When an educational experience is steeped in competitiveness, one-size-fits-all policies, a “grind” mindset, and an emphasis on achievement over individual growth, the classroom can feel stressful and unwelcoming. How can we create learning environments that feel healthy and supportive?
Infusing Sustainability, Empathy, and Inclusivity into the Classroom
This week, I was excited to sit down with a former teacher of mine, the wonderful Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer. Dr. Shaffer is the author of Feel Good Learning and a lifelong learning strategist who can be described as both an academic resilience coach and a nontoxic productivity coach. Our conversation is full of beautiful insights about what we can and should be doing to make learning feel better — for students and teachers alike.
You’ll discover:
- The personal journey that inspired Dr. Shaffer’s nontoxic learning philosophy and the strategies she uses to make learning feel more welcoming and joyful
- What needs to be unpacked and addressed when it comes to decision-making around learning and our students’ need for external validation
- That all life is education — and why confining our focus to classroom strategies, institutional policies, and scoring standards is reductive and short-sighted
- How establishing a nurturing safe space to explore creativity can create lifelong confidence in expressing ourselves creatively
- How introverted and gentle people can find their place in a teaching world that rewards extroversion and performativity
Timestamps:
00:44 Meet Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
04:49 Nurturing creativity & getting out of the way
13:55 Quiet teachers & embracing aliveness
17:24 Dr. Shaffer’s approach
23:27 All life is education
26:10 Authenticity & deconditioning
30:18 External validation
38:59 Finding joy
47:02 Final tip & what’s next
51:02 Conclusion
Links:
Awakened Learning by Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer
Instagram: @awakenedlearning
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