber of my being and extends to every
second of my life and the lives of all who I know. Heavy… right?
For the purposes of not writing another novella, I will try to keep the
remainder of this blog to focus on the question above. I will attempt to dive into my teaching
practices at my school with my students.
As
I’ve shared before, I am evolving my teaching practices to support a constant
understanding of Places in my learning spaces.
I am trying to integrate O’lelo Hawaii through my STEM classroom (during
school) and Garden Club (after school).
I attempt an honest, humble approach to demonstrate I am NOT an expert
on any one thing; especially Hawaiian culture or language. I want my students to FEEL my excitement and
the gravity of my actions/words when engaging their hearts and minds. I fail at least 10 times a day in this. I get caught-up in the routine and ritual of
working in a DOE system which says it honors our host culture, but fails to do
so with meaning through its structure and practices.
Through
our readings and research, Gruenewald provides his 5-point framework to help
communicate and articulate a sense of place.
It has been pointed out Gruenewald is supported and rooted on the
education field through peer-reviewed documents and provided a multi-layered
approach. I feel this outlook to be
essential in how I choose to support my thoughts. I will use these 5 elements (Perceptual,
Sociological, Ideological, Political, and Ecological) to frame my
conversation. Like we know, these
elements are not individualistic. They
blend, overlap, and exist all at the same time through an interconnected
experience. It would be illogical to
discuss these ideas in segregation to each other, but I will use them as an
organizational tool to help articulate my current sense of place in my
school.
Perceptual:
Places are ALIVE! We connect through
tangible, emotional experiences with others in any one place at any one time,
across all places and all times… Jeez, again… deep!
My
classroom and the land we have access to on campus for our Gardens are very
much ALIVE! I try to demonstrate this
through some Hawaiian cultural practices we’ve learned, research-based
educational practices to engage students’ sense of inquiry, and other personal
passions. In the front of my classroom I
have a small aquaponics area representing a living and symbiotic cycle. This comes from my personal passion for
aquaponics and how I want my students to engage in thought about life, food,
our island resource to reshape perceptions of what is important. It also connects to other Hawaiian cultural
practices of ahupua’a, resource management, and the respect for working with
living and non-living resources.
My 2nd grade students will encounter a whole unit on aquaponics in the 2nd semester where they will engage in discovery, inquiry, collaboration, and communication about this process. It culminates with an activity where they will develop a plan to design and create their own aquaponics system or design an upgrade to our classroom system. I am working on trying to also engage in bigger perceptions of the need for these systems in our environment based on many external and global factors (water use, land use, food resources on our islands, changing global environment, and bioregionalism).
My 2nd grade students will encounter a whole unit on aquaponics in the 2nd semester where they will engage in discovery, inquiry, collaboration, and communication about this process. It culminates with an activity where they will develop a plan to design and create their own aquaponics system or design an upgrade to our classroom system. I am working on trying to also engage in bigger perceptions of the need for these systems in our environment based on many external and global factors (water use, land use, food resources on our islands, changing global environment, and bioregionalism).
My
classroom is festooned with cultural, educational, historical, and personal
messages and information. Questions are
posted all over the room. I am trying to
appeal to a visual learner and offer constant resources which support my
continued practices and level of engagement with my students. For example, on the back wall of my room I
have two posters next to each other (because I feel these ideas are interconnected)
sharing what Kilo and Maka’ala/Maka’ala mean. I introduced these concepts in week one and
constantly refer to them during each class.
It’s my way of attempting to integrate o’lelo Hawaii into my current
teaching vocabulary with a purpose. I
want to show how we can integrate culture, the past, and our present places
through demonstrating their worth. I
also have a wall of scientists, engineers, and inventors where the kids can see
some individuals I feel have made immense impacts on how we live today. I continuously refer to this area when
discussing and sharing our engineering design practices through our Project
Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum. What is
lacking is a stronger Hawaiian cultural presence in this area; I want to
continue to integrate more Hawaiian inventors, scientists, and engineers and
feel I am beginning to have the resources to do so (through our SYEMS^2
cohort).
Sociological:
Our Collective Social Beliefs; Our Places are Socially Constructed…
Through
the visual elements and day-to-day practices of my class and my Garden Club, I
try to create a sociological environment within the spaces I provide for my
students. I want to engage my students
in ideas and questions which target the societies we come from, the societies
we live near, the place we live, and all the differing and connected social
beliefs. I try to purposely engage in
conflicting societal beliefs with an objective view. This is difficult and a constant point of
personal emphasis; I tend to be less objective when, in my view, an alternate
view does not fit within my personal insight.
