July 20, 2023 • 42 mins
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How can you use Restorative Justice in incorporating dance into education, the struggles of working collaboratively, and building relationships with colleagues? Find out on this episode of Restorative Justice Reflections!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heyo, david here.
Restored of Justice Reflectionswas created as a video first
medium because we're includingvideo clips from the shows we're
talking about.
You can still hear our fullconversation here with the audio
from the clip, but for the fullexperience and to see our
beautiful faces, head over toour YouTube page link below.
If you're only going podcastsor your thing, please bear with
(00:20):
the mentions of video and clipsand use your imagination.
Enjoy.
Welcome back to Restored ofJustice Reflections.
(00:48):
I'm David, ryan Barsega, castro,harris all five names for all
the ancestors and today I'm herewith Alexia Pendleton, the
dancer teacher, to dive deepinto the restorative themes, or
lack thereof, found in seasonone, episode nine of ABC's Abba
Elementary Step Class.
As always, our conversationhere is not a critique of the
story or production choices ofthe creators, but we will
highlight how Restored ofJustice could apply to
(01:09):
situations like incorporatingdance into education, the
struggles of workingcollaboratively and building
relationships with coworkers.
Hopefully, this will give yousome insight about how to apply
restorative ways of being intoyour life, in and out of the
classroom.
If you want to take a deeperlook at applying Restored of
Justice to your life, join ourinner circle community to
connect with RJ-mindedindividuals and get bonus
content.
(01:29):
Deepen your practice bychecking out our courses and, if
you want to see this work inyour school or organization,
invite us for coaching ortraining on implementing this
work.
Of course, links to everythingdown below.
Now let's get to it.
Oh my goodness, alexia, it isso good to have you here on
Restored of Justice Reflections.
Tell the people who you are andwhy you're excited to talk
(01:51):
about this specific episode ofAbba Elementary.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
My name is Alexia, obviously, but other people know
me as the dancer teacher.
I'm a kindergarten teacher inNew Jersey.
I am a dance instructor as well, so I teach hip hop in a dance
studio and I also teach hip hopto adults in hip hop fitness
class.
The name goes with what I do.
(02:19):
I am a mother of two boys, awife, and I am excited to be
here because these conversationsare important, especially as an
educator, and if we want to,you know, make impact and change
, these are importantconversations that we need to
have.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Absolutely.
And, of course, as the dancerteacher, this was the episode of
Abba Elementary that I was like, oh, as I'm scrolling my feed
of teacher Instagram, who wouldbe the perfect fit?
Alexia, yeah, seeing like thevideos that you put out with
your kids, the energy that youbring, it's kind of a mix of Ava
and Janine in this space.
(03:02):
You know on a high level.
Why was it important for you totalk about this episode of the
show?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I guess I really resonate with you know both
characters and the theme of itand really you know,
incorporating the importance ofdance and our kids really
performing and getting out there.
So this episode was all aboutyou know, the students and their
performance a couple of otherthings in between, but I really
(03:33):
enjoyed the highlighting of youknow the importance of our
students and how they can reallyshow their confidence, their
having fun and doing somethingthat you know resonates with
them.
Sometimes our students don'tget the opportunity to self
(03:57):
express and dance is animportant way to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, you know, this doesn't happen within the scope
of a classroom, and so, beforewe get to the episode summary,
I'm curious how you'veincorporated dance into the life
of your students.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So everything we do, from the moment that the
students walk in the door, Ilike to reimagine what school
and the classroom looks like.
So from the jump, from theminute they walk in, there's
music playing.
You know, kids have theopportunity to eat breakfast,
(04:36):
they get to talk to one another.
It's a whole communityexperience.
The music is going and I kindof want it to feel like you know
you're at a family cookout oryou're at you know, a quincean
guerra or a dance at school orsomething where we come together
we have fun.
You know music is and dance isso important, not only for
(05:01):
community but also for like thebrain and learning in it, and it
heightens and triggers alldifferent areas in the brain.
So we get started from the jumpwith that and throughout the
day we have a lot ofopportunities for I call them
brain blooms, so the studentsget to like dance or, you know,
(05:23):
move in between our lessons andhow we, you know, go in between
reading or math or phonics.
There's always like every fiveto seven minutes.
There's a way that music anddance goes with the lesson, but
it's incorporating what they'relearning and it's, you know, a
great way to get them up moving,learning, their brains are
(05:44):
activated and we end the daywith, you know, another music.
The kids get ready, they sing,they dance and, of course, on
Fridays we have our freestyleFriday, where the kids get to.
We have a big community circleand they all get to freestyle in
the middle and it's just, youknow, it's all about the love,
(06:06):
community and joy throughout theday.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Yeah, you know you're working with kindergarteners
for those right like within theschool context, right.
And beautiful about that islike they're often less
inhibited than maybe older kidswould be in this.
Really great that you're ableto you know, take advantage of
that kind of energy andencourage that space.
But I imagine sometimes dancingmight be intimidating for some
(06:31):
students.
How do you navigate that part?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well, again, that comes with like giving students
choice.
So I'm all about like.
You don't have to do it if youdon't want to.
I'll never force a student to.
You know, get up if they don'twant to, and it's just about
their feeling comfortable andfeeling free.
So sometimes, as grown-ups orteenagers, you know our freedom
(06:58):
is suppressed because of thesystems that are in place or you
know teachers are telling us tosit down and be quiet and we've
been conditioned to not feelthat freedom.
So in my space I always want toencourage students to be free
and themselves and eventuallyyou know they will.
I'll see that confidence growand they'll.
(07:20):
I mean they don't have to begood at dancing, most of the
times they're just, they dowhatever.
But to see them in that freespace and that moment of like,
that one student that might bequiet and shy and like the song
comes on, that they like andthey're like doing all the
things.
So never a forceful thing,always about building resilience
(07:44):
, confidence and self-expression.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Beautiful.
And for those teachers whomight not be in the kindergarten
space, like, how have youencouraged them to incorporate
dance, expression and otherthings into the life of their
classrooms?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Just having you know conversations or showing them
that it's not as hard as we makeit.
You know, sometimes it's like,well, you teach kindergarten so
you can do it, and it's like, no, you can like break out of the
box of what education has alwaysbeen created to be, to really
revolutionize it and rethinkwhat a classroom should be.
(08:22):
We have to challenge thosesystems and that sometimes is
hard, because breaking teachersout of something that they've
always done, it's like, well,I'm not trying to change because
this is the way it's alwaysbeen.
So, just encouraging them likeyou want to feel joy and it
starts with you.
So maybe add a song that youreally enjoy, or play music
(08:44):
while the kids are working or,you know, have a dance party at
the end of the week to celebrateacademic success.
So, with the older kids, youknow, and I teach hip hop to up
to high school outside of school, and it's a.
It's a difference in thedynamic from like starting with
my youngest, to the highschoolers, who are like I'm
(09:06):
going to go home and lay down onthe couch and hide, like it's
crazy to see the disc when itchanges.
From like confident, proud, andthen now you're navigating,
like who you are as a person inthe world, because you're
getting older and more cognizantof everything.
So, just you know, encouragingthose teachers just to take a
(09:28):
risk, to be uncomfortable alittle bit, to try it, because
if your students don't see it inyou, then how are they going to
be able to do it themselves?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Yeah, you know so much of this is about.
You know how we show up, whatwe, what space we create.
This isn't necessarily in thisepisode of Abad El-Enkid, but
there have been times rightwhere we've had teachers try to
be someone that they're not, andyou know that backfires.
