• Home
  • ABOUT
  • Knowledge Base
    • About Writing
    • Content-Area Literacy
    • Digital Learning
    • English Learners
    • Equity & Access
    • Leading Professional Learning
    • Program Design
    • Teacher as Writer
    • Teacher Inquiry
  • Blog
    • Events & Opportunities
    • NWP Radio
    • Marginal Syllabus
  • Books
  • Contact
  • NWP.org
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • Knowledge Base
    • About Writing
    • Content-Area Literacy
    • Digital Learning
    • English Learners
    • Equity & Access
    • Leading Professional Learning
    • Program Design
    • Teacher as Writer
    • Teacher Inquiry
  • Blog
    • Events & Opportunities
    • NWP Radio
    • Marginal Syllabus
  • Books
  • Contact
  • NWP.org

Teacher as Community Member/Teacher as Connector

231 views 0

Author: Danielle Filipiak

Summary: This multi-generational dialogue explores the ways in which teachers can strengthen their classrooms’ connection to communities, neighborhoods, and other contexts that their students navigate.

Original Date of Publication: October 6, 2013


This discussion featured panelists: Tolu Olorundu, Nicole Mirra, and Joshua Nelson, each of whom talked about the ways they thought about generating stronger connections between classrooms and the community. The inter-generational dialogue that occurred was phenomenal in that it gave teachers an opportunity to witness how a discussion comprised of individuals from varying backgrounds might be held with care and respect. There are moments where the adults in the discussion, for instance, call upon Josh, who is less vocal in the conversation, to offer his perspective on the issues at hand. As a young adult, Josh offers a unique perspective that, while important, could have easily been overlooked had Tolu and Nicole spoken over him and did less prodding.

Some guiding questions related to teacher’s role as a connector and community member:

  • What does it mean to be part of a school community? A neighborhood?
  • How does a teacher connect content to the multiple contexts that students navigate? Why are these connections important?
  • What kinds of relationships happen around this work and how are they built and maintained?
  • How does a teacher make the connections between the classroom and the community more explicit?

Related Resources

  • Understanding Community Literacies as Foundational to Teaching Excellence
  • The Politics of Correction: How We Can Nurture Students in Their Writing and Help Them Learn the Language of Power
  • Honoring the Word: Classroom Instructors Find That Students Respond Best to Oral Tradition

Original Source: The Current, http://thecurrent.educatorinnovator.org/resource/5691

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
Tags:communityadvocacyculturally relevant/responsive

Would you recommend this resource to others?

Yes  No
ABOUT

write.learn.lead. is a collection of resources, insights, and reflections from National Writing Project teacher-leaders. You can also find us at nwp.org and Educator Innovator.

SEARCH BY TAG
advocacy argument badge Badges bibliography civic engagement college/university community coronavirus curriculum dual language early childhood elementary environmental studies family genre grammar/correctness history immigrant journalism marketing math mentor/thinking partner middle/high school multimodal music new teachers on-demand writing online learning parent involvement poetry policy preservice reading/writing connection reflective practice research school-year program science/math social justice standards student samples study group technology writing group writing process
NWP Logo
NWP ON THE WEB
NWP.org
Educator Innovator
The Current
STAY CONNECTED WITH NWP
Get more great resources on teaching and writing delivered to your inbox every month by subscribing to our Write Now Newsletter.
  • © 2020 National Writing Project. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use