 I never felt like I learned much from my philosophy class at Ohio University. I did learn about logical arguments and fallacies. As a journalism major this required course definitely was an important foundation. (I kind of wish we could require this kind of course for all Americans right now.) Last night I read Penalva's analysis of lifelong learning. His rethinking of education's meaning and purpose incorporated Rousseau, José Ortega-Gasset, and Julián Marías. It was deep but not in an "overwhelming pit of existential dread" deep. Depth is what we need right now. Every educator I know can tell you that this moment is overflowing with opportunity to rethink and revolutionize. Every one of them will also tell you we are completely missing this opportunity. It's as if we thought those full bookshelves behind people on their Zoom calls are what makes them worthy of listening to and not the work they did to learn. Education is not about the building, the testing, or the measuring. We absolutely must start focusing on the whole child and their well being while simultaneously valuing the whole educator and their wellbeing. Anyone can fill a bookshelf with books but only if they learn to read the world and the word will they be educated and alive. Educators make that happen. Sources: Jose Penalva (2020) Innovation, personalised education and Little Red Riding Hood, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 39:4, 339-355, DOI: 10.1080/02601370.2020.1786178 
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 Empathy and innovation led me to the classroom as a second career. Along the way, I’ve embraced every opportunity to learn about community and culture by listening with humility. At the Children’s Museum of Immigration, I empowered first-generation immigrants to be “experts” whose knowledge was a gift to their classmates. In my classroom, I exemplify empathy by listening to colleagues and students. I am a calm listener, and I reflect. The power of reflection drives empathy because it pushes us to see what we have in common. Learning someone’s story drives connection. My finely-honed listening and reflection skills also drive my innovative spirit. Teaching fulfills my need to be creative and innovate every day. When I listen to students with empathy, I can’t help but innovate to meet their needs. I follow my curiosity. I ask many questions, and I’ve learned to embrace the comfort in uncertainty. When we returned to the classroom in the fall of 2020, we knew that children’s social and emotional needs were priorities. I began the year by developing a firm understanding of how to thrive with resilience through uncertainty. To be successful, my students need to: ask questions, demonstrate curiosity, listen to many perspectives with an open mind and take healthy risks. I bring these traits to every endeavor. These skills help me stay focused on my passion - curiosity about the world, its people, and what motivates us to make the world a better place. My empathy drives my innovation, and my drive to innovate is motivated by empathy. I teach because I believe in every human’s potential and dignity. Every person deserves to feel dignity in their life every day. How can we recognize every person’s dignity if we don’t look at the world through an empathy lens? How can we restore dignity to all if we don’t innovate? These questions push me always to improve.  art by Emma Ismawi from amplifier.org An assignment this week asked me to write about learner-centered classroom environments. While initially this activity felt futile and frustrating, when I revised to focus on solutions I did feel a little more in control of the reality I face with my students in 1 week.
The idea of revolutionizing education through the pandemic and in a post-pandemic world gives many educators hope but the reality in 2021 is less revolutionary and more rollback. In one week, I will return to a transformed classroom that feels centered not on learner’s needs or even safety but for convenience. Pre-pandemic, students sat in learning pods, which fostered collaboration and constructing knowledge together. Standing desks offered students opportunities to break up the monotony of sitting for hours, and during work time, students could move to a space of their choosing to focus or collaborate. Now students sit in rows, facing forward. One of the pillars of learner-centered thinking is that the teacher is not the transmitter of knowledge. Educators have adapted to virtual learning by utilizing technology to facilitate collaboration and allow students opportunity and choice. This environment creates three barriers to learner-centered practice. The first problem is that students will have to collaborate through their computers despite being in the same room. I can continue virtual learning best practices to foster collaboration but the socialization for mental health that so many believe will ensue is not something I can facilitate in these conditions. Therefore, the solution-technology use-creates problems of its own. The second problem is that due to space limitations and large class sizes we cannot move during class. Egger et. al (2019) argue that intentional physical activity throughout the school day improves executive function which boosts academic achievement. Incorporating movement is learner-centered. It shows that we value balance and health and keeps middle school learners focused and engaged. A learner-centered solution to this problem is to focus on objects of beauty and ideas of growth in a variety of forms including drawing, music, and video. Cullen et. al remind us that learner-centered environments are healthful, resourceful, and sustainable, so an additional solution is to put learning on hold to focus on mindfulness and calming strategies every day (2012). These coping skills will help with social and emotional competence. A third problem is a