Advot in Action

When I was student teaching in Boston during graduate school, I had a trick to make me feel like less of a failure as a teacher. I decided, after one particularly hard day in the classroom that I am sure I beat myself up for, that if ONE student used my name the next day, it would be a successful class. That would indicate to me that they had connected with me and (gasp!) remembered my name.

Before I had even entered the classroom the next day, my measure of success had been met. It right-sized the whole day.

I offer this story to my Advot team members when they start to waver in confidence. Recently, I was reminded of it while leading a particularly resistant group of girls at one of our probation sites. Kaci, my co-facilitator, and I would enter the unit, and week after week, we’d be met with frowns, shrugged shoulders, and protests that our plans were boring and they’d rather do something else. We felt like we were swimming upstream every week. It wasn’t fun; it wasn’t fulfilling; and it didn’t feel like we were making any impact.

A challenging group like that really tests my thick skin. I started questioning if I should wear different jeans, change my shoes, dye my hair, bring a cooler bag…There’s nothing like a group of teenage girls to make you feel insecure.

The bottom line was these girls were overscheduled and not interested. It had nothing to do with if my hairstyle seemed lame to them or not. It had nothing to do with me at all.

Mid-session, I reminded myself and Kaci that we had to change how we measured what a successful class was. We weren't going to suddenly engage them in our interactive games and facilitate deep conversations about communication and relationships.

So…I posed, what would indicate a successful class for us?

I decided that I wanted to hear laughter.

Kaci said she wanted to hear everyone’s voice at least once.

When we entered the next week, by the end of the first game, our measure of success had been met. The girls were working together, showing leadership skills, and really having fun.

And by the end of the program session, while we ate pizza and read out questions from a bowl, there was laughter, reflection, and promises by the students that they would reach out to us when they got out.

I have asked Naomi the same question, “What is a successful class to you?”

She has always said, “A successful class is the one we show up for.”

So. We continue to show up, ready and willing to create whatever space these kids need to engage. And maybe even empower them to step out of their comfort zones, try something new, and transform.

By: Annie Kee, Managing Director