I'm thinking reallyspecifically about you know,
jacob in the past episode, liketrying to roast his students,
(10:00):
like that doesn't go well andlike if you you trying to be you
as a teacher, listen to this,trying to be Alexia, that's
probably not going to work.
How are you going to be you inthat space Exactly?
What is the journey that you'regoing to go through with
identifying, like, how musicincorporates into your life?
How are you going to share thatwith your students?
How are you going to invitethem into?
doing this and like there's somany parallels between this and
(10:22):
how we exemplify restorativejustice in the classroom.
Right, the way that I lead acircle, the way that I invite
students into a relationshipbuilding like isn't going to be
the same, because I'm not Alexiaright, and neither of us are
you.
And so, as much as we want tolearn fundamentals and
frameworks of restorativejustice or you know music or
(10:42):
dance so much of it is.
How are you contextualizing itto you and your students?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
With all of that said , let's get into this episode of
Abba Elementary and, graciouslytaking this summary from
Wikipedia, we have Ava takingover Janine's afterschool step,
class Five, six, seven, eight.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Okay, cut, cut.
That's enough of that.
What's the problem?
This royalty free music is wackand these moves are tired.
When did you get this routinefrom Barney, the big book of
step?
I'm going to assume that'sBarney.
How did you manage to make stepand dorky?
Somebody put on some good music, like Cardi Great minds.
Let's move this to the floor.
We're going to need some room.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So, when we see this episode as a dance teacher, as a
kindergarten teacher, assomeone who's participated in
school structures as a studentand, of course, now as a teacher
, what stood out to you?
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Of course, it stood out like a big theme throughout
the episode with like being, andit's crazy because we just
talked about like being who youare and not being afraid of like
doing that and how we, likewill try to conform or like try
not to shake things up becausewe don't want, you know, other
(12:13):
people to call us weird or saythat you know we're not the same
or we're not, you know, doingwhat everybody else is doing.
So we see that, especially likewith Gregory and his need in
the beginning to be like tryingto hide the truth of it all.
And then we also see that withlike Janine and Ava's dynamic of
(12:37):
like what Janine brings fromlike her background, with step
and dance, and it's clearly thecomplete opposite of what Ava
brings.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Okay, they're not even following the routine.
So the point of this class wasto teach them structure and
responsibility, not card to bethere.
Do you ever talk about anythingother than structure and
responsibility?
Yes, pride and leadership Stepis supposed to be fun and, if
I'm expressing yourself, usethat to create a routine.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
So, like finding that freedom and who you are, and
then bringing that together as acommunity to say you know what,
what we both bring, what weboth like, what we both enjoy,
like it's a both end and we canbring that together to really
create magic within ourcommunity Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And I'm thinking about how, in that beginning of
this episode, we have Janinereally, really excited and
really enthusiastic about givingher students this opportunity
to participate in step,something that she found really
valuable for herself and throughthat she found right,
discipline, responsibility andthat's what she is trying to
impart on to her students.
(13:47):
Students aren't really beingresponsive to it.
I imagine if I was a studentwho was signing up for like an
after school dance class, Iwould be looking for like fun
and dancing.
And as much as we can becritical of Eva in other ways on
the show and there are manyways that we can be critical of
Eva she does really take time tobe attentive to what the
(14:08):
students are looking for andbonds with food, bonds with
getting to know them, bonds bygetting to share it.
As Janine is like rigidity andlike order and like let's learn
things the way that I did it.
It's not necessarily wrong thatJanine's doing that, but taking
time to learn to meet thestudents where they're at can be
(14:29):
so important to like actuallygetting to those goals of you
know, responsibility, leadership.
You just have to have theirbuying first facts yeah,
absolutely.
When we have Eva's interest injoining this step class, we have
a bunch of the teachers who arestepping through.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
I already know that I'm an open.
Okay, listen, this has got badnews written all over it.
She only looks after herself.
I've seen her push students outof the way during the fire
drill True.
I'm going to choose to look atthe glass half full.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, your glass, just make sure Eva doesn't spit
in it Because of all of the waysthat Eva has strict
responsibility in the past andlike, in many ways just been a
bad principal.
But Janine, like I reallyappreciate the way that she
gives Eva the benefit of thedoubt and as much as Eva is the
principal in this school, it'ssometimes helpful to think of
(15:25):
her in the show as just anotherlearner who is being given
another opportunity to like,share what she has to offer.
You know, as you worked withinthe realm of school, like you
have had principals and othercolleagues who, like might not
be like the most skilled or likethe most equipped to do the
thing it is that they're doing,or might even be a student.
(15:47):
But when we have thoseopportunities to let them shine
in the spaces where they can,like, it unlocks something
beautiful.
Can you think of any examplesof unlocking a moment like that
with a student or a colleague?
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, so I am on, obviously, kindergarten team, so
it's like me and another twokindergarten teachers and over
the summer I would.
Last year I was able to workwith my I call co-teachers
(16:24):
because we're you know,co-teachers.
In a sense, we had theopportunity to work with each
other during summer school and,you know, teachers don't really
have the opportunity to likewatch each other or grow and
learn from each other.
And she was having some issueswith like maybe like creating
(16:47):
classroom culture and communityand really, you know, developing
that first before, kind of likethe dynamic before she was able
to teach, because you need thatstructure, you need that
community and you need thatculture to be built before our
kids actually learn.
So during this time, you know,we were really able to grow
(17:08):
closer in our relationship andthen we were able to like learn
from each other and she was ableto watch me do some lessons and
sometimes, you know, like wesaid in the beginning, sometimes
it can be like, oh well, Ican't be you and like you do all
this stuff and I can never dothat, and I think sometimes like
(17:31):
I don't want you to be me, Iwant you to be you, but also
bringing the things that areculturally responsive and
building that community withyour kids and what it can look
like.
But you can't know what itlooks like if you never see it.
So we were able to really worktogether to team teach.
(17:52):
She was able to see how, like Idid my lessons and how I
transitioned into things andthen she realized and recognized
you know, what it's not like.
There's some things that I amable to incorporate, that I want
to incorporate, and there'ssome things that I'm going to
put my style on too.
So she was able to do some ofthose things.
(18:13):
Like I have a DJ of the day Formy classes, my classes, all
themes around hip hop, but sheloves like Motown music and
she's like a old soul.
So she had like, instead of theDJ of the day, she did the
musician of the day.
So, like that, this the leadsinger is I think that's what
(18:35):
she called it the lead singer.
So she like incorporated thatand she incorporated different
movement opportunities for thekids and different you know,
different structure to make herday go a lot smoother,
especially for kindergartenbecause they be wallet Okay.
So seeing that growth in herand that opportunity to really
(18:56):
connect and build and then growour relationship, and then kind
of weed out some of that like Iguess some people will call it
like intimidation, and it's notme trying to be intimidating,
it's just who I am in my purpose.
Like I'm confident in what I do, but that was really like an
(19:16):
open for us to grow together andfor herself and to like really
create that.
Like yo, I'm proud, like youdoing, you doing some good
things like and to see thatgrowth from her this year and
her classroom was really, reallyamazing.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, I'm thinking about you know we do have the
limit of 21 minutes in the show,but Jeanine and Eva don't take
any time to talk about what isour collaborative approach here,
like what are your strengths,what are my strength?
It's kind of just like yourturn, my turn, your turn, my
turn and those things, thosethemes are clashing, and what
would it have been like if theyhad stopped and had a
(19:55):
conversation like these are mystrengths, these are your
strengths, how can weincorporate those in the mix?
