National Writing Project Workshop Two

Workshop Two: Resiliency and Reform: Strange bedfellows in the era of high stakes

 For this workshop we began by interrogating our assumptions of what resiliency meant – we brainstormed, shared and then discussed the term in its usage as it concerned schools. We thought resiliency id bouncing back – I heard this the most.
 We read a poem and discusses issues of barrier to resilience and how high stakes testing has stifled it.
 We shared stories of students who were more resilient than others and what characteristics made them resilient. We discussed how they had hope, were positive, and had supportive parents, but more than this they exhibited perseverance more so than other children that made them exceptional.
 I will attach the sheet for the main ideas of resiliency, creating a context for resilience, and the essay we examined.
 Overall, I think this workshop was significant because it led to meaningful discussions about social justice, the perseverance of kids, high stakes testing, and ways in which teachers cope with all the issues they face on a regular basis. I think we discussed them to come to the conclusion that the problems with education rest in the social and cultural context it is situated in and teachers and parents who persistently expect more, will see more even of the most disadvantaged students.