Yesterday I finished reading Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL, by Allison Posey and Katie Novak. I highly recommend this book! The book gave me many take-aways and ideas to reinforce my understanding of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In today’s post, I want to focus on expectations and beliefs, as I think these are the key to changing the way we do school…. and key to creating more socially just, inclusive school systems.
Beliefs
Beliefs and Language
Sustainable change happens when beliefs change, because beliefs influence behaviors. Sometimes, behaviors need to change to help people see the potential behind expanded beliefs. In other words, I need to see it, to believe it. Awareness can also be leveraged towards changing beliefs. In well facilitated meetings and effective conversation, we can raise awareness. We can create experiences and conditions where awareness changes behaviors, which aligns with or scaffolds a change in beliefs.
Shifting Language, Shifting Beliefs
We are living in extraordinary times. Six months into a pandemic, everything in our world seems to be changing. Some changes include: virtual learning, working from home for many, safe physical distancing and mask-wearing to protect others, and an increased awareness in how people feel belonging and community. At the same time, we have seen a growing focus on anti-racism through protesting, a commitment by many to center voices and experiences of Black people and people of color, and in some places – policy changes. In this post I want to share some of the shifts in language I am seeing as a result of our intention to the words we use. The words we use impact our beliefs, and our beliefs impact the words we use, so shifting language is imperative for a more just world and for expanding our beliefs toward shared humanity.