Tag Archives: Anastasis Academy

The Importance of Service Learning

At Anastasis Academy, service learning is just a part of who we are. It’s vital to helping students understand their identity within a community, but also to learn about other people and places. We value getting kids out of their own bubbles to expand their experiences and get to know other people, and we feel that it broadens their sense of self in such positive ways. Most importantly, we help our students to honor the humanity in all people– noting that we have so much more in common than we might assume.

Service learning can be tricky.

If we approach these opportunities from a place of privilege from which we are “blessing” others with our presence, especially with language like “serving the less fortunate,” we create a kind of dichotomy for the kids where they see themselves as “more fortunate.”  This type of mindset is extremely unhealthy and often deeply steeped in racism and classism. Regardless of the demographics of a school, this savior-like mindset manifests some really ugly ideas around serving your community, and it reinforces dehumanizing tropes about how people live.

Sometimes, the intention of service learning opportunities can come from a desire to do good for people in your community, but making assumptions about what other people need without listening or learning first is really misguided. Good intentions can cause more problems than they solve, and we should be able to look at our intentions with some humility. Additionally, there are often people already doing the work within a community, and it’s much better to ask around, see who is already doing the work, and ask if they could use any help. If they say yes, then this is a great learning opportunity to listen to someone who has the experience. If they say no, it’s an equally great learning opportunity that you don’t always have the skillset to do what is needed.

 

Taking the time to do service learning right must be planned with a well-defined vision.

When service learning is planned carefully, including a lot of scaffolding for students, kids learn that serving others in their community is something an involved citizen does regularly… that when we take care of each other and learn from each other, we are all better for it. Service learning looks different from that perspective. It might involve working with our actual neighbors, local businesses and organizations, with similar visions of community outreach.

At Anastasis, service learning has looked different for each age group of kids, but the process was the same when we did it well.

We work very diligently to cultivate relationships with our service learning partners. The key to successful partnerships is an ongoing relationship… a “one and done” trip in the name of service would seem more like checking some kind of “do-gooder list.” That wasn’t the kind of process we were looking for when we first started. Ongoing partnerships meant committing to regular visits and learning about how our students could best learn from our partners. Our service learning coordinators, a role I have held for only a few years at Anastasis, spent a lot of time working with organizations to see what might be a “good fit,” and how we might best partner with them in helpful ways.

Over the years, some of our learning partners needed assistance fundraising or collecting and organizing items with the community– organizations such as food banks, family services, women’s and children’s shelters, etc. Sometimes, the act of service was spending time with people in different types of programs. Depending upon the age of the students, the partnerships might look different from class to class. We prepared students in advance about their learning partners, doing research or sometimes bringing in organizations as speakers before we made our first trips.

Bowling With Grandfriends – photo by me, March 9, 2016

One of my favorite examples (pre-Covid): our youngest students in the school visited nearby assisted living facilities on a monthly basis. Over time, we built relationships with the residents, affectionately known as our grandfriends, and looked forward to every visit. Prior to our first trip, teachers would spend time with their students discussing the value of elders in our community, the stories they share with us, and what it means to them when young people visit them and are eager to learn. It was important to help younger students understand a little about the aging process. At first, especially for kids who don’t have regular visits with older relatives or friends, an elderly person might be intimidating to a five or six year old child. Sometimes, we brought in older community members to share stories with the class at school. The more we were able to “front-load” and prepare kids for their first visits, the more successful the relationship with our service partners.

For activities to share with our grandfriends, we played games or made crafts that we could do together, and that also gave us time to get to know each other better. Sometimes, we’d practice some songs, especially from popular music in the 1940s or 50s, so we could sing something that our grandfriends knew and loved. Bonus… our kids learned new songs and spent time thinking about why lyrics about “a bicycle built for two” might have been more popular during that time than a popular song now.

 

What our students gain from our service learning partners is invaluable.

The service learning trips might seem unimportant to someone on the outside… maybe even “non-academic” or an interruption to instructional time. What we have witnessed through the years, however, is that these opportunities enhance every part of our students’ learning.  Even the youngest students in our school (usually 5 year olds) can speak to the impact of interacting with organizations outside our school.

One day, my class of “littles” visited our grandfriends and ended our activities with everyone singing “You Are My Sunshine.” The kids had been practicing the song for a few weeks, so they could remember all the words to the single verse and chorus they were planning to sing. One of their grandfriends that year was a mostly non-verbal woman who didn’t interact much when we played games; but the day we sang that song, her eyes were bright, she was smiling, and she sang along. The kids noticed and could not stop talking about it for the rest of the day. When we arrived back at school, they ran into the office, “Mrs. Tenkely! Mrs. Tenkely! Ya-Ya SANG with us, and she was smiling!!” One of the little boys in that class was so happy for Ya-Ya, that he cried happy tears.

