What does it mean to be human?

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.