Be here. Be you. Belong.
Be here. Be you. Belong. This is a statement that Brené Brown uses when talking about daring classrooms and the idea that to be inclusive is a daring one. However, I don't think it's good enough to frame this as a daring idea, to me this idea is an essential part of making school a safe space for every young person that walks through the door. And like many statements we use to describe education or school spaces it is easier said than done. So often we make mantras and missions and value statements that are lofty and aspirational yet we fail to walk the talk.
So what does it actually mean to belong? The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the verb ‘belong' in two different ways: firstly to be in the right place or a suitable place and secondly to feel happy or comfortable in a situation.
So how do we create a school environment where young people feel like they belong exactly as they are? For me personally, as a school leader, there are a number of things that we can consider and a number of ways that we can ensure that our schools and our classrooms are indeed places where young people feel like they belong exactly as they are.
Universal design for learning
It is important that we consider the idea of belonging through the lens of learning because, at the end of the day, that is what schools are for. We need to design learning that is meeting the needs and the interests of all of the people in our classroom. When I think about designing learning that supports a sense of belonging I always come back to the concept of ‘universal design for learning’. How can we design learning that is fit for purpose for absolutely everyone? Firstly, we need to start with recognising and understanding the outliers and we need to ensure that whatever we design can serve and engage every learner in between - this includes how we approach things like assessment. Learning and assessment should be designed in partnership with the students and we should always be looking to offer a range of contexts and topics and ways of evidencing learning to ensure that we are getting the best and the most out of every young person in our classroom. The moment we learn to genuinely share power with young people and see them as important partners in learning design we are going a long way in creating a classroom where every young person feels like they belong.
Culture counts
When it comes to creating classrooms where all of our learners belong, there is no escaping the fact that culture counts, and in a New Zealand context we must consider the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the centrality of culturally responsive pedagogy. Whilst it is important to acknowledge every culture that comes into our classroom there is no escaping the fact that as treaty partners we must ensure that we prioritise the needs of our Māori learners. We have a responsibility to ensure that these young people in particular have a genuine sense of belonging and that Māori experience success as Māori. It is on us, as the leader in a classroom, to ensure that we never expect our Māori students to leave their culture at the door. It is about understanding who they are as people and who they are as learners and committing to co-design learning that is relevant to them and their whānau. This is about learning the language, being vulnerable and practising our pronunciation and use of Te Reo and seeking out understanding of all of our learners backgrounds and histories and choosing topics and contexts and approaches that make every young person feel valued and welcome.
Gender-inclusive schools
But of course belonging needs to go beyond culture and increasingly we have an important role to play in recognising and celebrating the gender of all of our students, whether it is a matter of taking the time to understand and know the preferred pronouns of our young people (regardless of what I might say on the learning management system) or reviewing teaching and learning programs to ensure that they to represent voices from across the gender spectrum. Representation matters. The stories that we choose to tell and share and prioritise matter. One of my more recent learnings is how the environment that we design to support these young people matters as well. Look at your classroom walls, what do your young people see everyday? Does it represent the diversity in your classroom? If you think more broadly about your school, how does it recognise changing definitions and recognition of gender? Does your school offer safe spaces for students who are gender diverse? Is it recognised in the changing room design and bathrooms. Do we recognise it in the signage and the labels that we pin to the walls? There is no question that we need to design for gender inclusiveness and that this will continue to be a growing part of what we do to ensure that every young person feels they belong in our learning spaces.
Uniform and art of self-expression
This brings me to one of my greatest bugbears in our schooling system - school uniforms. Many would argue that school uniforms are part of what makes a young person feel like they belong to a particular school. The question I ask those educators is, what is the message that we are sending to young people? Are we really happy to send the message that in order to belong one must conform, that one must engage in an act of sameness. Many would argue that uniforms play an important part in levelling the playing field for our young people. Those same people might argue that socio-economic differences are less visible when everyone is in the same uniform. I would argue that that is a simplistic view, that it is patently clear which students can afford the new uniforms that fit them well and which ones who cannot. I would much rather be committed to preparing our young people for the wider world where they will undoubtedly wear their own clothes and hopefully wear them with pride. For me, a non-uniformed high school is an invitation to young people to express exactly who they are. Even if you are not in a position to abolish your school uniform I would hope you at least consider different ways that young people are encouraged to express who they are and how they present themselves. I hope you give them the opportunity to do whatever the hell they want with their hair, piercings, makeup and their shoes. And if you don't I hope you at least reflect on what message that may be sending and how it may actually be impacting on their perception of if they genuinely do belong exactly as they are beyond school.
Restorative practice
For me another way that we can ensure that their young people believe they belong in school is to ensure we look at ways to keep them in school. Often we hear of educators, parents and even students wanting simplistic and black-and-white consequences for student’s actions. Whilst it can be tempting to believe we are better to punish and teach people a lesson, I have grown to recognise the power of taking the time to understand why people have acted the way they have and supporting them to make amends where necessary and to restore relationships so that everyone can move forward. There is no avoiding the fact that restorative practice is not a quick fix, but for me, it is a powerful one and one that shows every person involved that you care about them and that you think they are worth the time and effort it takes to understand the situation and to help make things right. Too often our at-risk learners are made to believe they do not belong by being stood down and suspended, this often only compounds the lack of belonging they felt in the first place. If we really want young people to believe they belong in our schools we need to do everything we can to keep them there.
Being a warm demander
I think it's also important to recognise that creating classrooms where every young person belongs is not a soft option, it is not necessarily about making the journey an easy one for young people. If we care about our young people we do want them to feel like they belong exactly as they are but they also need to know that we respect them enough to have high expectations for them and of them. I often remind young people at Albany Senior High School that whilst they belong exactly as they are, we also want them to be the very best version of themselves they can be. We can still expect young people to live out our vision, missions and mantras whilst still having a very real sense of belonging. I think as a school leader if we want to design a school where every young person belongs we also need to be warm and demanding with our staff, we need to ensure that they too design for belonging and that they respect every single one of our students. It is important to remind staff that in moments of frustration (where they may fall below the line in the way that they talk about their learners) that we don't talk about young people like that around here. As leaders we also have a responsibility to ensure that our teachers also feel like they belong exactly as they are. We too need to walk the talk. We too need to ensure that we are encouraging our teachers to bring their whole selves to work, to express who they are, how they feel and what they share what they are passionate about.
As I often tell my learners - school is a place where you do not need to fit in, but rather, it is a place where you belong. As Maya Angelou once stated, if you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be! I want every young person to know that we believe that they are fabulous just as they are. We need to tell our learners - you be you and know that we will be here for you every step of the way helping you to realise your potential.
Are you designing for belonging?
If we genuinely want every young person to believe they belong in our classroom and our school we need to proactively design an education system that ensures they belong.
Is belonging designed into what you teach?
Is belonging designed into how you teach?
Is belonging designed into where you teach?
How are you ensuring every person knows they belong, exactly as they are?
