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Connect Zone
1-25-2016
“It is crucial that we not only teach kids how to read but also how to relate.” These words beautifully sum up Bev Ogilvie’s book, “ConnectZone.org: Building connectedness in schools.” This message is so vital in today’s schools that I wish the book was required reading for every teacher, administrator, school board representative, and parent.
Ogilvie, a long-time counsellor in the Burnaby School District, eloquently reminds us that students deserve teachers who are their advocates not their opponents. Children and youth deserve to do more than to just obey, conform, accept and follow. They deserve to be treated as unique and worthy people with developmentally appropriate ambitions, limitations, hopes, fears, interests, aptitudes and attitudes. All students deserve schools that promote a culture of connectedness and belonging – not only when expectations are fulfilled, but also when someone falls short – especially then. Our next generation deserves school leaders who are brave enough “to get back to the basics – to their hearts – to better understand the nature and power of relationships and to connect with each other.”
This book elegantly reinforces the fact that in addition to being instructors, teachers are also caretakers. They are entrusted by parents and society to take care of each child or youth in front of them. Ogilvie explains that this means that the needs of the child must remain at the forefront. The key word is “needs.” This stance of putting the child first does not sanction a free-for-all wild rumpus in the classroom where the child is granted his or her every whim. Instead it means that the child can trust that the teacher will do the right thing, take the lead, value the relationship, and look after the student with genuine compassion and understanding.
Scattered throughout the book are vignettes written by fellow educators describing the effectiveness of schools guided by connection. These stories show how taking a humane and dignifying approach leads to children maturing instead of merely complying. Too often teachers rely on the gimmick of rewards and punishments to corral behaviour instead of investing in developing mutually respectful relationships that encourage the students to become problem-solving partners.
Harnessing the power of connections is a paradigm shift. Ogilvie admits “As educators, we can get lost in a child’s behaviours and feel overwhelmed by them. We can get bogged down in details, strategies and programs. We may feel disillusioned by the challenges of the job, isolated and alone.” She goes on to explain “The education system continues to be wrongly preoccupied with consequences and cognition. It almost entirely ignores children’s emotional and physical needs.” When students feel disconnected, unwanted, coerced or humiliated it is natural and normal for them to respond with resistance, frustration, withdrawal or even anger. A teacher’s focus on behaviour will reap behavioural responses from the students. A shift to concentrating on maintaining a vibrant and supportive connection through recognizing and responding to underlying emotions will result in better behaviour. Students want to please teachers that they feel connected to.
What is sometimes overlooked is the notion that when a child trusts that his teacher cares about him, all of him – not just his head, but his heart too – then that child is willing and eager to learn and to follow the rules and procedures that optimize learning. Being seen, heard, and valued is energizing.
Warm nurturing relationships propel students to take risks in their learning and stretch far beyond the basic curriculum.
Ogilvie is well aware that schools often default to restrictive policies and practices that discount the importance of teachers accepting the responsibility for establishing caretaking relationships with their students. It is easier to mandate than to relate. Her slim but compelling book challenges the status quo and champions a school culture that values connectedness as essential and foundational. If you value children and education “ConnectZone” is an essential and foundational book to read.
More information about Bev Ogilvie and her work can be found at http://www.connectzone.org/ Zainab Dhanani can be reached at z_dhanani@yahoo.ca
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