What does it mean to be human?
I couldn’t possibly articulate all of the things that I learned
at the KATE conference. It was absolutely an invaluable experience for me as a
future teacher, as a student, and also as an individual.
From Laura Packer’s workshops on storytelling to Mrs.
Harrison’s lesson on how authors build empathy, to Mrs. Tolbert’s presentation
on integrating art into the classroom, much of what I absorbed will (hopefully)
be forever in my mind when it comes time to build my own curriculum. (In fact,
both Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Tolbert’s presentations have already influenced
changes in my unit plan.)
While the best thing I took away from the KATE conference
was an idea that was fostered throughout my two days of workshops and
presentations, this idea was not a teaching practice that I graciously copied into
my notebook, or a new perspective on an ordinary assignment that I scribbled a
messy star next to on a handout. This idea is that connections are an important
part of being human.
I’m not talking about connections that lead to a job
interview (although those most certainly have their place). I’m talking about
the connections that two humans make when they really let those barriers down
and are open and vulnerable with one another. The connections that were
reinforced within the cramped space of my tiny two door car, on our way to lunch or to the social gathering. The unexpected
conversations that occurred across a small wooden table in the back of a dimly lit
restaurant, full of chatter. This conference gave me the opportunity to get
close to people. People I see fairly frequently but talk to on sometimes no more
than a surface level. The opportunity to really listen and to be heard. And although we may never again speak of the
stories that were told or may never open up in such away again, a bond has been
strengthened and I have gained a new respect for these people.
Through all of this, I find myself at peace with the
struggles that exist in the very near future. We all connected.
We connected on a deeper level.
I was reminded how to be human. I
was reminded of what it is like to exist outside of myself.
If I could only take one thing away
from this conference, it would be that connections are crucial to the human
experience. I think that this is something we can (read: need to) use in our
classrooms as teachers. It is important for our students to see us as people
but it is just as important (if not more important) for us to see our students
as people. As individuals. As humans. Humans with stories to tell. Stories that
don’t necessarily require any more of a response than a simple acknowledgement.
We need to remember how to be
human. We need to remember what it is like to exist outside of ourselves.
