Meta-Reflection #2: The Connection between Community, Culture and Media (Topic 6) and Resilience (Topic 11)
Adolescence and the building of resilience ties very closely to their lives in the community, their culture and the media. Resilience is defined as "[the] capacity to develop normally under difficult conditions" (McMahan & Thompson, 2015). "Difficult conditions" could mean many different thing; it could range from losing a loved one, being affected by war, to being bullied or going through a rough patch at school. However all of this comes down to one term: adversity. Adversity, at some point affects everybody, but we cannot let that prevent us from moving forward. Having a secure community and fostering a supportive culture, whether it exists at home, at school or both, it is really important to stay connected and not face situations alone. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to create that kind of atmosphere for all of our students. As mentioned in Dr. Ginsburg's "The 7 C's", "connection" is extremely important because it gives adolescents a connection to their community that "offer[s...] the security that allows them to stand on their own and develop creative solutions" (Ginsburg, N/A).
Accordingly, a negative community and or media culture can be extremely detrimental for an adolescent. As discussed in the interactive lecture for topic 11, a negative and unsupportive community can cause rumination, which means that "[people] dwell on negative events, in turn amplifying long-term significance of negative factors" (McMahan & Thompson, 2015). As mentioned in the textbook, people who ruminate tend to take on symptoms of depression which can lead to further mental issues down in he future. Having a negative media presence can often lead to cyberbullying and other forms of bullying that can lead to lowering of self-esteem, which can further fester/amplify into other problems. The development of resilience in early adolescence can really help students to cope with these types of issues.
As a teacher, we actually have a lot of influence on how our students feel, in terms of comfort, inclusion, and trust. If they have strong and healthy relationships, they are more likely to be able to cope with adversity, and less likely to resort to extremes, such as drug and/or substance abuse, depression, etc ((McMahan & Thompson, 2015). As teachers, we can develop a healthy community by being inclusive and forming a friendly environment where everybody feels comfortable. For example, making a classroom dynamic that is inclusive and welcoming, such as having desks arranged in clusters rather than individually in rows, to promote discussion and communication amongst the classroom. Or using gender-inclusive language such as saying "you all" or "folks" rather than saying "you guys" and "boys and girls" (ISMSS, 2015). We can promote positive social media/online communities by teaching students how to use social media for beneficial end results. By teaching adolescents about how social media can connect them to the world through community involvement, careers, the news, etc. it provides a community of informed people who care less about the "egocentric" ways of social media, transforming them from the "I and me", to "we"(Cormier, 2015). By having adolescents use social media to get involved with the world, they rely less on the number of likes that they get, but instead they care more about what is happening in the world around them and how their ideas can help and make a difference.
Adolescents who form these meaningful types of relationships in the community create a group of individuals who are resilient. This type of community creates adolescents who are ready to confront the world, knowing that at some point they will face adversity, but are willing to take that risk and have the courage and willpower to deal with it. This kind of community will create a community of world changers; the concept of generation Z. These individuals will bring change to the world, and will be resilient and aware enough to do it.
Teachers also learn a lot from these experiences too. Seeing how adversity can impact an adolescent is very difficult. Many times you are able to help these adolescents get through the problems, and prevent them from happening or becoming more severe. However, there are other times where things go out of your control. This serves as a really big professional development learning experience for teachers. It allows for teachers to form relationships with the broader professional community. Rather than tackling something on your own, forming a team with school psychologists and community counsellors can be extremely advantageous for you and your students. You learn that sometimes your student needs to be directed to somebody else to get the help and support they need. By forming a team, you are never really alone; you are always a part of a community. This is very much like what we see with the students. By forming a classroom community that is strong and supportive, whether that student is going through a rough patch at home or their life, they will always have at least one supportive community to help them through it. It is our role as teachers to provide that community. Every student's situation is different, and we learn right along with them on figuring out how to get through it and build resilience.
Below, I have included some interesting resources that teachers can use to foster a positive and inclusive classroom community, while also helping students to build skills to be resilient. Some of these resources have been taken and repeated from my past reflections, however some are new. Please take a look and explore how community and resiliency are very interconnected, and how we as teachers can form very efficient, productive, strong and welcoming classrooms that students feel comfortable and productive in.
Resources:
Cormier, D. (2015). Class Notes on Topic 6. University of Alberta. Unpublished.
Cormier, D. (2015). Class Notes on Topic 11. University of Alberta. Unpublished.
Ginsburg, K. (N/A). Fostering Resilience: The 7C's. Vimeo. http://www.fosteringresilience.com/7cs.php
Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services (ISMSS). (2015). University of Alberta.
Laurence, JK. (2009). Community Resilience: Models, Metaphors and Measures. Journal de la Sante Autochtone. National Aboriginal Health Organization. http://www.naho.ca/jah/english/jah05_01/V5_I1_Community_04.pdf
McMahan, I. & Thompson, S. (2015). Adolescence: Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson.
Sagor, R. (1996). Building Resiliency in Students. Creating a Climate for Learning. 54(1): p. 38-43. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept96/vol54/num01/Building-Resiliency-in-Students.aspx
The Landing. (2015). Gender Pronouns. University of Alberta. Print.
Tomaszewski, J. (2012). Study Suggests Benefits of Social Media in the Classroom. Education World. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/study-suggests-social-media-has-place-in-classrooms.shtml#sthash.hH3kNqVo.dpuf
White, S. (2014). Generation Z: The kids who’ll save the world?. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/giving/generation-z-the-kids-wholl-save-the-world/article20790237/?page=all
Wormelli, R. (2014). Motivating Young Adolescents. Motivation Matters. 72(1): 26-31. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept14/vol72/num01/Motivating-Young-Adolescents.aspx
The above article talks about the benefits that social media can bring to the classroom. It uses insightful research and teacher/student experiences to really reflect on why it can prove to be an advantage in today's classrooms.
This article talks about the concept of "Generation Z" as I mentioned in my reflection. This article was provided to us to read prior to lecture. I would highly recommend reading through it to understand why this generation's media can benefit your students in the classroom, and how you can use it to your advanage.
This is a chart that shows a list of pronouns that a teacher can use to create a more gender-inclusive classroom. Different people use different pronouns to address themselves, so being aware of these can really help us make a welcoming environment. This chart is brought to us by The Landing, a student service available to promote Safe Spaces here at the University of Alberta.
Here I have integrated a website that teachers can use to foster a motivational environment in their classroom.
The above journal article achieves many different things for teachers. Firstly it provides teachers wuth a thoughtful understanding of what resilience is, and secondly, it provides ways for us as teachers to teach and assess resiliency in the classroom. Taking a read through this may provide you some nice tips on what you can do to build resiliency in your students.
The article above talks about the interconnectedness of community and building resilience. Though this takes us away from the classroom and online communities, it is important to recognize the close tie these two factors have together. This article is based in Canada, and is refering to Canadian Aboriginal communities, It provides us with a completely different perspective on a different community.