plan for students who quarantine to “watch” class via Google Meet to keep learning at home. In my twenty-first century learner-centered classroom, students do not watch an instructor deliver information. Students collaborate, I facilitate, coach and guide. If we ask what would be the best learner-centered environment to develop the twenty-first-century skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking, a crowded classroom in the middle of a pandemic is not the answer. However, a solution to this problem is to maintain an inquiry-based approach to learning. I will limit direct instruction focused on skills and allow students more choice in how they acquire knowledge and share their understanding (Weimer, 2013). With this learner-centered focus, both teachers and students can focus on thriving and growing through challenging circumstances. References: Blumberg, P., & Pontiggia, L. (2011). Benchmarking the Degree of Implementation of Learner-Centered Approaches. Innovative Higher Education, 36(3), 189–202. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10755-010-9168-2 Cullen, R.. Harris, M., & Hill, R. (2012). The Learner-Centered Curriculum: Design and Implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Egger, F., Benzing, V., Conzelmann, A., & Schmidt, M. (2019). Boost your brain, while having a break! The effects of long-term cognitively engaging physical activity breaks on children’s executive functions and academic achievement. PLoS ONE, 14(3). https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212482 Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  Is it radical to be vulnerable? Or is admitting vulnerability exactly what we all need right now? Building a better more inclusive world requires those of us who are comfortable and privileged to live in discomfort. That's vulnerable. Looking at the world through an equity lens can make us uncomfortable, especially if we pride ourselves on being progressive and inclusive. Resting on our laurels isn't brave, it's comfort. Let's lean in to discomfort so we can be better. This week my students are creating fictional characters from the Civil War to keep a journal. They roll the dice to piece together their identity (gender, age, race or ethnicity, politics, etc.) Some students end up in very different shoes and attempt to empathize. We have a conversation about how hard empathy truly is. Today I realized that the first roll of the dice demanded a binary decision: Male or female I didn't notice this error until after the lesson, as I prepared the follow up for tomorrow. Certainly this binary choice existed in antebellum America, but does that mean people who are non-binary didn't exist? Of course not. Why would I commit erasure when I so often remind my students that every kind of person they see around them today existed throughout history? We know our job is to dig for the stories. Practice means trying harder and getting better. I'm humbly work to repair this oversight. 
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"I'm incredibly fortunate to work with young people because they are hopeful and accepting and have an enormous capacity for generosity. The reality for many of my eighth graders is that they are on their own this year. The level of maturity they've been asked to show in being self-regulated and self-directed is beyond imagining for adults. The amount of screen time they have each day and the chaotic events they have been exposed to in the last 12 months demand that we, the adults, step up. We need to listen and when kids ask questions we need to be comfortable in the discomfort of not knowing answers. I once heard that shopping mall Santas are trained to never say "Yes" or "I promise" but to only say "I'll see what I can do," We also know that letting children lead the conversation can help us answer just enough to support them but not so much that we overwhelm them. This week my class dove in to Dr. Martin Luther King's "The Other America" speech because I couldn't answer the many "why" questions I've been asked about current events. We stepped into 1967. Culture was changing. The Vietnam War was raging - with the weekly death toll on the front page of the newspaper. (A fact which I never considered before this year.) We focused on King's beautiful visual language: "The sunlight of opportunity" contrasting with the "clouds of inferiority forming in their little mental skies" We juxtaposed images of prosperity and poverty in the 1960s. (Thank you Gordon Parks!) We reflected on the iconic Civil Rights Movement images and the successful legislation passed and asked why Dr. King was unsuccessful when he moved his movement north. Our second day of analysis focused on Dr. King's message of hope. He was optimistic and hopeful to the end. I paired excerpts from the speech with two poems by Langston Hughes, one by Emily Dickinson and one by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke. The process of reading, reflecting and questioning the ideas helped me process my own feelings. Students found the activity challenging but hopeful. Helping students feel safe in tumultuous times is work. It requires careful reflection and planning with attention to detail. Creating a brave space in our classrooms requires us to be brave ourselves. We model bravery by admitting uncertainty but also by offering kids ways to work through uncertainty. Art, poetry, music and all of the humanities can ground us on solid footing and tether us to the past when we feel adrift. Links to both activities are included below.
An excerpt from Dr. King's speech, 1967 An excerpt from Coke, 2015
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AuthorErin McCarthy is the 2020 Wisconsin Middle School Teacher and Wisconsin's Representative to the National Teacher of the Year Program. Archives
September 2025
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