6/17 Final Project Article Summaries

 

1) Recommitting to the Joyful Classroom by the editors of Rethinking Schools is an article that I was reading that explained to my why it's important for us to feel joy, at school and just in life. Our world can feel really messy and hard sometimes, and it can be hard to remember good things in the middle of all that. Having the feeling of joy isn't just being happy, though. Having joy means that we have a lasting sense of contentment, in spite of bad things. And it doesn't mean that bad things don't still happen or that we ignore them, but we can still use our imaginations, be kind, laugh, play, and love each other. We forget sometimes that bad things can't swallow us whole because they feel like that, but we can choose to walk a different path...the path of joy! This article was teaching me that school should be a place of fostering joy and teaching it to you guys. In order for us to get through hard times, we NEED to express joy by making music, writing, singing, running outside, dancing, laughing, and talking. There are so many creative and fun ways to feel joy. Do you think you have ever felt joy? What is your favorite joyful thing to do?

2) The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies by Christine Sleeter is another article I read that inspired me to talk to you guys. Sleeter was trying to share how important it is for people to understand their family's history. Who here knows stories about their ancestors? It's a really important thing to know where we come from and the history of our ancestors (the people in our family who came before us). It shapes our ideas of ourselves and colors in some of the blanks that we may have in our minds about who we are. This can be something that brings us joy and pride. One easy way to practice this it to ask your oldest relative if they know any stories about your ancestors (grandparents, great grandparents or even farther back). Then we can do some research to dig more into the places we come from and our backgrounds. We can see the joy in our family's lives by seeing the patterns of hardship, but also their perseverance and contentment!