I don't want to like let itpass without acknowledging that
teachers do have a limitedamount of time to observe each
other, to collaborate, so it's aschool leaders who are
listening to this and eventeachers who are, like,
informally trying to createthose spaces.
(20:15):
That's important, right.
What are the opportunities thatyou're taking to learn from
your peers?
Like support each other?
right, because you know thereare things that you learned from
your co-teacher that, like younever would have thought about
if you hadn't taken that time to.
You know, share with her right.
It's not about like.
Alexia is the keeper of all theknowledge and all things to be
(20:38):
like perfect kindergartenteacher, right, like she has
things to contribute to you aswell, right, I think about
restorative justice.
It's not just like.
Everybody has gifts and we'reall needed, for what we bring is
so important, and to createthose opportunities for those
gifts to be identified andshared and people to be
acknowledged and affirmed forhaving those gifts is just so
(21:00):
important.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
It's so important.
I agree Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We have these skeptical teachers in the
episode because Ava has abackground in not showing up for
any number of herresponsibilities and at the
beginning of this episode wehear that she's come back from a
week-long vacation.
As she assumedly bails on thisperformance, it doesn't show up.
It tells the students that,like Paige, andington, have to
(21:27):
take over.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
She said that something came up and that you'd
handle it.
I can't handle it.
I barely know the routine.
That's what I said.
Where are you going?
I'm busy right now, janine,what are you waiting for in Uber
Black to take you to an UziVert concert?
You know that man.
Don't come out during the daytime.
Go take care of your step class.
I can't, because you changedthe routine.
They do your wack ass routine.
You know what?
(21:53):
Everybody told me not to trustyou.
They said you do this and Isaid no, because I believed in
you.
And now it's messing with thekids.
You can't think of anyone otherthan yourself.
Oh, an airport van to take youon another vacation.
Baby, did you have to bring ouryouth?
She had an episode.
(22:14):
We couldn't calm her down andfigured it would help her to see
your face.
I'm here now, grandma.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Whenever people are behaving in a way that is not in
line with your expectations orcausing harm there is generally
a reason it might not be areason that you agree with, but
there is a reason that peopleare acting out, as you saw this
play out, what came up for you,because Ava hasn't been the most
(22:41):
upstanding character in thisseries.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
No, she has not.
It made me think on a deeperlevel what people around us are
truly going through and theassumptions and stigmas that we
place automatically as humanswho prejudge people without
(23:07):
really having the connection ortime to get to know them and
understanding that usuallyeverything that happens is
caused for a reason.
We might not know what thatreason is.
It's just sticking close tohumanity and seeing people and
(23:29):
having communication with themto understand that they're not
alone and that it's okay tospeak up and speak out about
what you're going through.
People can get to know you andbe more empathetic to situations
, then getting to understand whypeople are not like what
(23:54):
happened to you instead of likewhy are you this way?
What is going on in your life?
What has happened with yourpast?
What has happened now in thepresent?
What happened when you were akid?
This is all a part of who weare as adults, how our kids are
(24:14):
shaped.
I think for me, thinking aboutme as an educator, as a dance
instructor, as a fitnessinstructor, all of these things
is really getting to know thewhy behind behaviors and
developing a closer relationshipand making that connection.
(24:35):
It doesn't excuse it, but itgives us a lens at which we can
see and understand why thesethings are happening.
Then if we have to collaborateor communicate in a way to solve
problems or to show growth orfix things, we have that space
(24:57):
and that knowledge to do so.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
A broad framework for having a restorative process.
Restorative conversation isthat what happened instead of
what did you do, what role didyou break and who was impacted
and how, and what needs to beaddressed in order to make
things as right as possible.
In that what happened?
There's so much more to explorethere.
What happened in this moment?
Sure, but what happened leadingup to this and all the things
(25:24):
that you talked about?
What are the things that you'veexperienced before?
What is the nature of therelationship between those
people?
What is the culture of theschool environment that would
lead to Ava not sharing aboutthis with her colleagues?
We've seen Ava Elementary.
As much as these teachers cometogether in times of crisis,
things become crises becausethey don't communicate about
(25:46):
simple things going on.
They're afraid to ask for help,afraid to be seen as a bad
teacher, afraid to be seen as abad principal, afraid to be seen
as somebody who's weak, afraidto be seen as someone who's
growing old and out of date.
All of these characters exhibitlots of these things and put up
walls, put up masks, try tohide their behavior, try to hide
(26:09):
their flaws.
If we had created anenvironment where people were
able to ask for help we're ableto share who they are liking
pizza or not, we might have beenable to prevent so many of
these issues.
Of course, when we do havethese issues, it's so important
to apply these framework, but Ithink so much about the
(26:31):
proactive, restorative practicesthat are necessary to build and
strengthen, as well as repair,relationships when harm occurs.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Everybody bring in their favorite pizza and we'll
have an eat-off.
Okay, gregory, you never toldus your favorite pizza place.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Oh, I should say this one out I'm more of a Baltimore
style pizza guy.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Ooh, Baltimore pizza.
I've never heard about that.
What makes it so different?
Speaker 4 (27:13):
You never heard of Baltimore style.
Oh, it's great.
It's really crunchy and likewet.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Wet.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Yeah, yeah, no, it's great.
Next time you're there, go toSeychee's Pizza.
They soak it.
It's like sopping.
I got to go talk to a childabout lipping.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
As you saw Gregory struggle with this in this
episode, like trying to fit in.
I'm curious if there are anyinstances in your early teaching
career where you felt the needto fit in.
How did you overcome that?
Speaker 3 (27:53):
So, yeah, so in the beginning of my teaching career
I was very like Around otheradults.
I was very muted.
I felt the need to always likenot say anything, to be quiet,
to like keep the waters, youknow, steady.
I always like, when I'm aroundkids, like I'm always, like I'm
(28:17):
gonna be who I am, I feel free,like I'm going to, you know, do
the things that I know are bestfor my kids and just be outside
of the box.
But whenever I was with youknow, colleagues or in meetings
for work, I was always likedon't say anything.
I felt like I didn't, you know,fit in because I was so
(28:40):
different than most teachersaround me.
And then I started to, you know,be more confident in who I was
as a teacher.
I started therapy and then Ihad to like it's weird, but I
had to like force myself and I'manxious, and anxiety would come
(29:01):
and like my mouth would be dryand I would like start to sweat,
like start, my heart would raceand I would speak out, even
though I was experiencing thosethings and throughout some time
I would build the confidence andthen talking about why I was
feeling these things.
And then now it's like I feelfree in myself and confident in
(29:25):
myself to be able to speak whatI feel, speak the truths, speak
up for my kids.
And yeah, I feel more confidentand that comes with time, that
comes with experience, thatcomes with you.
Know I can speak because Icould show you the facts and the
things that I have been able todo as an educator, where in the
(29:50):
beginning I didn't have thatconfidence.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, you know, you talked about going to therapy.
You talked about like increasedconfidence.
You talked about like time andexperience.
But I'm curious if there areany instances that stand out
that were like, oh yeah, I canbe this way, like what helped
you overcome that year?
Speaker 3 (30:10):
I think it was other people in my community.
Outside, especially, likeduring COVID, I connected with a
community on Instagram ofteachers and they just filled me
up with just so much and likereassurance and they were like,
(30:32):
girl, you better snap out of it,like you got this.
So getting that from them andconnecting with people who are
like-minded, who do, areinvested in this work, are
invested in creating biggerchange and reimagining what the
classroom is.