This is one example of kids, even five or six years old, realizing that they can have a positive impact on another human being, just by being there and interacting. How we view service learning can help set kids up with wanting to make a difference… to be part of something bigger than themselves… even if it’s actually a small activity like singing together… that culminates in learning about others and partnering together for something good.

I have sooo many anecdotes* of kids realizing they matter when it comes to the people in their community; but most importantly, I could share even more stories of students seeing how much the people in their community matter as well.

If we want to help students become good citizens, we have to help them see that we’re all a part of a community, and that every single person in the community is important— how we care for, look out for, help, and advocate for each other makes the community better for us all. At a time when we think our society is so divided (or divisive), partnering with people in our community can be important first steps into bringing us all back together.

I cannot tell you the number of times kids have returned from a service learning trip – regardless of what it was – with excitement about meeting new people and having new experiences. Knowing they are part of the collective humanity helps them find purpose, and for that, I’m profoundly grateful to be a small cog in this operation.

 

Interested in more information about service learning… or wondering how you can make it work in a school that doesn’t look like Anastasis? Let me know!

 

p.s. Kelly Tenkely and I discuss learning environments, teacher and student agency, service learning, field trips, and much more on our podcast, Dreams of Education. I hope you’ll give it a listen!

Dreams of Education Podcast

Dreams of Education Podcast

It’s happening! As Kelly has noted numerous times:

Does the world need another podcast? Probably not, but we’re doing one anyway!

The Dreams of Education podcast is coming your way soon!

Anastasis doesn’t have a building right now, so we are not in session. The last school year was rough… really rough. For a lot of reasons, many of which I can’t put in print yet, we were unable to make this school year happen. So, Kelly thought it would be a good idea to capture our history, how we were able to start a school from the ground up, and share with anyone who feels like listening!

We recorded our first episode today, and it was fun walking through memory lane… but it was also very rewarding to think through how we started and what we were able to build as a community.

In the meantime, if you want to wander through the archives here or at Kelly’s blog, Dreams of Education, you’ll find a lot of the stories we’re planning to discuss more in depth on the podcast. Hope you’ll join us for the journey!

Hard Reset

In August, I started my 24th year in education. (I think my math is correct there.) It was the first time in nine years that I wasn’t in the classroom full time. August 20 was our official first day of school at Anastasis, and it felt a little odd not to have a classroom.

And now it’s December 3. My last blog post was from June. I feel like I’ve been slacking, but I really haven’t. I guess it takes about five months for me to adjust to a new role with new responsibilities. I’m hoping to do better and write at least once a month in this space.

My new role at Anastasis is exciting! I’m taking over the tech position in our school from Kelly Tenkely‘s many, many roles. I also continue to teach Music and will direct our annual theater production in the spring. And something I’m really excited for… I’m working with our Anastasis teachers on a regular basis! Part of that responsibility includes coaching, co-teaching, and teaching a mathematical exploration class (more on this in another post!)  in every classroom at least once a week. I loved having a professional development role in the past, and it will be so amazing to live in that world again!

Because Anastasis is not a traditional education model, our titles aren’t either. The written title on my business card has been “Inspiration Engineer.” I love that title. Even though my official title falls somewhere between instructional coach and administrative lead, those words don’t remind me of my mission every single day. Inspiration Engineer does.

As I gear up toward my 50th birthday this coming January, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on my physical, mental, and emotional well-being. A few years back, my oxygen ran out, and I had to rethink how I was living my life. I allowed my professional life to take over every aspect of myself, including the way I viewed who I was.

I recently listened to a podcast by Rob Bell (The RobCast – episode 204) where he talked about the concept of menuha. In Hebrew, menuha means “rest,” “ease”, or “tranquility.” I found myself nodding along numerous times as Bell talked about this concept of rest in a culture that glorifies busyness. As I was listening, I kept thinking back to the work ethic that was instilled in me – which isn’t a bad thing – but how there is very little room for rest. For slowing down. For intentionally taking the time to stop, reflect, and simply move more slowly.

