Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dialogue
A Publication of the San Diego Area Writing Project Winter 2019
Inside This Issue: Peeling Back the Layers: Also in this issue:
Journaling to Build Summer Institute Fellows, p. 4
Building an Inclusive Emotional Intelligence
Project Notes, p. 10
and Purposeful Writing Judy Caraang, p. 11
Community: Including Student Call for Manuscripts, p. 15
Voice and Aspirations “Our campus embodies the be-
Calendar of Events, p. 16
lief that the future is the place we
Dr. Janet Ilko Ed.D, p. 2 create. What kind of future would
I be creating if all of my time was
“In thinking about today’s political managing behavior? Moreover, It's the little details that
climate, it is more important than what kind of future would my stu-
ever to help students define them-
are vital. Little things make
dents create if they didn’t have the
selves and create spaces to explore knowledge, skills, and dispositions big things happen.
their identity. Now more than ever to be leaders that elevate human- —John Wooden
we need—as educators, as people— ity? These questions kept me up at
to encourage and support a new night.” Christine Kané introduced the idea
narrative. It is easy to hate what you of micro-moments in her keynote
do not understand. It is easy to close Conversations address during SDAWP's 11th
the door on those without a history, annual Fall into Writing Confer-
a face, a story. We are at the per- in the Margins ence held on September 29, 2018
fect time to create a new narrative. at UCSD. She suggested that small
Callie Brimberry, p. 14
A narrative filled with truth, and moments are important and that
experiences, and have the robust “From improved annotating and simple changes in daily routines
and crucial conversations that push engagement with texts, to more can have a significant impact.
back on the narrative of hate and thoughtful and comprehensive es-
fear.” say and letter writing, to increased Educators are often met with
classroom participation amongst monumental challenges, but focus-
Othering students, parents, and the com- ing on incremental and attainable
munity—the successes are end- goals can lead to long-term and
Katie Martel, p. 5 less. More meaningful than all of wide-spread success.
the quantifiable achievements is
“We, as educators, need to remem- the knowledge that students felt As you peruse this issue of Dia-
ber this and teach our students that safe using their voices inside of the logue, the editors urge you to read
we, as humans, are more alike than classroom because our curricu- with Kané’s message in mind and
we are different; our differences lum taught them that their voices reflect upon the seemingly small
make us unique individuals who deserve to be heard everywhere steps you can take to increase stu-
have something different to contrib- else—in their homes, in their com- dent engagement in your classroom
ute and share with the community, and beyond.
munities, and in their futures.”
and those differences should be
celebrated…General education stu- Start where you are.
dents will be more understanding Spotlight on
and special education students will Young Writers' Camp Do what you can.
feel more accepted if we change the Summer 2018 Use what you have.
culture to be one where all students —Arthur Ashe
spend more time together.” pp. 8-9
create relevance and community for
kids who often do not feel connected
Building an Inclusive to this thing called school.
Early childhood
ible disabilities, they were seen and
As you read this, could you tell I was treated as they are; they were just
explain it to us,
different. We, as educators, need to to break special education students
remember this and teach our stu- into two different groups: Resource
are behaving
contribute and share with the com- turbed, epilepsy, attention deficit
munity, and those differences should disorder. We started off the year with
a particular way.
be celebrated. eight students and two aides.
Young
S Ethan Huntington
U
M An ingenious idea.
M A single seed.
E
R
W riters’
Buried deep within the depths
of the soil,
struggling to fracture,
Camp
then burst through its outer shell.
2
0 Your pencil hits the paper
1 as a minute seedling emerges,
9 burgeoning from the earth
like a space shuttle taking to the skies.
Mighty women
Shooting for the stars,
Reaching for the sun,
Rising to the moon,
Flying away to the good,
the kind,
the love,
the gold.
The infinite future
made of light,
glory,
How to Touch the Sky
and wonder. By Tina Li
It was the third week of third grade. Nickson, a strong academic stu- first to finish work. In math, Nick-
One student, Nickson, had yelled in- dent, struggled with impulse and son completed computation prob-
sults and profanities to yet another emotional control. Making and lems first and with ease. However,
child and the incident escalated to sustaining friendships were chal- in a math community where growth
him hitting and both kids crying. lenging. This was most evident with mindset is valued and providing evi-
This had become a familiar scene. his experiences on the playground. dence of your thinking is critical to
Many of us have had a student like While playing soccer, he would often the work, he would shut down and
Nickson in our classrooms—the stu- get angry with various calls made get angry.
dent that everyone knows by name, during play. Instead of negotiating
the student involved in many inci- or compromising rules—techniques I grappled with how to support
dents around campus, and whose that frequently worked with other Nickson and the others like him in
parents’ phone number we’ve mem- students—Nickson resorted to tac- my classroom. I was afraid that he
orized. It was going to be an excruci- was on the pathway to be another
atingly long year. statistic. Research has found that
...what kind of future as students promote through the
Our campus embodies the belief that grades and into high school, 40-60%
the future is the place we create. would my students become disengaged in school. In ad-
What kind of future would I be cre- dition, 30% of high school students
ating if all of my time was manag- create if they didn’t whose high-risk behavior interferes
ing behavior? Moreover, what kind with their academic success jeopar-
of future would my students create have the knowledge, dize their potential for life success
if they didn’t have the knowledge, (Collaborative for Academic Social
skills, and dispositions to be leaders skills, and dispositions and Emotional Learning, CASEL
that elevate humanity? These ques- study). I could not let this happen.
tions kept me up at night. to be leaders that
Understanding EQ,
Drawing on my previous experience elevate humanity? Emotional Intelligence
with behavior challenges, I went
through every strategy that I knew In his groundbreaking book, Emo-
would help: long lectures, review tics that would hurt others. The tional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
of rules and expectations, negative teams of students that were willing redefines what it means to be smart.
consequences, a phone call home to to play soccer, football, and basket- He argues that emotional intelli-
mom and dad. When all else failed, I ball with Nickson dwindled. Soon, gence is a leading factor in success
turned to the dreaded behavior con- his friendship circle was limited to over IQ, and that it plays a role in
tract. A behavior chart identifies key his twin brother and two other boys. thought, decision making, and indi-
behavior outcomes. These impulsive behaviors also car- vidual success. This spoke to me as
ried into the classroom. Learning I reflected on Nickson and the chal-
Each day, the student can receive a was often disrupted with his blurting lenges we were facing. Nickson’s
happy face for meeting the behavior and excessive talking. He avoided or emotional intelligence needed grow-
goals or sad face for not. The chart abandoned many tasks in favor of ing. Having identified six qualities
is sent home for parents to sign and disturbing his peers, and he refused in successful individuals, Goleman
five or more happy faces results in to complete work that required per- claims that people whose relation-
a reward agreed upon by parents. severance. For instance, our math ships flourished, who stood out in
This strategy can quickly modify be- projects—that included problem the workplace, and achieved physi-
haviors. In Nickson’s case, however, solving, providing data, and present- cal well-being had impulse control,
there was no change. Smiley faces ing findings—challenged Nickson social deftness, self-awareness, mo-
did not motivate him, and I could see and were often left unfinished. He tivation, persistence, and empathy.
his growing resentment towards the also had a competitive nature that It was time to reevaluate how I was
learning community. was fueled with a desire to be the approaching Nickson’s emotional
privacy and safety ways of handling conflicts. Nickson can grow the EQ needed to
be a leader that elevates humanity.
of his journal, Social Skills And with the tools learned at CASEL,
I can help other students achieve