Rooted in Joy: Creating a Classroom Culture of Equity, Belonging, and Care

by Deonna Smith

How teachers can unlock the power of inclusivity and joy to transform their classroom and behavior management

In Rooted in Creating a Classroom Culture of Equity, Belonging, and Care, educational justice advocate and educator Deonna Smith delivers a unique blend of theory, academic frameworks, narrative, and digestible advice on impacting deeply rooted school culture challenges and managing the day-to-day classroom. This research-based book brings a friendly and accessible voice to a complex issue, making the subject matter easy to follow and apply in the real world.

In the book, you’ll build your toolbox for cultivating a inclusive and joyful classroom culture throughhumanizing your students and acknowledging the role that culture and race play in the educational system.You’ll

Find valuable, downloadable resources that complement and highlight the topics discussed in the book Discover resources suited to first-year teachers, as well as educators with decades of experience in the classroom Discover ways to improve learning outcomes for all students An essential and practical resource for teachers, administrators, principals, and other education leaders, Rooted in Joy will also benefit education policymakers, regulators, and other public officials seeking advice on how to shape the next generation of school policy.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching

173 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 25, 2023

Reviews

[Jennifer Symonds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going to be one of the books I gift our new hires this year in my district!

[Susana Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book facilitated important conversations with colleagues in our small reading group. Thankful for the concise lessons on how to shift teacher mindsets to embody joy and create an equitable culture of belonging in the classroom.

[Logan Grinsell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and will be walking away with some ideas and suggestions to take back to my team. As an administrator myself and a teacher of 14 years, I find it hard to take advice from someone who has only been in education for 6 years.

If you do the research, you will see that Dr. Smith only taught for 4 years at 2 different schools. As she mentions, one was a charter and the other a religious institution. The same represents her experience as an admin. Which was only for 2 years as well and a different school each year. I mean her credential isn’t even cleared in California! And she doesn’t have an admin credential.

So I write this not to dismiss her work but just to make people aware. There is some great material in this book but please consider how your entire staff may look at this book when the author/researcher has not experienced education in depth enough to be telling us about it.

[Alondra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the inclusion of Community Building Habits broken down by day/week/month/year, and strategies for auditing a classroom for joy, accessibility, and inclusion. The text may have benefited from including more dedicated space and time to supporting students with specific needs and students with disabilities--but still a solid book for educators, both veteran and new.

[Claire Delman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have followed Deonna on Instagram for a couple of years now and have always enjoyed hearing her perspective on educational issues/current events. This book gives teachers lots to consider when thinking about your mindset as a teacher and was a great read for me as I begin my year of teaching!

[Tara Ray-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Utilized this for our back-to-school professional development with after school educators and will be using it throughout the year.

[Katarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt seen, and more confident in my current approach to teaching, but would have liked more specifics.