Connecting with my hip hop edcommunity, that was like the aha
(30:52):
moment for me to be like youare special and it's okay that
you're not like everybody else.
There's a reason for that.
So that was a turning point forme for sure.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Right, it's great that we find community in, you
know, places like Instagram,because we can connect with
people all across the country,even the world.
Right, that's how we gotconnected.
But what was it like to findcommunity within your own school
context?
Speaker 3 (31:26):
It took some time, as relationships take, but
throughout the years, you know,dealing with people who were not
maybe like-minded or were alittle intimidated by what I did
, but as the years would pass,we have new leadership.
I was able to connect withother teachers outside of my
grade level who really pour intome, who see you know, who see
(31:49):
me and accept me for what I doand who I am, and it's been
great to connect with them, togo on staff outings with them,
to, you know, havingconversations about the
importance and the changes thatwe want to make in the school.
So it's been a great like twoyears for me really developing
(32:10):
those relationships and, youknow, having teachers that I can
call friends outside of school.
Yeah, yeah, and you know theAbbott crew.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
You know as much as this is just a sitcom, right,
and they have to like contrivethe story lines into like these
21 minute episodes, right, likethey do go through all of this,
right.
We're towards the end of thestory, we're towards the end of
season one when this episodecame, but we do see, like the
evolution of their friendshipsthat like exist maybe outside of
(32:42):
school, maybe a little bit morethan friendships for it for
some of the characters, but youknow, even like the dynamics
between Jacob and Greg, likeJacob like being willing to
drive all the way to Baltimoreto like do something to connect
with a colleague, right, likethose are moments that aren't in
your job description, right,but they are things that like
(33:04):
will build relationship equityand the ability to speak into
people and rely on people longterm.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Is there anything else that's about to you from
this episode that you want tomake sure that we highlight?
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Um, I think what I really loved at the end was how
Ava and Janine like they stillhave their like eugh, like
relationship but they like cametogether and like did this stomp
together and it was likeaffirming of like we can still
(34:08):
come together with ourdifferences and if we're able to
like create change and just seethem like have that moment of
joy and love, and like yo, wedid a good job Like, even though
it was like kind of weird howthey ended before that moment
(34:29):
and Ava went right back to liketalking down to her.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Thanks, janine, I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
It was still like that moment of like we can, if
we could all just like cometogether and see that success,
so I thought that was like areally great way to close out.
You know the episode um howthey came together.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Yeah, it's like it's really funny Because in the
context of a sitcom you can'thave like too much character
growth right, but like, in someways, like it is true to real
life I'm thinking about thesecond chance, where it was
working with the teacher who wasdealing with the student who
was like cussing it out all thetime.
And you know, we have thisrestorative conversation and
(35:21):
come back and like she's justlike I don't know what's going
on.
He's still yelling at me andI'm like, yeah, but is he
cussing she's?
about to grow right and likethat's not.
Like restorative justice orrestorative process isn't, like
this, necessarily cure-all.
Like we stop patterns ofbehavior in moments, right.
Like it is an evolvingrelationship that requires us to
(35:44):
continue to show up, keeppeople accountable to the things
that we want them to be,support them in doing those
things.
Of course, no one is, you know,holding Ava accountable to
being like, a better principalhere in this space, right, but
within the context of thatrelationship we do see growth
which, like, is indicative of,you know, the things that we
(36:05):
experience in our everyday lives.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
For real it is and like, like you said, like
noticing because I had a studentlike that this year as well
like we was at it.
But I think, like monitoringthat and being like self-aware,
to say, you know what?
She didn't throw its hand drumscreaming at the top of her
(36:28):
lungs and then we moved to.
Oh, she's able to likeself-regulate and like when she
was feeling a strong feeling orfeeling disappointment, like she
was able to go to our calm downspot and like get herself
together and like building uponthat.
Was it perfect?
No, but, like you said, like inrestorative practices, we have
(36:52):
to understand that it's aprocess and it's going to take
time and space and getting moreaware with yourself so that you
can model that to especiallychildren.
But it just takes time and alsoconsidering the what and what
they have gone through to whythey're responding in a certain
(37:15):
way.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Yeah, I mean going from like two tantrums a day to
one tantrum a day, to like beinglike really heightened, but
then like being able toself-regulate, like that is
tremendous to what like is notgoing to happen just because you
have a conversation with a kid.
Right, that's what we opt intoas people who are doing work in
(37:36):
education, with human change.
Right, there's just so muchtime and there's just so much
work to be done and it happenswhen we give it the time and
attention that it requires.
You've heard from us.
Now we want to hear from you.
Drop your restorative justicereflections in the comments and
if you want to join a livecommunity conversation about our
(37:57):
restorative justice lessonsfrom Ava Elementary, join us for
a live event on Monday, july 31.
Link with more info in thedescription.
Before we go, there's aquestion that everybody answers
when they come on these airwaves.
You have the ear of Quinta andthe riders of the show.
Pitch yourself as a characteron Ava Elementary.
What would your story arc be?
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Oh gosh, of course it would be the teacher that's
like filled with joy and dancingand it's like.
I think for me it would be likea musical but hip hop.
So I would be like the teacherthat's like always singing and
dancing, and just be an extraand bringing you know some fun
(38:45):
and joy into the space with thecharacters.
And yeah, about change I wouldwant to, you know, change up
what it looks like to be in atraditional classroom.
So I think that would be thecharacter I would want to be.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
Yeah, I'm curious, like and just bring something,
as people have witnessed on thisin this conversation like you
do bring so much joy, light andenergy, and I think that's
something that Jeanine aspiresto do in a lot of cases.
Jeanine is also someone wholike exhibits or like upholds,
(39:22):
like a lot of toxic positivity.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
And I'm wondering, like if that is something to
play off of.
I'm curious, how do you preventyour like up beatness from
becoming like that toxicpositivity, and I think that's
something such as rainbows andlike we have to be happy all the
time?
Speaker 3 (39:38):
Oh yeah.
So, and I think the differencewith me is there is a realness
and a inability for me to havelearned how to communicate when
things are not okay, to say youknow what this is trash.
Like to be able to be open andhonest and have those
(39:58):
conversations like not sunshineand rainbows, because it
wouldn't be normal if it wasthat way.
So I think being able to just,you know, reflect on that and
like bringing in the differentways that I, when we are having
a hard moment and we have a lotof those in kindergarten, how I
(40:21):
like address it with the kidsand I'm very like, honest, we
have those, you know, thosewhere we do have conversations
and we do talk about it and wedo get real and we do like we
will, you know, collaborate andlike work through the problems,
and I'm 100% Like we're going tokeep it a book.
(40:44):
But I think you know thatrealness also comes with love,
because love and joy alsorequires accountability.
So I think I would be real andraw.
But watch my presentation ofhow I communicate those things.
So like, like you said in thebeginning, it's a mix of Ava and
(41:05):
Jeanine morphed.
It would be the two togetherthat would be me.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Beautiful.
So from your mouth to Quintaand the writer's ears, you know
tag them.
All folks make this happen.
Well, Alexia, thank you so muchfor sharing your wisdom, your
experiences, your story, yourreflections.
How can people support you andyour work in ways that you want
to be supported?
Speaker 3 (41:34):
You could just give me a follow, give me positive
vibes.
You can follow me on allplatforms, on the Dancer teacher
.
And yeah, we can connect.
I love meeting new people, Ilove learning stories and
learning from people all overthe world.
So, yeah, let's connect.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Again, thank you so much.
We'll be back very, very soonwith the next episode of
restorative justice reflections.
