As educators, we are well aware of the intentional learning that happens (or doesn’t happen!) in our classrooms and education practices, but what about the unintentional lessons our students receive on a daily basis?
The Hidden Curriculum has long fascinated me. How often do we consider the messaging underlying our textbooks, campus layouts, and teaching techniques? What habits, expectations, and ways of being are reinforced and how do they impact our students’ world and self-view?
In today’s video, I interview, Kelsey Blackwell, a Cultural Somatics Practitioner, as we explore how this messaging manifests itself in the minds and bodies of our students and how it can affect their long-term mental, physical, and emotional health. Let’s unpack what it means for our minds and bodies to be colonized and how we all, but especially women of color, can break free.
The video runs one hour and one minute, so it’s a bigger investment than my usual weekly fare, but I think it’s worth it–especially as we’re starting a new school year and want to be intentional about the spaces we’re creating.
You can watch the video here:
You can learn more about Kelsey’s amazing work around decolonizing the body at https://www.kelseyblackwell.com/decolonize-the-body-open
And, if you found this content compelling, I’d love to chat during my free monthly office hours! Come ask questions, share ideas, anything really! You can sign up to get the Zoom link here.
I look forward to talking with you soon!
Until next week,
Not only is questioning authority not welcome, it is penalized, more so with people of color!
THIS is a much needed conversation and a much needed addition in order to decolonize our oppressive systems (which are most systems). Being able to ask questions, being able to feel seen and heard regarding a student’s concerns and fears, being able to support our kids to get in touch with their bodies is essential (ugh – yucky desks, stuck in serious, “ignore needs in order to learn” – YES! Shocked no recess!). This is powerful and real – which makes me sad over and over again. And, I can see this being an opportunity for districts to open/widen the curriculum in schools to include a space/course which could address this and I see this being really important for administrators and educators to better understand and acknowledge. Thank you both for the sharing this conversation. Thank you Kelsey for the work you are doing in the world! I have more to think about…and this is only from the first 22 minutes. I will make time to watch the rest!!! Looking forward to it!
Hi, Misha! Thank you so much for your passionate share! I hope the rest of the conversation excites you as much as the first 22 minutes 🙂