Blog Post #10: “The Future of Healing” by Shawn Ginwright (Argument)

    In “The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement” by Shawn Ginwright, he discusses a new strategy that is aimed at building more "resilient youth," thus, transitioning out of the prior approach of Trauma-Informed Care. That approach "guides and directs how we view the impact of severe harm on young people’s mental, physical, and emotional health." In and out of a school setting, this typically involves therapy and counseling. However, some of the primary concerns includes this care is sometimes being rooted in treating the symptoms of trauma and hurt, rather than strengthening the whole person and focusing on all of their experiences, and their prosperity. Healing Centered Engagement, instead, concentrates on “what’s right with you” rather than “what happened to you.” It is more holistic and humanistic, as well as collective, considering trauma is commonly not a solely individual experience, and it is one that takes into account numerous contexts. This means that this engagement is more broad-- looking at social justice issues as a gateway towards social action, equality, and advocacy of proper policies, including those regarding mental health. Cultural contexts also play a role, both in terms of the trauma and the healing. For example, discrimination of races and ethnicities are frequent, in addition to intergenerational trauma. Furthermore, different cultures may have different healing principles, such as African drumming circles. Analyzing trauma, and how to remedy, and mend it, is not an easy task, and viewing the "bigger picture" allows for more and more people to benefit from these new strategies.

Comment/Point of Discussion: The statement, "Everyone wants to be happy, not just have less misery" really stuck out to me, not just as a good comprehensive line of the concept of Healing Centered Engagement, but also as a motto to live by. A journey to joy and contentment should not just involve the 'bare minimum,' as that does not heal anything. I think that this also can connect to not having the mindset of "destination happiness," which is the idea of thinking things like "when I go on that vacation, I'll be happy," or "if I lose ten pounds, I'll be happy." Focusing on the present moment can be a tool is fostering well-being.

Hyperlink:  What is Holistic Health? Overview and Career Outcomes St. Catherine University https://www.stkate.edu › healthcare-degrees › what-is-hol...

Blog Post #9: Semester Review

What stands out/has stuck with me?: 

Five Tricks Card Game ~

    The card game we did in class was very impactful because I think that it perfectly connected to the points we were learning in class, as proposed by Lisa Delpit, which is that there is a culture of power. We must be taught the rules of this culture, because if not, you'll be left will some feelings of inadequacy. When we played the card game, personally, I stopped trying completely half-way through, and just went along with the more "dominant" players' rules, because it was easier than feeling confused and trying to figure everything out. It was interesting to see the different viewpoints of my classmates after we finished the activity, because it displayed the different roles that people took on, and how that illustrates those in society with, and without power. 

Alfie Kohn: "What to look for in a classroom" ~

    The chart we looked at by Kohn has stuck with me because it is a concise tool that provides a nice perspective on the positive and negatives aspects of classrooms-- some of which I hadn't really thought of before. I have even used him as a lens when looking at the classroom that I am in for my Service Learning. 

Service Learning (+ the class discussions about them) ~

    I think that my experience volunteering in a Kindergarten classroom at Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School this past semester will stay with me for a long time, as it has given me insights, relationships (both with the students and the teacher), and memories that I know I'll cherish. I'm glad that these FNED courses give myself and my peers the opportunity to be involved in this kind of 'field work.' In addition, the fact that we take the time to discuss Service Learning in class has been beneficial because it has taught me tips on how to manage behaviors, connect with ESL students, advocate for yourself, and more!

(image from school website of Robert F. Kennedy)

Hyperlink: Other books by Alfie Kohn

Blog Post #8: "RI Laws and Policies" & "Woke Read Alouds" by Woke Kindergarten (Reflection)

       Reading "Guidance for Rhode Island Schools on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students" from RIDE, and listening to "Woke Read Alouds" by Woke Kindergarten, made me think about all of the people that I personally know that have grappled with their identity. As early as 6th grade, I have been a witness to classmates go through a transition from one gender to another, or alter their pronouns to reflect their connection to the binary of gender, typically requesting to now go by "they/them." I have always felt an admiration and an empathy for these peers, because it is a courageous act to defy gender norms and proclaim a new identity during one's emerging adolescence, as others can be very judgmental and even hateful about it, especially in a time and place where it is not very common, or praised. There would be many instances in middle and high school where a student would have to go up to the substitute teacher before they called attendance, to ensure that they'd yell out their preferred name, rather than their legal one listed on the attendance sheet. Additionally, I'd hear several teachers neglect to refer to these students using their preferred pronouns and gender, even if they had them in their class for a while. However, this may not always come from a place of malice. As both the text and the video express, there is often a lack of education on these concepts and terms, so, for some people, it may take a little longer to adjust to them, understand them, and even fully accept them, within a society where they are becoming more and more utilized. This topic can be a point of contention for people even in the same family, as older generations feel "against" the idea, while a lot of the younger generation want to simply do their best to respect how another person may identify or express themselves. Although all of this has become more normalized, there is still a stigma around it, as well as existing issues of harassment, bullying, discrimination.

Comment/Point of Discussion: I can recall two instances that occurred during my senior year of high school-- one involving hate speech being used on a social media post towards a gay classmate, and the other involving my classmate's car being vandalized with hurtful words about their change of name and pronouns. This is why I think installing and maintaining laws and policies in schools about sex and gender can help to create a safe and inclusive environment where both students and educators can show basic respect towards those who are already struggling internally with the way they view themselves, and how others view them, as well.

Hyperlink: Resources