Thinking about other elements,episode 10 open house.
But until then, take care y'all.
Heyo, david here.
Restored of Justice Reflectionswas created as a video first
medium because we're includingvideo clips from the shows we're
talking about.
You can still hear our fullconversation here with the audio
from the clip, but for the fullexperience and to see our
beautiful faces, head over toour YouTube page link below.
If you're only going podcastsor your thing, please bear with
(00:20):
the mentions of video and clipsand use your imagination.
Enjoy.
Welcome back to Restored ofJustice Reflections.
(00:48):
I'm David, ryan Barsega, castro,harris all five names for all
the ancestors and today I'm herewith Alexia Pendleton, the
dancer teacher, to dive deepinto the restorative themes, or
lack thereof, found in seasonone, episode nine of ABC's Abba
Elementary Step Class.
As always, our conversationhere is not a critique of the
story or production choices ofthe creators, but we will
highlight how Restored ofJustice could apply to
(01:09):
situations like incorporatingdance into education, the
struggles of workingcollaboratively and building
relationships with coworkers.
Hopefully, this will give yousome insight about how to apply
restorative ways of being intoyour life, in and out of the
classroom.
If you want to take a deeperlook at applying Restored of
Justice to your life, join ourinner circle community to
connect with RJ-mindedindividuals and get bonus
content.
(01:29):
Deepen your practice bychecking out our courses and, if
you want to see this work inyour school or organization,
invite us for coaching ortraining on implementing this
work.
Of course, links to everythingdown below.
Now let's get to it.
Oh my goodness, alexia, it isso good to have you here on
Restored of Justice Reflections.
Tell the people who you are andwhy you're excited to talk
(01:51):
about this specific episode ofAbba Elementary.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
My name is Alexia, obviously, but other people know
me as the dancer teacher.
I'm a kindergarten teacher inNew Jersey.
I am a dance instructor as well, so I teach hip hop in a dance
studio and I also teach hip hopto adults in hip hop fitness
class.
The name goes with what I do.
(02:19):
I am a mother of two boys, awife, and I am excited to be
here because these conversationsare important, especially as an
educator, and if we want to,you know, make impact and change
, these are importantconversations that we need to
have.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Absolutely.
And, of course, as the dancerteacher, this was the episode of
Abba Elementary that I was like, oh, as I'm scrolling my feed
of teacher Instagram, who wouldbe the perfect fit?
Alexia, yeah, seeing like thevideos that you put out with
your kids, the energy that youbring, it's kind of a mix of Ava
and Janine in this space.
(03:02):
You know on a high level.
Why was it important for you totalk about this episode of the
show?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I guess I really resonate with you know both
characters and the theme of itand really you know,
incorporating the importance ofdance and our kids really
performing and getting out there.
So this episode was all aboutyou know, the students and their
performance a couple of otherthings in between, but I really
(03:33):
enjoyed the highlighting of youknow the importance of our
students and how they can reallyshow their confidence, their
having fun and doing somethingthat you know resonates with
them.
Sometimes our students don'tget the opportunity to self
(03:57):
express and dance is animportant way to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, you know, this doesn't happen within the scope
of a classroom, and so, beforewe get to the episode summary,
I'm curious how you'veincorporated dance into the life
of your students.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So everything we do, from the moment that the
students walk in the door, Ilike to reimagine what school
and the classroom looks like.
So from the jump, from theminute they walk in, there's
music playing.
You know, kids have theopportunity to eat breakfast,
(04:36):
they get to talk to one another.
It's a whole communityexperience.
The music is going and I kindof want it to feel like you know
you're at a family cookout oryou're at you know, a quincean
guerra or a dance at school orsomething where we come together
we have fun.
You know music is and dance isso important, not only for
(05:01):
community but also for like thebrain and learning in it, and it
heightens and triggers alldifferent areas in the brain.
So we get started from the jumpwith that and throughout the
day we have a lot ofopportunities for I call them
brain blooms, so the studentsget to like dance or, you know,
(05:23):
move in between our lessons andhow we, you know, go in between
reading or math or phonics.
There's always like every fiveto seven minutes.
There's a way that music anddance goes with the lesson, but
it's incorporating what they'relearning and it's, you know, a
great way to get them up moving,learning, their brains are
(05:44):
activated and we end the daywith, you know, another music.
The kids get ready, they sing,they dance and, of course, on
Fridays we have our freestyleFriday, where the kids get to.
We have a big community circleand they all get to freestyle in
the middle and it's just, youknow, it's all about the love,
(06:06):
community and joy throughout theday.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Yeah, you know you're working with kindergarteners
for those right like within theschool context, right.
And beautiful about that islike they're often less
inhibited than maybe older kidswould be in this.
Really great that you're ableto you know, take advantage of
that kind of energy andencourage that space.
But I imagine sometimes dancingmight be intimidating for some
(06:31):
students.
How do you navigate that part?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well, again, that comes with like giving students
choice.
So I'm all about like.
You don't have to do it if youdon't want to.
I'll never force a student to.
You know, get up if they don'twant to, and it's just about
their feeling comfortable andfeeling free.
So sometimes, as grown-ups orteenagers, you know our freedom
(06:58):
is suppressed because of thesystems that are in place or you
know teachers are telling us tosit down and be quiet and we've
been conditioned to not feelthat freedom.
So in my space I always want toencourage students to be free
and themselves and eventuallyyou know they will.
I'll see that confidence growand they'll.
(07:20):
I mean they don't have to begood at dancing, most of the
times they're just, they dowhatever.
But to see them in that freespace and that moment of like,
that one student that might bequiet and shy and like the song
comes on, that they like andthey're like doing all the
things.
So never a forceful thing,always about building resilience
(07:44):
, confidence and self-expression.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Beautiful.
And for those teachers whomight not be in the kindergarten
space, like, how have youencouraged them to incorporate
dance, expression and otherthings into the life of their
classrooms?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Just having you know conversations or showing them
that it's not as hard as we makeit.
You know, sometimes it's like,well, you teach kindergarten so
you can do it, and it's like, no, you can like break out of the
box of what education has alwaysbeen created to be, to really
revolutionize it and rethinkwhat a classroom should be.
(08:22):
We have to challenge thosesystems and that sometimes is
hard, because breaking teachersout of something that they've
always done, it's like, well,I'm not trying to change because
this is the way it's alwaysbeen.
So, just encouraging them likeyou want to feel joy and it
starts with you.
So maybe add a song that youreally enjoy, or play music
(08:44):
while the kids are working or,you know, have a dance party at
the end of the week to celebrateacademic success.
So, with the older kids, youknow, and I teach hip hop to up
to high school outside of school, and it's a.
It's a difference in thedynamic from like starting with
my youngest, to the highschoolers, who are like I'm
(09:06):
going to go home and lay down onthe couch and hide, like it's
crazy to see the disc when itchanges.
From like confident, proud, andthen now you're navigating,
like who you are as a person inthe world, because you're
getting older and more cognizantof everything.
So, just you know, encouragingthose teachers just to take a
(09:28):
risk, to be uncomfortable alittle bit, to try it, because
if your students don't see it inyou, then how are they going to
be able to do it themselves?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Yeah, you know so much of this is about.
You know how we show up, whatwe, what space we create.
This isn't necessarily in thisepisode of Abad El-Enkid, but
there have been times rightwhere we've had teachers try to
be someone that they're not, andyou know that backfires.
