Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension

by Sara K. Ahmed

Topics such as race , gender , politics , religion , and sexuality are part of our students' lives, yet when these subjects are brought up at school teachers often struggle with how to respond. How do we create learning conditions where kids can ask the questions they want to ask, muddle through how to say the things they are thinking, and have tough conversations? How can we be proactive and take steps to engaging in the types of conversations where risk is high but the payoff could be even greater? Being the Change is based on the idea that people can develop skills and habits to serve them in the comprehension of social issues. Sara K. Ahmed identifies and unpacks the skills of social comprehension , providing teachers with tools and activities that help students make sense of themselves and the world as they navigate relevant topics in today's society. Each chapter includes clear, transferrable lessons and practical strategies that help students learn about a targeted social comprehension concept. From exploring identity and diversity to understanding and addressing biases and microaggressions, Sara demonstrates how to address real issues honestly in the classroom while honoring and empowering students. Dealing with social issues is uncomfortable and often messy, but you can build habitats of trust where kids and adults can make their thinking visible and cultivate empathy; where expression, identity, and social literacy matter. There is no magic formula for making the world a better place. It happens in the moments we embrace discomfort and have candid conversations. **** "I am convinced that every class of kids I work with is filled with change agents who will make this world the one we teach toward. I believe that my students will carry the work of doing right by this world into their own lives. I'll bet you believe this about your kids, too." -Sara K. Ahmed

Genres: Education, Teaching, Professional Development, Nonfiction, Adult, Banned Books, Audiobook

176 pages, Paperback

Published March 22, 2018

Reviews

[Pernille Ripp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a game changer for educators as we develop a path toward social comprehension in our classrooms. Sara's practicality and inspiration are the motivation that every educator needs to navigate hard topics and help our students, and ourselves, grow as human beings. I feel like I have evolved from reading this book and I cannot wait to use all of her ideas with my own students.

[adeservingporcupine · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a teacher, get this book. I am going to use every lesson with my students next year. It is the roadmap I’ve been searching for since I’ve begun the process of learning how to be anti-bias educator. I think it can be used for all level learners (though you may have to adapt some of the language and resources). Ahmed has clearly worked with diverse groups of students, because all of these lessons could be used with the very different demographics I’ve worked with — including adults. Absolutely excellent and necessary.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad to have read this for summer professional development, as it urges the importance of teaching social comprehension to students by #BeingTheChange to lead and make real, effective changes in students and our communities. Ahmed provides a scaffold of strategies and lessons that help teachers and students explore their own identities, from making identity webs, to sharing our name stories, and to writing “Where I’m From” poems. She stresses the significance of doing the hard work, i.e. working through uncomfortable silences and explicitly discussing difficult topics in the classroom. She then moves onto teaching students about bias/perceptions and microaggressions, while teaching children to refuse to let others’ biases define them by writing “I Am” statements. Next, Ahmed sparks students’ interests in the world by first exploring their own news, or what’s in their lives, that can help them make connections to what’s going in the community, in order to link their identity to making ideas for action in the community. This places each child’s identity in the a place in the world, from home to school, to the community, and finally, the world, which leads students to think about what they have a say about or are responsible for what’s happening in the world. Ahmed also discusses ways for students to navigate two sides of an issue by understanding both perspectives, as well as the meaning of intent vs impact.

This work is so important, and will stay by my side this entire school year to work through with my students. I want to celebrate our diversity, perspectives, and humanity. This is a must-read for all educators and parents!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! I loved that she transcribes her conversations when speaking with candor. Great activities and they translate well for all age levels.

[Kris Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REread Being the Change through the lens of whether it would work for a larger community book study outside of a school. I still can't decide. Would love for anyone who works kids to read this book. Girl Scout Leaders, Soccer Coaches, Business Leader turned STEM Club Organizers, Literacy Volunteers.

Sara K. Ahmed will be the opening session speaker at the Indiana State Literacy Association 2019 Conference. Saturday, September 14, at Noblesville High School. ISLA is encouraging its local councils and all Indiana schools to host a book study with Being the Change: Lessons to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara K. Ahmed.

Share how you plan to share this powerful professional text with your learning community on this Padlet.
https://padlet.com/kristin_patrick/8n...

[Renee Isom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful for all to learn and grow:
Social comprehension
Do the work first-and often
Humility
Empathy-modeled
Reflection (at first I thought...now I think)
Humanize
Listen to learn
Dialogical classrooms
Know and find commonalities
Proactive vs reactive

I first thought this may not apply to high school classrooms, but now I see how it can and should fit in all classrooms. I feel it applies everywhere and I hope to proactively introduce and implement it in my universe of obligation.

[Alex Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahmed's thoughts about how vital it is to bring identity into the classroom and her practical experiences in doing it were amazing to hear. As is always the tricky balance with teaching books, I kind of wish I got a little more theoretical framework alongside the in-depth walkthrough of lessons. I would recommend for all educators at any age level regardless.

[Beth Honeycutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a few practical ideas of how to engage students in thinking and talking about their world.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource! Can’t wait to implement these ideas in the fall. Such an important resource...

[Karen Szymusiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for every educator.

[Caleb Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it.