For example, through our PLTW lessons we offer ways for the kids to be engineers in tackling some ‘issues’ they may face today. Our 1st Grade class engages in learning about light, sound, waves, energy, and how these concepts can be used or harnessed to solve a problem. One activity in the 2nd semester will have them observe the sun, moon, and stars in connection to light waves. I will attempt to integrate more Hawaiian culture into this learning space through the use of the Hawaiian Lunar calendar. I want my students to start their own “Lunar Journal” to record their Kilo; then share out and compare/contrast with what the Hawaiians did during certain times of the lunar cycles.
I connect this cultural component because I see the value in learning about our host culture because it’s where we live. I believe we can honor the past and the Hawaiian culture through incorporating it into our present classrooms. This is may seem, to some, a superficial exercise in connecting culture, but it is my attempt in delving deeper into the questions of Why.
For example, through our PLTW lessons we offer ways for the kids to be engineers in tackling some ‘issues’ they may face today. Our 1st Grade class engages in learning about light, sound, waves, energy, and how these concepts can be used or harnessed to solve a problem. One activity in the 2nd semester will have them observe the sun, moon, and stars in connection to light waves. I will attempt to integrate more Hawaiian culture into this learning space through the use of the Hawaiian Lunar calendar. I want my students to start their own “Lunar Journal” to record their Kilo; then share out and compare/contrast with what the Hawaiians did during certain times of the lunar cycles.
I connect this cultural component because I see the value in learning about our host culture because it’s where we live. I believe we can honor the past and the Hawaiian culture through incorporating it into our present classrooms. This is may seem, to some, a superficial exercise in connecting culture, but it is my attempt in delving deeper into the questions of Why.
Ideological:
A set of Ideas or Beliefs groups form to create actions within a Place…
All
of the above classroom activities connect and integrate with an Ideological
view of our learning spaces and places.
I believe if I present and offer meaningful experiences through
culturally relevant activities, I can help establish an ideological framework
my students will carry with them. I work
with K-2 students. These young minds and
hearts are so open and willing to deeply engage with concepts and content some
feel is way beyond their capacity. This
is also based on current educational research and best practices for young
learners. Basically, set the bar high
with the appropriate supports and engagement and students will rise to the
occasion! A better man would have a specific
citation for this idea… I’m working on it…
I found this Ideological section of
Grunewald’s “Foundations of Place” article most engaging and
thought-provoking. It seemed my
highlighter and notes were rampant throughout because I felt this ‘Place” in
our current educational system lacks support for any cultural ideology to foster
an understanding of people and places. I
feel there are huge globally-connected, financially-supported systems in place
which (in my view) purposely disconnect us (people) from our places in order
for a select few to maintain power, money, land, resources, and influence. Like Gruenewald, I feel we need to recognize
that places are what people make them and what is ‘established’ as a ‘norm’ can
be changed. It also suggests how schools
can play a revolutionary role in changing shifting our ‘norms’ to ones where we
connect more thoughtfully with our environment, resources, land, and people
through alternate views. Specifically,
we can establish learning and teaching norms which use multiple cultures and
histories to engage in questions about power, land use, resource management,
and the influence of money. If we can
actively and purposefully engage in “reflecting on how a diversity of places,
and our ideas about them, became what they are”
(Gruenewald, 2015).
Political:
Constantly Affected by the Distribution of Capital – How can we influence
actions inside a governing body?
I
see my classroom as a potential catalyst to engage in political perceptions and
norms. Politics can be as basic as how
we enter and engage in a learning space or as broad as how money and power
influences the global distribution of wealth and resources. Everything, in my view, is political. I do not want to reduce the term politics to any
form of state or federal governing entities, rather it is how we can engage in
our places as a collective people. This
area is also deeply connected and integrated in the other 4 components of Place
and I am starting to see how I can engage in political discussions with my
students while attempting to offer objective perspectives. Again, this is very difficult for me because
I have deep feelings and opinions about equity, ecology, human rights, and
personal responsibility.
