Shamelessly promoting my work w/ @j9love.bsky.social Different discipline but we draw on the book @texasinafrica.bsky.social suggested. We have suggestions on how to scaffold. You can still shift assignments/ incorporate elements of ungrading before going all in.
jsepajournal.org/index.php/js...

Ooh, I love the idea of starting the semester with it.

I see you included one of my other all-time favorite quotes as well!

“Start by trusting students” - @jessifer.bsky.social

But being fully present and authentic is the most effective way I’ve found to support student learning—and my own. I am looking forward to the lessons I’ll continue to learn from @liznorell.bsky.social 11/11

Being fully present in the classroom as our authentic selves can feel scary. Many of us have absorbed the lie that to do so is unprofessional. And many face disproportionate barriers and repercussions due to positionality that make authenticity more tenuous. 10/11

Over the years I’ve received many notes from students thanking me for my openness. From students who were cancer survivors, or caregivers, or enduring other forms of trauma. They thank me for modeling healing, for highlighting shared humanity, for letting them know they are seen and supported. 9/11

When I went on medical leave for my mastectomy, my students threw me a party, gave me cards, and even personal trinkets for luck. (One student gave me his rosary). The next semester when I was late with feedback due to exhaustion from chemo, they wrote me notes of love and encouragement. 8/11

Four years later when I was diagnosed with breast cancer (just five months after earning tenure) I was completely open with my students, no longer afraid to share. 7/11

I often said that, surprisingly (to me anyway), the fewer fucks I gave about “doing it right” the better teacher I became. 6/11

Over the next few years, I worked through my own trauma and learned to let go of what I thought I was “supposed” to do to be a good teacher. I opted for less over-scripted preparation, more improvisation in response to what my students (and I) brought into the room. 5/11

At the very end of the semester I opened up to my leadership students and the grace they extended to me brought me to tears and made me realize my fear and distrust was not only unnecessary but had been a barrier to authentic connection with my students. 4/11

When I returned to the classroom the following semester, I tried my damndest to be business as usual. I was a new prof and terrified of letting students know, afraid the knowledge would be weaponized against me, a lens to see all the ways I was falling short as I waded through my immense grief. 3/11

My late partner passed away during a semester research leave, and one month before my reappointment dossier was due. 2/11

Just picked this up. Looking forward to it!