Safe Spaces on Campus and Beyond (reading) and Class Norms Seminar

Class Biz'

• Keepin' it tidy time! (Block 3/4)
• See the homework page for this weekend's homework! 
• Bring in tea or Kleenex  

Today's Goals

1. Consider the ways in which prior conditioning (i.e. socialization, prior experiences) impacts your perspective.
2. Deconstruct this week's seminar readings and apply insights from the readings and your own brilliant minds to create a classroom environment and culture that can maximize our learning potential as well as our potential to flourish as human beings.

SEMINAR ESSENTIAL QUESTION:  What ideas from this week's readings would you want to incorporate into the way this class runs, and HOW should we incorporate those ideas?

Starter

 Don’t show anyone the card I gave you, but describe what you see!

Agenda

Starter Discussion

• I'll project an image on the board, and we'll discuss as a class what we see in the image.
• Defend your perspective!
• Takeaways?
• ​Sometimes we may be looking at the SAME thing but see DIFFERENT THINGS and can possibly BOTH be right. Moreover, consider how prior conditioning impacts your perspective!
• Turn and Chat: How does this apply to what we’ve studied? What we’re going to be studying? The world outside our classroom? How does this activity help you better communicate with people who don’t share the same perspective as you?  

Seminar Reading #3: “The Seduction of Safety, on Campus and Beyond” (Link to article is on my Documents page of this DP)

1. Journal on seminar questions listed below 

Seminar Questions from “The Seduction of Safety, on Campus and Beyond”

• Does one need to feel safe in order to be a successful learner? What else should a classroom environment/culture provide to be conducive to learning?
• How would you define “a safe space”?
• What do you need to feel safe?
• To what extent would you consider Animas’s communal areas and broader community to be a “safe space”?
  • What feels safe? What feels unsafe?
• To what extent have your classrooms at Animas been “safe spaces” in the past?
• What groups of students at Animas might feel less safe? How can we support these groups?
• What is “hate speech”? Do you believe free speech should protect hate speech? Why or why not?
• What does she mean on page 3 when she writes, "Those who mock the idea of safe space are most likely the same people who are able to take safety for granted.  We are also talking about privilege."?  What is your reaction to this?

Seminar prep
Please review the three seminar readings from this week and try to draw on all three of them for these questions:

1. What preconceived notions or prior beliefs did these readings challenge for you? (Think specifically about what you believed to be true about the world, school, yourself, other people)
2. What are your key takeaways from these readings? What ideas do you hope you’ll carry forward with you?  What ideas would you like to incorporate into our class culture and/pr how we run class?
3. Now take some time to review the seminar questions listed below and circle a few that you for sure would like to ask/discuss during seminar.  

 
Seminar

IF TIME: Begin class norms activity (described below)

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Seminar Questions from “The Seduction of Safety, on Campus and Beyond”

• Does one need to feel safe in order to be a successful learner? What else should a classroom environment/culture provide to be conducive to learning?
• How would you define “a safe space”?
• What do you need to feel safe?
• To what extent would you consider Animas’s communal areas and broader community to be a “safe space”?
  • What feels safe? What feels unsafe?
• To what extent have your classrooms at Animas been “safe spaces” in the past?
• What groups of students at Animas might feel less safe? How can we support these groups?
• What is “hate speech”? Do you believe free speech should protect hate speech? Why or why not?

Seminar Questions from “The Function of Education” by Krishnamurti

1. What kind of student do you want to be this year?
2. ​How do you want to engage with your education?  
3. What do you want junior year to be like for you and for our class?
4. What does Krishnamurti argue the function of education is? What is the THESIS of his essay?
5. What ideas/beliefs/values that seem core to our cultural/social/political lives as Americans does he call into question or challenge? Why? Do you agree that these things should be questioned/challenged/changed? What alternatives does he propose? What alternatives do you propse?
6. What push backs/challenges do you have for the author? With which ideas do you disagree or find problematic?
7. Does Animas create an environment where this is possible? Should we be aspiring to?

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Seminar Questions from “Willing to be Disturbed”

• Are you afraid of uncertainty? Is it more important to you to appear "certain", "on it", "correct"? 
• What is her thesis?  Why do we need to be willing to be disturbed according to the author? Why is certainty destructive to human relationships? Do you agree with the author?
• In what ways do you need to be challenged regarding your beliefs/perspectives? How can you do that? What role do you play in that process? How can  Ashley and your classmates best support you in challenging your beliefs?
• What are ideas that we as a society need to be “willing to be disturbed” on?
• To what extent do you feel safe to share your political views in class at AHS?
• Is it more important to speak or listen? To be a persuasive speaker or good listener?

Class Charter Creation
Driving Question: What norms and values do we want to guide our time together?

Why are we doing this?  We are doing this in order to create a classroom culture that will maximize learning! 

Norms v. Values Distinction
Norms: Socially-accepted codes of conduct set by a community/group/society 
Values:  Beliefs an individual has to guide his/her behavior
*Typically a value underlies a norm. For instance, if we implement the norm that everyone must raise their hand, we might value equal participation, calmness, structure.  If we set a norm that we  do appreciations at the end of each week, we must value appreciation and the expression of gratitude, etc....

Part 1: Create Class Values (40 min)
This will ultimately end in a class constitution of sorts.  What do we value in this class?

• Count off by 4.
• Split into groups, go into different corners of the classroom
• 5 min- brainstorm on sticky notes things that we value in this class (one item per sticky)
• 10 min- group, combine, winnow.  Get to 5 that your group agrees on.
• Merge with another group.
• 10 min- Share your qualities, group, combine, winnow.  Get to 5.
• Merge two big groups.
• 10 min- Both groups share their qualities.  Combine where appropriate/easy.

Part 2: NORMS
Values mean nothing until the rubber hits the road.  Unless you show it in action, can you really say that you truly value it?

• Values listed on boards
• Students in pairs
• We value __________, so we____________
• Brainstorm together for a few minutes.  Then hit at LEAST 3 of the values on the board and finish the sentences!
• Come back together, gallery walk.  Put a star next to the sentences that really stand out to you.  Ashley will compile the top choices!