Integrity - The Fourth I: Hooray for Monday - Center for Inspired Teaching

April 26, 2021

By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President, Center for Inspired Teaching

Hooray for Monday is a weekly blog filled with questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students.

This month we’re exploring Inspired Teaching’s 4 I’s.
Read previous posts on Intellect, Inquiry, and Imagination.

Integrity is often perceived as a simple and straightforward concept. But when Inspired Teaching codified our 4 I’s over a decade ago, we found Integrity to be the most complex, and we invested a lot of effort into defining it. I remember an hours-long conversation with my father, who was a federal judge, about the meaning of integrity. He boiled it down to taking seriously the power we have to impact other people; acknowledging the accompanying responsibility we have to educate ourselves; and doing our very best to understand an issue from as many perspectives as possible before taking any action.

Here’s how we define Integrity at Inspired Teaching:

Acting as a member of a democratic society. Demonstrating honesty: the ability to stand up for one’s beliefs; the confidence to make decisions according to one’s value system; the ability to listen to, respect, collaborate, and learn from others; and the capacity for empathy and compassion.

Today, April 26, 2021, it is as important as ever to put that definition into action:

In just this past week, we’re struggling to convince a fourth of the US population to trust our country’s leaders and agree to be vaccinated; we’re crying tears of relief at the conviction of Derek Chauvin while simultaneously crying tears of rage at more deaths of Black and brown people at the hands of police officers; and we’re rejoicing that the US House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill that would grant statehood to Washington, DC, while worrying the bill won’t pass the Senate and marveling at the fact that it has taken this long to convince our country’s lawmakers that residents of our nation’s capital deserve the same rights as all other citizens.

The events we hear, see and read about offer important opportunities to reflect with our students on the meaning of Integrity.

Here are just a few questions we can ask our students:

Many have demanded justice for George Floyd. Has justice been served? If so, is it enough? If not, now what?
What should the police force do?
What should our elected officials do?
And what can we, as citizens, do?
What part can we play in standing up for the things we believe in; respecting and collaborating with others; and not only exercising compassion and empathy but also taking action?
What is our responsibility to one another, and to ourselves, on issues that affect us nationally, and on issues that affect our communities?

Acting with integrity looks like preschoolers washing their hands and wearing their face masks to protect themselves and their friends. It looks like middle schoolers intervening when they observe bullying taking place online or in person. It looks like high schoolers organizing student-led discussions where students of different races share their views of, and experience with, law enforcement, as two friends did in this CNN video. And it looks like adult teachers showing patience and kindness when, even after a long day of teaching, a struggling colleague needs a listening ear.

When we act with integrity, we acknowledge that we are all interconnected. And we acknowledge that all of our actions matter. That reality can feel daunting. But recognizing that what we do matters can also be empowering.

Integrity belongs at the core of the school experience for students, and for teachers and school leaders. Next week’s post looks at the way all 4 I’s function together, and how truly inspired teaching simultaneously builds students’ Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, and Integrity.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.