Feedback on a Day-Long Workshop

I recently received this generous comment from English Language Arts teacher Gretchen Miller after she took my day-long course called “Explore and Integrate Transformative Elements of Global Citizenship into Curriculum and Mindsets”:

“After 12 years of teaching on three continents I feel, deeply, the vital responsibility to instill global and cultural competence in my students. During my workshops with Homa, she empowered me to feel equipped and driven to meet these needs. She gave me the assurance that I am not alone in what drives me to teach – empowering and inspiring youth thought, consideration, and action. Our time together touched the origin of what energizes and excites educators. It also empowered me to shed the unnecessary aspects embedded in my teaching and encouraged me to make each moment count toward “becoming a friend to the whole human race.” Through her lens, I see my teacher-self as one who is in the business of happiness. My responsibility is to help my students meet that universal desire for meaningful relationships and purposeful contribution. I walked away with tools to make our learning personal by: opening with rich starts, zooming in and zooming out as we strive for global connections and competencies, providing me with more than 20 amazing resources I can build into my curriculum, and ways to give language and real-estate to empathy in our policy, curriculum, and assessment. As a teacher in an uncertain world I now feel like a coach ready to write the playbook for that world we want to live in. “

Besides being deeply grateful (bowled over) for having met such an enthusiastic and engaged educator as Gretchen who took the time to convey her experience so positively, giving me fuel to keep going and stretching, she shared important points that get to the heart of what I aimed to do in the workshop. With her comments at the start of each bullet, I add a bit of my thinking behind her reflections:

  • “… she empowered me to feel equipped and driven to meet these needs…” The biggest takeaway I aim for in the day-long session is to plant inspiration and empowerment — this is the fuel that can help participants keep going long beyond the day’s good feelings, checklists, or new tasks.
  • “…the assurance that I am not alone in what drives me to teach – empowering and inspiring youth thought, consideration, and action…” Demonstrating a sense of community and connection is important if we are to plant this in our students.
  • “…encouraged me to make each moment count toward “becoming a friend to the whole human race.” Opportunities to instill a real sense of global citizenship are all around us. We can develop the skill, or muscle, of being alert to these, and de-mystify what it means to be a global citizen.
  • “I see my teacher-self as one who is in the business of happiness. My responsibility is to help my students meet that universal desire for meaningful relationships and purposeful contribution.” I show a “virtuous cycle” kicking off with global citizenship (defined as “being a friend to the whole human race”) where care, compassion, empathy are unleashed, which then trigger meaningful relationships and meaningful work. This meaning/purpose has been found to be the #1 source of happiness by an army of happiness researchers. So, teaching for transformative global citizenship and triggering happiness can have a direct link. Being aware of this link, the meta-cognitive aspect, helps it kick in.
  • “I walked away with tools to make our learning personal…” The amount of educational resources can feel overwhelming – we need to be able to relate to some of the best of these in order to pass along how our students can develop a personal connection to their own learning.
  • “…providing me with more than 20 amazing resources I can build into my curriculum, and ways to give language and real-estate to empathy in our policy, curriculum, and assessment.” I love walking participants through my favorites apps, tools, practical classroom resources – but they are not ends in themselves. I show how they ultimately can build empathy and contribute to more effective cultures and strategies.
  • “As a teacher in an uncertain world I now feel like a coach ready to write the playbook for that world we want to live in.” Acknowledging our world’s challenges and uncertainties can feel overwhelming. If a teacher can walk away from an honest conversation feeling empowered, I feel like that’s a great accomplishment!

Sometimes it feels like I’m trying to do too much in a workshop (e.g., get to “transformative” elements) and so people might avoid the session to stick with more immediately measurable, comfortable themes. So, when I hear from a passionate teacher like Gretchen, it means the world to me. It also helps me hone in on areas to amplify or change, seeking to continuously grow, improve and touch hearts to fuel more impactful teaching, for the most important job in the world.

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