I'm thinking reallyspecifically about you know,
jacob in the past episode, liketrying to roast his students,
(10:00):
like that doesn't go well andlike if you you trying to be you
as a teacher, listen to this,trying to be Alexia, that's
probably not going to work.
How are you going to be you inthat space Exactly?
What is the journey that you'regoing to go through with
identifying, like, how musicincorporates into your life?
How are you going to share thatwith your students?
How are you going to invitethem into?
doing this and like there's somany parallels between this and
(10:22):
how we exemplify restorativejustice in the classroom.
Right, the way that I lead acircle, the way that I invite
students into a relationshipbuilding like isn't going to be
the same, because I'm not Alexiaright, and neither of us are
you.
And so, as much as we want tolearn fundamentals and
frameworks of restorativejustice or you know music or
(10:42):
dance so much of it is.
How are you contextualizing itto you and your students?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
With all of that said , let's get into this episode of
Abba Elementary and, graciouslytaking this summary from
Wikipedia, we have Ava takingover Janine's afterschool step,
class Five, six, seven, eight.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Okay, cut, cut.
That's enough of that.
What's the problem?
This royalty free music is wackand these moves are tired.
When did you get this routinefrom Barney, the big book of
step?
I'm going to assume that'sBarney.
How did you manage to make stepand dorky?
Somebody put on some good music, like Cardi Great minds.
Let's move this to the floor.
We're going to need some room.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So, when we see this episode as a dance teacher, as a
kindergarten teacher, assomeone who's participated in
school structures as a studentand, of course, now as a teacher
, what stood out to you?
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Of course, it stood out like a big theme throughout
the episode with like being, andit's crazy because we just
talked about like being who youare and not being afraid of like
doing that and how we, likewill try to conform or like try
not to shake things up becausewe don't want, you know, other
(12:13):
people to call us weird or saythat you know we're not the same
or we're not, you know, doingwhat everybody else is doing.
So we see that, especially likewith Gregory and his need in
the beginning to be like tryingto hide the truth of it all.
And then we also see that withlike Janine and Ava's dynamic of
(12:37):
like what Janine brings fromlike her background, with step
and dance, and it's clearly thecomplete opposite of what Ava
brings.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Okay, they're not even following the routine.
So the point of this class wasto teach them structure and
responsibility, not card to bethere.
Do you ever talk about anythingother than structure and
responsibility?
Yes, pride and leadership Stepis supposed to be fun and, if
I'm expressing yourself, usethat to create a routine.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
So, like finding that freedom and who you are, and
then bringing that together as acommunity to say you know what,
what we both bring, what weboth like, what we both enjoy,
like it's a both end and we canbring that together to really
create magic within ourcommunity Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And I'm thinking about how, in that beginning of
this episode, we have Janinereally, really excited and
really enthusiastic about givingher students this opportunity
to participate in step,something that she found really
valuable for herself and throughthat she found right,
discipline, responsibility andthat's what she is trying to
impart on to her students.
(13:47):
Students aren't really beingresponsive to it.
I imagine if I was a studentwho was signing up for like an
after school dance class, Iwould be looking for like fun
and dancing.
And as much as we can becritical of Eva in other ways on
the show and there are manyways that we can be critical of
Eva she does really take time tobe attentive to what the
(14:08):
students are looking for andbonds with food, bonds with
getting to know them, bonds bygetting to share it.
As Janine is like rigidity andlike order and like let's learn
things the way that I did it.
It's not necessarily wrong thatJanine's doing that, but taking
time to learn to meet thestudents where they're at can be
(14:29):
so important to like actuallygetting to those goals of you
know, responsibility, leadership.
You just have to have theirbuying first facts yeah,
absolutely.
When we have Eva's interest injoining this step class, we have
a bunch of the teachers who arestepping through.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
I already know that I'm an open.
Okay, listen, this has got badnews written all over it.
She only looks after herself.
I've seen her push students outof the way during the fire
drill True.
I'm going to choose to look atthe glass half full.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, your glass, just make sure Eva doesn't spit
in it Because of all of the waysthat Eva has strict
responsibility in the past andlike, in many ways just been a
bad principal.
But Janine, like I reallyappreciate the way that she
gives Eva the benefit of thedoubt and as much as Eva is the
principal in this school, it'ssometimes helpful to think of
(15:25):
her in the show as just anotherlearner who is being given
another opportunity to like,share what she has to offer.
You know, as you worked withinthe realm of school, like you
have had principals and othercolleagues who, like might not
be like the most skilled or likethe most equipped to do the
thing it is that they're doing,or might even be a student.
(15:47):
But when we have thoseopportunities to let them shine
in the spaces where they can,like, it unlocks something
beautiful.
Can you think of any examplesof unlocking a moment like that
with a student or a colleague?
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, so I am on, obviously, kindergarten team, so
it's like me and another twokindergarten teachers and over
the summer I would.
Last year I was able to workwith my I call co-teachers
(16:24):
because we're you know,co-teachers.
In a sense, we had theopportunity to work with each
other during summer school and,you know, teachers don't really
have the opportunity to likewatch each other or grow and
learn from each other.
And she was having some issueswith like maybe like creating
(16:47):
classroom culture and communityand really, you know, developing
that first before, kind of likethe dynamic before she was able
to teach, because you need thatstructure, you need that
community and you need thatculture to be built before our
kids actually learn.
So during this time, you know,we were really able to grow
(17:08):
closer in our relationship andthen we were able to like learn
from each other and she was ableto watch me do some lessons and
sometimes, you know, like wesaid in the beginning, sometimes
it can be like, oh well, Ican't be you and like you do all
this stuff and I can never dothat, and I think sometimes like
(17:31):
I don't want you to be me, Iwant you to be you, but also
bringing the things that areculturally responsive and
building that community withyour kids and what it can look
like.
But you can't know what itlooks like if you never see it.
So we were able to really worktogether to team teach.
(17:52):
She was able to see how, like Idid my lessons and how I
transitioned into things andthen she realized and recognized
you know, what it's not like.
There's some things that I amable to incorporate, that I want
to incorporate, and there'ssome things that I'm going to
put my style on too.
So she was able to do some ofthose things.
(18:13):
Like I have a DJ of the day Formy classes, my classes, all
themes around hip hop, but sheloves like Motown music and
she's like a old soul.
So she had like, instead of theDJ of the day, she did the
musician of the day.
So, like that, this the leadsinger is I think that's what
(18:35):
she called it the lead singer.
So she like incorporated thatand she incorporated different
movement opportunities for thekids and different you know,
different structure to make herday go a lot smoother,
especially for kindergartenbecause they be wallet Okay.
So seeing that growth in herand that opportunity to really
(18:56):
connect and build and then growour relationship, and then kind
of weed out some of that like Iguess some people will call it
like intimidation, and it's notme trying to be intimidating,
it's just who I am in my purpose.
Like I'm confident in what I do, but that was really like an
(19:16):
open for us to grow together andfor herself and to like really
create that.
Like yo, I'm proud, like youdoing, you doing some good
things like and to see thatgrowth from her this year and
her classroom was really, reallyamazing.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, I'm thinking about you know we do have the
limit of 21 minutes in the show,but Jeanine and Eva don't take
any time to talk about what isour collaborative approach here,
like what are your strengths,what are my strength?
It's kind of just like yourturn, my turn, your turn, my
turn and those things, thosethemes are clashing, and what
would it have been like if theyhad stopped and had a
(19:55):
conversation like these are mystrengths, these are your
strengths, how can weincorporate those in the mix?