[Mary Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best professional books I've read. This is a book that has given me some important shifts I can make in my teaching, my thinking, my personal life.

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahmed proposes a very thoughtful approach to helping our students explore their identities and have difficult conversations. The book includes lots of food for thought and some good, practical ideas.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think many of the lessons naturally lend themselves to middle school or high school audiences. As a fifth grade teacher, I can use some of them as is, but would need to adapt others. There is still so much value in this book, without even lifting lessons directly from the pages. The advocacy and prioritization of these conversations in classrooms is a critical, essential, conscious move toward supporting open-minded people in our work as educators. The inclusion of these lessons really cannot happen naturally without a teacher mindset that values student voices and perspectives, and this is quite revolutionary in some American classrooms, even today, despite some lip service to the contrary. The author recommends that teachers do the activities themselves, before working through them with students. I think this work is helpful, because it helps to build a comfort level with topics we sometimes gloss over as teachers in order to avoid controversy.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/30/2019 ~ One of those books that leaves the reader thinking for a long time after leaving the pages. The activities for adults to lead with the students in their classes/clubs/teams can be done at a superficial level, or lead to much deeper conversations and awareness. Reading the book is a powerful reminder of how important social comprehension is and experiencing the conversations can lead to much greater empathy among our students, classmates, and work colleagues.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
The beginning felt overly familiar (Responsive Classroom/Open Circle -esque), which is not to say the ideas presented there are unimportant, just not novel. However, the author moves into some really interesting lessons that are primarily geared to upper elementary and beyond (though a few could be adapted for as young as K). Easy to read, but left with much to consider. Bravo. Buy this resource.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical ideas, not much fluff.

[Rachel Polacek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every teacher needs to read this book.

[Laura Komos · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read.

[Andee Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

waiting until book club to update!

[Melissa Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO practical and so valuable.

[Mike Kauffeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really opened my eyes to some of the issues we could/will encounter as we strive to make connections with students.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A much needed and important book

[Amy Balk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent practical lessons on identity, empathy, and anti-bias. Can be used in upper elementary though early high school.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. #BeingTheChange offers lessons that can be done in classrooms to help students and teachers build relationships and create a safe leaning environment for critical conversations. Students learn to listen, research their thinking, consider their personal bias, and work to learn about other perspectives. These lessons would also be wonderful for staff meetings activity across all fields.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I am on two committees at school that will have an impact on school culture. When I think of school culture, I think of a place that attends to social emotional learning as well as nurtures academic curiosity and celebrates diversity. There are so many practical and powerful lessons in this book for both the entire school community (modeled at staff meetings and extended into the classroom). Conversations that honor diversity can sometimes create a discomfort, but that doesn't mean that we should shy away from them - we can talk through the discomfort to bring about real change and acceptance. LOVE this book! In today's current political climate, this book is so relevant!

[Kim Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This set of lessons isn’t necessarily original material (I think every workshop I’ve attended has started with some sort of identity map or “Where I’m From” poem) but their compilation is what makes this book so exciting. With Ahmed’s framing, nothing is just a one-off “get to know you” activity, but a key step in helping students build empathy and perspective-taking. Ahmed is so smart about how she takes difficult, abstract concepts and illustrates them on a small scale for students. For example, want to talk about stereotypes and bias? Start by drawing a scientist. To introduce intent vs. impact? React to the Cleveland Indians’ mascot. Her practical, somewhat scripted approach makes these lessons feel road-tested and helps me imagine what they might look like in my classroom. I especially appreciate how each idea comes with a section predicting potential challenges and offering preemptive or in-the-moment solutions.

Like most books, I’m still left wondering how much time any of these lessons takes (a class period? a week?) or how often they’re revisited, but ultimately I think both would change from room to room. Mostly, I’m grateful to Ahmed for sharing her work and making me look forward to teaching again.

[Mjjohnson1216 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute game changer and I highly recommend it for any educator to quickly grab a copy. So many of us struggle with having a skill set that helps guide students through conversations that are challenging or social comprehension. Our Twitter chat #BookCampPD highlighted the book for two weeks and held two Saturday chats focused on this. You can find a @Wakelet of these conversations here https://bookcamppd.com/amazing-tweets/ (if needed, scroll down to August 18 and 25). I sure wish I would have been aware of the resources and strategies in this book when I began in education 40 years ago.

[Brittany Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful book about transforming the classroom from a static room into a dynamic community where students learn how to embrace identity as well as think and respond to our increasingly polarized and political world. Ahmed calls on teachers to embrace their humanity when teaching children how to tackle the world around us. No longer can we clutch to the "authority" given to adults to look down on children. We must work with our children as intelligent human beings, Ahmed's work illustrating the children want to have conversations that MATTER, not just lessons for another test. Her work is inspiring and will light the fire in an educator to change the educational system.

[Joy Kirr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have already incorporated one of the lessons from this book, and I'm excited to incorporate more next year at the start of the school year. Our classes will then be able to have tough conversations about identity and how it affects our views, reactions, and feelings as we listen to the news, as we read books, as we write. I will be able to talk about "intent" vs. "impact" and much more regarding social comprehension. I feel my middle school students need me to take more time to listen to the news they have in their minds, and help them process it looking through the lens of identity.