It went… well? Is it safe to say that? I asked an administrator, and his words were, “It went about as well as the first day of advisory could go.” I waited for a shoe to fall. It didn’t. ”Why are you doing, this advisory work, is it related to your dissertation?”
No. I told him I wanted to be involved in activism and in scholarship. I am not a white savior, I told him, but I believe very much in the connection between research and being on the ground in schools. He can relate, as he already has his PhD. He said that sometimes it’s “too much,” inside the school building. That statement was heavy and powerful.
But advisory. Went. Well. Students sat in circles. A couple students said they thought it was fun. Others thought it was neat they were with their friends. Teachers thought it went well. Some expressed good concerns. What about the Spanish speakers? (I’m hoping they can get fluent English/Spanish speakers to work with the non-English speaking kids to interpret, but I probably need to be more explicit.) What about if they didn’t finish the lesson plans that already went out?
The lead guidance counselor and I sent an email to the staff. We thanked them for expanding their comfort zones–doing something they don’t normally do–working with another adult the entire time inside their classrooms. And also helping students feel safe, creating a community inside their unique advisory space.
Tomorrow is Day 2. I’ll be back. Today a few students from the leadership class and I stuffed the teacher’s boxes with large purple sheets of butcher paper so they can make a contract of norms which all students will sign in their advisories tomorrow. The students started talking, and I got rich stories from them. One whose siblings, like me, study at UT. Law. Math. Business. The students said they were worried about how to manage college, about how to pay for it. One of the students told me her mom left her dad because of problems the parents were having; she was explicit. I told her my dad died when I was seven; I was sorry. The other one said she was teased by her brothers and sisters because she didn’t know her dad. ”They have a different story every time I ask.”
Working so briefly with students… seeing hope. Powerful. I miss the classroom and am glad to have the small connection I do through advisory.
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