I don't want to like let itpass without acknowledging that
teachers do have a limitedamount of time to observe each
other, to collaborate, so it's aschool leaders who are
listening to this and eventeachers who are, like,
informally trying to createthose spaces.
(20:15):
That's important, right.
What are the opportunities thatyou're taking to learn from
your peers?
Like support each other?
right, because you know thereare things that you learned from
your co-teacher that, like younever would have thought about
if you hadn't taken that time to.
You know, share with her right.
It's not about like.
Alexia is the keeper of all theknowledge and all things to be
(20:38):
like perfect kindergartenteacher, right, like she has
things to contribute to you aswell, right, I think about
restorative justice.
It's not just like.
Everybody has gifts and we'reall needed, for what we bring is
so important, and to createthose opportunities for those
gifts to be identified andshared and people to be
acknowledged and affirmed forhaving those gifts is just so
(21:00):
important.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
It's so important.
I agree Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We have these skeptical teachers in the
episode because Ava has abackground in not showing up for
any number of herresponsibilities and at the
beginning of this episode wehear that she's come back from a
week-long vacation.
As she assumedly bails on thisperformance, it doesn't show up.
It tells the students that,like Paige, andington, have to
(21:27):
take over.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
She said that something came up and that you'd
handle it.
I can't handle it.
I barely know the routine.
That's what I said.
Where are you going?
I'm busy right now, janine,what are you waiting for in Uber
Black to take you to an UziVert concert?
You know that man.
Don't come out during the daytime.
Go take care of your step class.
I can't, because you changedthe routine.
They do your wack ass routine.
You know what?
(21:53):
Everybody told me not to trustyou.
They said you do this and Isaid no, because I believed in
you.
And now it's messing with thekids.
You can't think of anyone otherthan yourself.
Oh, an airport van to take youon another vacation.
Baby, did you have to bring ouryouth?
She had an episode.
(22:14):
We couldn't calm her down andfigured it would help her to see
your face.
I'm here now, grandma.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Whenever people are behaving in a way that is not in
line with your expectations orcausing harm there is generally
a reason it might not be areason that you agree with, but
there is a reason that peopleare acting out, as you saw this
play out, what came up for you,because Ava hasn't been the most
(22:41):
upstanding character in thisseries.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
No, she has not.
It made me think on a deeperlevel what people around us are
truly going through and theassumptions and stigmas that we
place automatically as humanswho prejudge people without
(23:07):
really having the connection ortime to get to know them and
understanding that usuallyeverything that happens is
caused for a reason.
We might not know what thatreason is.
It's just sticking close tohumanity and seeing people and
(23:29):
having communication with themto understand that they're not
alone and that it's okay tospeak up and speak out about
what you're going through.
People can get to know you andbe more empathetic to situations
, then getting to understand whypeople are not like what
(23:54):
happened to you instead of likewhy are you this way?
What is going on in your life?
What has happened with yourpast?
What has happened now in thepresent?
What happened when you were akid?
This is all a part of who weare as adults, how our kids are
(24:14):
shaped.
I think for me, thinking aboutme as an educator, as a dance
instructor, as a fitnessinstructor, all of these things
is really getting to know thewhy behind behaviors and
developing a closer relationshipand making that connection.
(24:35):
It doesn't excuse it, but itgives us a lens at which we can
see and understand why thesethings are happening.
Then if we have to collaborateor communicate in a way to solve
problems or to show growth orfix things, we have that space
(24:57):
and that knowledge to do so.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
A broad framework for having a restorative process.
Restorative conversation isthat what happened instead of
what did you do, what role didyou break and who was impacted
and how, and what needs to beaddressed in order to make
things as right as possible.
In that what happened?
There's so much more to explorethere.
What happened in this moment?
Sure, but what happened leadingup to this and all the things
(25:24):
that you talked about?
What are the things that you'veexperienced before?
What is the nature of therelationship between those
people?
What is the culture of theschool environment that would
lead to Ava not sharing aboutthis with her colleagues?
We've seen Ava Elementary.
As much as these teachers cometogether in times of crisis,
things become crises becausethey don't communicate about
(25:46):
simple things going on.
They're afraid to ask for help,afraid to be seen as a bad
teacher, afraid to be seen as abad principal, afraid to be seen
as somebody who's weak, afraidto be seen as someone who's
growing old and out of date.
All of these characters exhibitlots of these things and put up
walls, put up masks, try tohide their behavior, try to hide
(26:09):
their flaws.
If we had created anenvironment where people were
able to ask for help we're ableto share who they are liking
pizza or not, we might have beenable to prevent so many of
these issues.
Of course, when we do havethese issues, it's so important
to apply these framework, but Ithink so much about the
(26:31):
proactive, restorative practicesthat are necessary to build and
strengthen, as well as repair,relationships when harm occurs.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Everybody bring in their favorite pizza and we'll
have an eat-off.
Okay, gregory, you never toldus your favorite pizza place.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Oh, I should say this one out I'm more of a Baltimore
style pizza guy.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Ooh, Baltimore pizza.
I've never heard about that.
What makes it so different?
Speaker 4 (27:13):
You never heard of Baltimore style.
Oh, it's great.
It's really crunchy and likewet.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Wet.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Yeah, yeah, no, it's great.
Next time you're there, go toSeychee's Pizza.
They soak it.
It's like sopping.
I got to go talk to a childabout lipping.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
As you saw Gregory struggle with this in this
episode, like trying to fit in.
I'm curious if there are anyinstances in your early teaching
career where you felt the needto fit in.
How did you overcome that?
Speaker 3 (27:53):
So, yeah, so in the beginning of my teaching career
I was very like Around otheradults.
I was very muted.
I felt the need to always likenot say anything, to be quiet,
to like keep the waters, youknow, steady.
I always like, when I'm aroundkids, like I'm always, like I'm
(28:17):
gonna be who I am, I feel free,like I'm going to, you know, do
the things that I know are bestfor my kids and just be outside
of the box.
But whenever I was with youknow, colleagues or in meetings
for work, I was always likedon't say anything.
I felt like I didn't, you know,fit in because I was so
(28:40):
different than most teachersaround me.
And then I started to, you know,be more confident in who I was
as a teacher.
I started therapy and then Ihad to like it's weird, but I
had to like force myself and I'manxious, and anxiety would come
(29:01):
and like my mouth would be dryand I would like start to sweat,
like start, my heart would raceand I would speak out, even
though I was experiencing thosethings and throughout some time
I would build the confidence andthen talking about why I was
feeling these things.
And then now it's like I feelfree in myself and confident in
(29:25):
myself to be able to speak whatI feel, speak the truths, speak
up for my kids.
And yeah, I feel more confidentand that comes with time, that
comes with experience, thatcomes with you.
Know I can speak because Icould show you the facts and the
things that I have been able todo as an educator, where in the
(29:50):
beginning I didn't have thatconfidence.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, you know, you talked about going to therapy.
You talked about like increasedconfidence.
You talked about like time andexperience.
But I'm curious if there areany instances that stand out
that were like, oh yeah, I canbe this way, like what helped
you overcome that year?
Speaker 3 (30:10):
I think it was other people in my community.
Outside, especially, likeduring COVID, I connected with a
community on Instagram ofteachers and they just filled me
up with just so much and likereassurance and they were like,
(30:32):
girl, you better snap out of it,like you got this.
So getting that from them andconnecting with people who are
like-minded, who do, areinvested in this work, are
invested in creating biggerchange and reimagining what the
classroom is.
Connecting with my hip hop edcommunity, that was like the aha
(30:52):
moment for me to be like youare special and it's okay that
you're not like everybody else.
