Day 4 - Reflection

Reflecting on today’s activities has made me understand the role of developing emotional competence as an educator to create an inclusive and supporting learning environment. Understanding our role as educators and paying attention to how we approach and respond to children in our daily interactions with them play a crucial role in building a caring classroom, school, and community. I realize that being aware of my emotional responses and seeing situations from different perspectives can help me understand and support my students better. 

The Social Identities Awareness Activity was a nice way to apply reflective practice, analyze my own identity, and assumptions, and think of how these influence my teaching approach and relationships with family, friends, and within my work environment. 

The 6 Principles that we have discussed were mind-opening, as I didn't fully consider the impact that everyday events such as family issues, emotional state, moving to another country, city, or school as well as academic pressure can have on students. Understanding trauma‘s effect on learning and students’ progress highlights the importance of creating a class environment that supports students and helps them overcome those challenges. Other important points are the relationship-based environment where students feel safe, valued, and understood as well as the family’s involvement in the learning process. Connecting students to their cultural backgrounds as well as exposing them to different cultures and values provides opportunities to cultivate respect, acceptance, and understanding.  

Moving forward, I plan to practice meaningful and intentional relationship-building and approach interactions with a trauma-sensitive mindset, as well as incorporate activities that provide students with opportunities to show their strengths and explore their identities.