My brain doesn’t like to slow down. I wake up, sometimes multiple times in the night, with a to-do list forming in my brain. I can’t fall asleep if I read before bed – too many thoughts spiraling. Thanks to some mind-numbing repeat television shows, I can bore myself to sleep most nights. Slowing down and providing my brain some rest is one thing I can do for myself.

If you do a search for people and their top five regrets late in life, working too much is right up there. For so many people, there’s never a choice about how much to work. Bills have to be paid. Your family needs to eat. Work isn’t an option… it’s a necessity. For me, I can say there is definitely a discrepancy between the amount of work I do versus what I really need to do to help provide for our basic needs.

So this year includes another “hard reset.” Re-focus. Re-prioritize. What can my health and my body realistically handle… and what leads me down a path of “too much?” Where is menuha prioritized in my life?

Stepping out of the classroom was a good first attempt. I’m also working only four days a week, instead of five. Fridays are now titled “Free-Wheeling Fridays” on my calendar… even if those Fridays are more about down time and rest than any actual free-wheeling.

Pikes Peak view

My view of Pikes Peak from home CC licensed photo Michelle K. Baldwin

Maybe because I’m edging up on a big birthday, or maybe with age comes more contemplative thought, I’ve just been thinking more… I don’t want to look back at my life and regret working too much. I want to be able to enjoy simple things. I want to be more present at home and with my husband. I want to enjoy our gorgeous view from home, sit and cuddle my dogs, do nothing else, and not feel guilty about doing nothing. <— When I can achieve zero guilt for sitting and doing nothing for a few hours, I will feel successful. I’m not there yet, but there’s hope.

So… that’s what I’ve been up to lately. How about you?

Dreams Fulfilled

As the school year came to a close for us this past May, I realized that I had just finished my 20th year in education: six years in 7-12 vocal music, eight years as a technology professional development coordinator, two years in elementary general music, and the last four as a teacher at Anastasis Academy.

At each stage in my education career, I have loved working with my students, both children and adults. But somehow, I always felt something was missing. I didn’t always like that students were required to learn a certain way or a pre-defined set of skills and concepts… and that I was required to teach in a certain way. It didn’t seem like real learning to me.

A good friend of mine, Sharon Comisar-Langdon (who just retired after 34 years!) visited Colorado a while back. It was great to catch up with Sharon and her husband, Randy. I found myself going on and on and on about how much I loved Anastasis and the incredible opportunities we have for our students. At one point, Sharon remarked, “Michelle, what you’re doing at this school is what we ALL went into education to do.”

That statement has stuck with me since that time, and she was right. I have never been happier as a teacher than I am now – watching our students at Anastasis grow in their confidence, ask amazingly deep questions, and become excited about learning! This is a place where students LOVE school. This is a place where teachers love school!

I watched a lot of my teacher friends post countdowns to summer break on Facebook and other social media sites a few months back, and I realized at the time, I had no idea how many days we had left. As much as I enjoy sleeping in occasionally during the summer, I’m not excited for summer break anymore. I miss my students! I miss the joy of learning I am so privileged to witness in those children every single day.

I didn’t mean this to sound like a commercial for our school, but more a testament to what happens when you stick your neck out and do something DIFFERENT. Anastasis is different.

To Kelly Tenkely (who is actually celebrating a birthday today), I express my profound gratitude. Thank you for thinking, “why not me? Why shouldn’t I just start my own school?” Thanks for writing a blog post that started Anastasis. Thank you for making a place where people WANT to be – what I have always loved about teaching and learning happens because of your dreams and drive to make them happen.

This also makes me wonder… why don’t more of us do this? Why don’t we stand up to the lawmakers, those who make and enforce policy, and demand what’s best for kids? Why do we insist on “fixing a broken system” with more of the same things that make kids unhappy? Learning should be an experience that is enjoyable, challenging, and based on the needs of each child. I don’t see that happening in most places.

My friend, George Couros, often asks, “Would you want to be a kid in your classroom?” I can truly answer an enthusiastic YES to that question now… and I wish my own children could have experienced learning in this school as well.

As a child, I knew that I wanted to become a teacher, because I love learning… and I wanted to share that love and joy with others. As much as I enjoyed my previous experiences, there was always something missing. Teaching at Anastasis is not just a job. Now I am able to share my passion about learning with our students. As Sharon noted, I get to do what I always dreamed about doing. The smiles on their faces, the realization you see in their eyes when they learn something on their own terms, the pride they feel when they see their progress, and the joy they experience because they know they’re in a place that honors them as unique individuals – THAT is what I wanted to be able to experience when I dreamt about going into teaching. Dreams fulfilled.