What Supports You? | Hooray for Monday - Center for Inspired Teaching

December 27, 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 fall Jenna and I had the great pleasure of taking online improv classes with the incomparable Aretha Sills. Aretha is the granddaughter of Viola Spolin, the creator of improvisational theater, whose groundbreaking work not only revolutionized the training of actors, but also serves educators (as Viola states in this video) “as a learning system which can reach the intuitive power of the individual and release genius.” Improvisation is at the core of the Inspired Teaching approach: as teachers we welcome surprise – in the form of student questions, problems, and ideas – and we incorporate it into our lessons while remaining laser-focused on our objectives.

The class with Aretha connected us with kindred spirits across the country. Even in an online format, she kept us, literally, on our toes as she carried forward her family’s legacy of respectful, play-based learning.

During one activity, Aretha guided us on a random walk through our living rooms, basements, kitchens, wherever we were online. She sidecoached us, encouraging us to let our feet, then our spines, then our breath support us.

Her next prompt, a phrase she learned verbatim from Viola Spolin, posed a challenge that shifted something in me. She offered “Let the space support you.”

At first, I wondered how to incorporate her input. How could space provide support? I pondered this as both a question of physics and of mindset. Gravity, air pressure, and other forces surely keep my feet (mostly) on the ground and my body upright. But can I really count on those things – which are external and which I can’t control – to support me?

As I accepted Aretha’s challenge, I began to refocus my attention and notice the things that support me, including the ones I’d taken for granted. I was curious to note how these supports met the ABCDE’s – those psychological needs that must be fulfilled in order to learn. This noticing led to gratitude. Among my supports are…

My family (Belonging)
The wisdom I’ve gained from my mistakes over the years (Competence)
My colleagues (Belonging)
My daughter Isabel’s hilarious and incisive Twitter feed, including this recent tweet that went viral (Engagement)
The work of changemakers who knew how to create a legacy, including bel hooks and Stephen Sondheim (Engagement)
Kind words from teachers and students about what they’ve learned from me (Competence)
TV shows that are fun to watch, and brilliantly written (Engagement)
The times I get to be a student, including in Aretha’s classes and in my dance classes (Developmental Appropriateness)
Being able to get a really good night’s sleep (Autonomy)

Jenna was recently invited to testify in front of the Washington, DC State Board of Education on teacher wellbeing. As Jenna’s testimony explains, teachers must meet their students’ ABCDE needs in order to help them thrive. And in order for teachers to support students, we must first support ourselves.

As you come up for air this week, I invite you to make your own list of the things that support you.

Rest well, and let us know how Inspired Teaching can continue to support you in 2022. We look forward to it.

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.