There's a reason for that.
So that was a turning point forme for sure.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Right, it's great that we find community in, you
know, places like Instagram,because we can connect with
people all across the country,even the world.
Right, that's how we gotconnected.
But what was it like to findcommunity within your own school
context?
Speaker 3 (31:26):
It took some time, as relationships take, but
throughout the years, you know,dealing with people who were not
maybe like-minded or were alittle intimidated by what I did
, but as the years would pass,we have new leadership.
I was able to connect withother teachers outside of my
grade level who really pour intome, who see you know, who see
(31:49):
me and accept me for what I doand who I am, and it's been
great to connect with them, togo on staff outings with them,
to, you know, havingconversations about the
importance and the changes thatwe want to make in the school.
So it's been a great like twoyears for me really developing
(32:10):
those relationships and, youknow, having teachers that I can
call friends outside of school.
Yeah, yeah, and you know theAbbott crew.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
You know as much as this is just a sitcom, right,
and they have to like contrivethe story lines into like these
21 minute episodes, right, likethey do go through all of this,
right.
We're towards the end of thestory, we're towards the end of
season one when this episodecame, but we do see, like the
evolution of their friendshipsthat like exist maybe outside of
(32:42):
school, maybe a little bit morethan friendships for it for
some of the characters, but youknow, even like the dynamics
between Jacob and Greg, likeJacob like being willing to
drive all the way to Baltimoreto like do something to connect
with a colleague, right, likethose are moments that aren't in
your job description, right,but they are things that like
(33:04):
will build relationship equityand the ability to speak into
people and rely on people longterm.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Is there anything else that's about to you from
this episode that you want tomake sure that we highlight?
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Um, I think what I really loved at the end was how
Ava and Janine like they stillhave their like eugh, like
relationship but they like cametogether and like did this stomp
together and it was likeaffirming of like we can still
(34:08):
come together with ourdifferences and if we're able to
like create change and just seethem like have that moment of
joy and love, and like yo, wedid a good job Like, even though
it was like kind of weird howthey ended before that moment
(34:29):
and Ava went right back to liketalking down to her.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Thanks, janine, I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
It was still like that moment of like we can, if
we could all just like cometogether and see that success,
so I thought that was like areally great way to close out.
You know the episode um howthey came together.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Yeah, it's like it's really funny Because in the
context of a sitcom you can'thave like too much character
growth right, but like, in someways, like it is true to real
life I'm thinking about thesecond chance, where it was
working with the teacher who wasdealing with the student who
was like cussing it out all thetime.
And you know, we have thisrestorative conversation and
(35:21):
come back and like she's justlike I don't know what's going
on.
He's still yelling at me andI'm like, yeah, but is he
cussing she's?
about to grow right and likethat's not.
Like restorative justice orrestorative process isn't, like
this, necessarily cure-all.
Like we stop patterns ofbehavior in moments, right.
Like it is an evolvingrelationship that requires us to
(35:44):
continue to show up, keeppeople accountable to the things
that we want them to be,support them in doing those
things.
Of course, no one is, you know,holding Ava accountable to
being like, a better principalhere in this space, right, but
within the context of thatrelationship we do see growth
which, like, is indicative of,you know, the things that we
(36:05):
experience in our everyday lives.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
For real it is and like, like you said, like
noticing because I had a studentlike that this year as well
like we was at it.
But I think, like monitoringthat and being like self-aware,
to say, you know what?
She didn't throw its hand drumscreaming at the top of her
(36:28):
lungs and then we moved to.
Oh, she's able to likeself-regulate and like when she
was feeling a strong feeling orfeeling disappointment, like she
was able to go to our calm downspot and like get herself
together and like building uponthat.
Was it perfect?
No, but, like you said, like inrestorative practices, we have
(36:52):
to understand that it's aprocess and it's going to take
time and space and getting moreaware with yourself so that you
can model that to especiallychildren.
But it just takes time and alsoconsidering the what and what
they have gone through to whythey're responding in a certain
(37:15):
way.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Yeah, I mean going from like two tantrums a day to
one tantrum a day, to like beinglike really heightened, but
then like being able toself-regulate, like that is
tremendous to what like is notgoing to happen just because you
have a conversation with a kid.
Right, that's what we opt intoas people who are doing work in
(37:36):
education, with human change.
Right, there's just so muchtime and there's just so much
work to be done and it happenswhen we give it the time and
attention that it requires.
You've heard from us.
Now we want to hear from you.
Drop your restorative justicereflections in the comments and
if you want to join a livecommunity conversation about our
(37:57):
restorative justice lessonsfrom Ava Elementary, join us for
a live event on Monday, july 31.
Link with more info in thedescription.
Before we go, there's aquestion that everybody answers
when they come on these airwaves.
You have the ear of Quinta andthe riders of the show.
Pitch yourself as a characteron Ava Elementary.
What would your story arc be?
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Oh gosh, of course it would be the teacher that's
like filled with joy and dancingand it's like.
I think for me it would be likea musical but hip hop.
So I would be like the teacherthat's like always singing and
dancing, and just be an extraand bringing you know some fun
(38:45):
and joy into the space with thecharacters.
And yeah, about change I wouldwant to, you know, change up
what it looks like to be in atraditional classroom.
So I think that would be thecharacter I would want to be.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
Yeah, I'm curious, like and just bring something,
as people have witnessed on thisin this conversation like you
do bring so much joy, light andenergy, and I think that's
something that Jeanine aspiresto do in a lot of cases.
Jeanine is also someone wholike exhibits or like upholds,
(39:22):
like a lot of toxic positivity.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
And I'm wondering, like if that is something to
play off of.
I'm curious, how do you preventyour like up beatness from
becoming like that toxicpositivity, and I think that's
something such as rainbows andlike we have to be happy all the
time?
Speaker 3 (39:38):
Oh yeah.
So, and I think the differencewith me is there is a realness
and a inability for me to havelearned how to communicate when
things are not okay, to say youknow what this is trash.
Like to be able to be open andhonest and have those
(39:58):
conversations like not sunshineand rainbows, because it
wouldn't be normal if it wasthat way.
So I think being able to just,you know, reflect on that and
like bringing in the differentways that I, when we are having
a hard moment and we have a lotof those in kindergarten, how I
(40:21):
like address it with the kidsand I'm very like, honest, we
have those, you know, thosewhere we do have conversations
and we do talk about it and wedo get real and we do like we
will, you know, collaborate andlike work through the problems,
and I'm 100% Like we're going tokeep it a book.
(40:44):
But I think you know thatrealness also comes with love,
because love and joy alsorequires accountability.
So I think I would be real andraw.
But watch my presentation ofhow I communicate those things.
So like, like you said in thebeginning, it's a mix of Ava and
(41:05):
Jeanine morphed.
It would be the two togetherthat would be me.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Beautiful.
So from your mouth to Quintaand the writer's ears, you know
tag them.
All folks make this happen.
Well, Alexia, thank you so muchfor sharing your wisdom, your
experiences, your story, yourreflections.
How can people support you andyour work in ways that you want
to be supported?
Speaker 3 (41:34):
You could just give me a follow, give me positive
vibes.
You can follow me on allplatforms, on the Dancer teacher
.
And yeah, we can connect.
I love meeting new people, Ilove learning stories and
learning from people all overthe world.
So, yeah, let's connect.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Again, thank you so much.
We'll be back very, very soonwith the next episode of
restorative justice reflections.
Thinking about other elements,episode 10 open house.
But until then, take care y'all.
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