Teaching and Learning for Life and Work
Clare Mc Fadden - Shimna Integrated College
I teach Citizenship and Personal Development to Years 8, 9 and 10. In Personal Development, students have the opportunity to reflect on what is important to them, what they want from life and what influences their decisions. Within Citizenship, we look at diversity within the group and our communities, which leads to the issues of stereotyping, prejudice, racism and sectarianism.
Sharing Stories
I was privileged to listen to students sharing their personal stories or how they have been affected by some of the issues that we discuss. It is sometimes difficult to listen to some of the more extreme points of view, but I have learned to trust that someone will offer a challenge to such views and the group would eventually come to a humane, moral conclusion.
A Safe Space
My aim is to offer the students a space to discuss controversial issues freely without fear of being judged. Class Ground Rules are particularly important in achieving this, even the most disruptive students seemed to respect the fairness of them. I am convinced this is because each class establishes them themselves at the beginning of the year and so feel a sense of ownership.
Heard, believed, understood and respected.
I feel that my role is more of a facilitator than a teacher, with much of the learning coming from the individual student's growing self-awareness and group discussions. It seems just as important to know when to stay silent as when to speak up. The students really value the chance to have open discussions and say what they think. Someone once said that to find dignity, we need to be heard, believed, understood and respected and I think this is exactly what our students get from these subjects.