Our Garden Club is attempting to establish a
political foothold in our school’s political culture. We want to engage in conversations about the
uses for, reasons for, and ideas about what gardens are and how they connect to
learning on a public school campus. We
do have our school administrator’s backing and support to engage and explore
these potential opportunities, but we are continuously evolving our positions
on how we can effect change. For
example, through kilo, collaborative discussion, and reflection, this year’s
Garden Club mentioned a way for us to gain some political capital in our school
and community. Our students came up with
the idea of offering plants to each teacher and staff member as a gesture and
token of what we value. We wanted to use
this as an opening to invite more school personnel to the Garden and try and
demonstrate a sense of community sharing.
We also wanted to extend these gestures or gifts to our surrounding community
as a way to bridge the information gap between our club’s actions and our
families. Other ways to extend this
political influence may manifest through a link to our own Garden Website/Blog
through our school’s homepage.
We are also trying to coordinate more community-based activities to reach-out to our surrounding population. We will be working with KUPU (MAHALO HAYDEN!!!!!), the Malama Learning Center (MLC) at Kapolei High School, and other community partners through work-sharing outreach activities. One such activity is a collaborative effort with KUPU, MLC, our Garden Club, the “Go Green” club at Kapolei High School, and the parents/families of our Garden Clubbers to do a Koa Out-planting activity this year.
We are also trying to coordinate more community-based activities to reach-out to our surrounding population. We will be working with KUPU (MAHALO HAYDEN!!!!!), the Malama Learning Center (MLC) at Kapolei High School, and other community partners through work-sharing outreach activities. One such activity is a collaborative effort with KUPU, MLC, our Garden Club, the “Go Green” club at Kapolei High School, and the parents/families of our Garden Clubbers to do a Koa Out-planting activity this year.
Ecological:
Multiple Interactions Constantly Working Together at all Times in Places and
Spaces
I
really enjoyed and engaged in the article by Shawn Malia Kana’iaupuni, “Ka’akalai Ku Kanaka: A Call for Strengths-Based Approaches from a
Native Hawaiian Perspective,” for many reasons.
I believe the author offered honest critiques of our current histories
and systems which perpetuate our histories embedded within our educational and
social systems. To me, his approach and
perspective was ecological and helped me to think about what I’ve learned and
accepted as scientific fact. He speaks
of drawing on the strengths of groups or individuals as an impactful and
meaningful way to support individuals, families, and cultures. I feel this is what I am trying to establish
in my classroom and through our Garden Club.
I do have specific political, ideological, sociological, and perceptual agendas in mind. I am working to merge my personality and beliefs with my students in a way which gives each individual a voice to express their personality and beliefs. This is a constant work-in-progress as I continue to learn more about my ever-changing and growing students. It is also a temporal challenge because of the limited exposure I have with my students. At best, I can engage with them from kindergarten through 2nd grade in my STEM class, them possibly work with them in a different way through their 3rd-5th grade years with the Garden Club. This may seem like a huge chunk of their lives! It is, but each moment I engage with them becomes a precious place with immense internal and external pressures.
I do have specific political, ideological, sociological, and perceptual agendas in mind. I am working to merge my personality and beliefs with my students in a way which gives each individual a voice to express their personality and beliefs. This is a constant work-in-progress as I continue to learn more about my ever-changing and growing students. It is also a temporal challenge because of the limited exposure I have with my students. At best, I can engage with them from kindergarten through 2nd grade in my STEM class, them possibly work with them in a different way through their 3rd-5th grade years with the Garden Club. This may seem like a huge chunk of their lives! It is, but each moment I engage with them becomes a precious place with immense internal and external pressures.
Wrap
it up already…
My
Place at this time includes many interconnected and vitally important
elements. My place with my students is
constantly evolving and growing. My
place offers challenges, opportunities, and continued reflection. My place has limits; my place can be
limitless. This is what I think we all
feel through this process of self-discovery and educational evolution. We want to lead or support a revolution while
respecting and supporting what we believe to be just. We are all going through this journey
together while working in isolation in our own bubbles. I take solace in our connection and our
causes. I applaud and appreciate how we
can all see something different in the words we read, the concepts we share,
and the meanings we form. Thank you ALL
for engaging in my current Place… It will continue to change because of who you
are and how you support and challenge me.
My sense of Place matters because it is my way to give my students their
own voice. It matters because I have the
privilege to work with such amazing students and teachers. A’o is alive and well and will continue to
thrive…
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