Create a SHINEtastic School Year with Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.®!
Every child has unique strengths and interests. As educators, do we take the time to honor each child for their individuality, encouraging them to S.H.I.N.E. in their own way? Developing cultures where every individual is embraced for their individuality may feel like quite a feat considering all of the demands we face. Yet doing so is exactly what supports all learners to flourish. The more people feel appreciated and have a sense of belonging, the more likely they are to contribute.
Why Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® in the classroom?
Each year, students arrive at school looking ahead to the new year. Excited faces ready to start fresh! Along with this comes anxiety and uncertainty for some students, while others adjust more quickly. Some students come in ahead of the game either in academics or socially, while others hold back with apprehension or in trying to figure out how to make it through the day. No matter what your students come with, having a culture where every individual is valued is the core of Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® As an educator for 10 years, a struggling student myself, and then watching my daughter experience some challenges in school, I (LaVonna) knew we had to break down the box in which we put students in and that is typically a box of reading, writing, math and science. Our students are way more than that and deserve more than that!
Due to this, I set out on a mission and launched Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® to explode the box so that every student understands they are gifted, the question is how, and not a measure to be compared to what has currently defined them in the education system. Our students are sounding the alarm through social-emotional means and in achievement as they beg to show that they are someone and are somebody. Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® creates a pathway for students to recognize this and grow as an individual in confidence so they learn how to successfully navigate the paths that are set before them. If we truly want to see students skyrocket, then we must start with their core needs and get the brain into a state of learning. It is why Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® is viewed as the heart of achievement.
LaVonna and I (Elisabeth) have connected over many of our similarities. My 14 years of classroom experiences and recollections of my own difficulties in certain areas of school, along with watching the journey of my sons, has provided me with a unique lens in which I see what our learners require to be successful. While we absolutely need to leverage instructional strategies that engage, empower, and deepen learning, we benefit from placing an intentional emphasis on creating a culture of Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® in order to support our learners to develop confidence as responsible risk-takers in the classroom. The culture of the classroom is the foundation to elevate learning. As a mom and educator, I want all kids to recognize their worth, reveal their talents, and embrace who they are wholeheartedly. Imagine a world where everyone embraces one another despite their differences! I have seen how Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® transforms learning firsthand, and can’t imagine teaching without it in the classroom.
What is Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.®?
Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® originally started with the word smart, not S.H.I.N.E., because I (LaVonna) wanted to break down the walls that the word smart defines for us in education. Someone said to me, right or wrong, that I would never change the definition of smart. Although part of my personality said, “Watch me!” Another part said, “What if they’re right?” I’m grateful for that comment, because my vision, as I was to soon realize, was much bigger than that! It is about every individual: recognizing their own uniquely beautiful strengths (gifts, skills and talents), marrying that with their passions (these will shift and change), learning how to stay inspired and inspire others, creating goals and a path for them to reach success as defined by them so that they become the exceptional person they were meant to be. Thus, the letters in S.H.I.N.E. stand for – Self. Heart. Inspire. Navigate. Exceptional. After having the privilege of working with so many educators on implementing Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® as a way of being and doing (not a program) through professional learning, the request for lessons still came. So, I created videos and lessons that students watch and experience in order to help educators build this incredible community that builds students up on a social-emotional level, tears down some of the barrier they place on themselves and others and as a result we are seeing an increase in attendance, positive behavior and achievement that soars! One of the first teachers to roll out and have her students experience Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® in their classroom was Elisabeth Bostwick, my co-author on this blog, and I’m so excited that she is willing to share her experience with you!
Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® in the Classroom
As a classroom practitioner, I (Elisabeth) have been blessed to have a wide variety of learners each year. Early on in my career I leveraged team building structures to foster connectedness, collaboration, and empathy for one another. Although the approach has been successful and yielded the results I was seeking, I knew there had to be something more to support learners to identify and embrace their unique strengths and passions. Today, I facilitate team building activities, place a great emphasis on cultivating authentic relationships, and have integrated the Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® framework for the classroom to achieve the culture of learning I envisioned!
Like a flower blooming in the spring, what I saw transpire in my classroom was transformational. Learners began by exploring the acronym of S.H.I.N.E. and then identified their strengths through activities built in the lessons. As we explored, learners exuberantly shared their findings regarding their strengths. They readily recognized that some of their strengths were similar, and others were uniquely different. Without prompting from me, learners began to seek help for those they knew had the strengths required to be successful in collaborative projects, and even verbally celebrated each other when they noticed growth in their peers by saying, “you’re SHINEtastic!” As learners journeyed through the lessons, they began to embrace peers on a new level. It’s not to say that teachers hadn’t strived to create opportunities where all feel appreciated, but rather, the lessons from Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® helped to develop authentic empathy. Additionally, learners began to view their peers through a new lens, and grasp that each classmate has something amazing to contribute.
For example, in our classroom we had a student who struggled due to his homelife. Easily judged like the cover of a book, some kids initially avoided interaction with him. Driven to be a force of positive influence, I intentionally interwove the language of Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® into all areas of learning while implementing the framework of the lessons.
Insight Into an Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® Activity
One lesson (that can be quite emotional) requires learners to draw and then cut out a heart from construction paper. On one side, learners write down all of their strengths, interests, and passions. On the other side, learners take a few moments to reflect and then record negative thoughts they’ve had or words that have been spoken to them. Important to note, I do explain that I will not read anyone’s heart unless they request me to. This allows learners to be more vulnerable to reach the intended effect.
Once complete, we all sit in a circle. Learners are prompted to pass their heart, positive side up, to the right. Upon stopping, each child is told to rip the heart three times and then return the pieces to their friend. We choose only three times because after children’s’ hearts are returned, they tape them back together again, positive side up.
The purpose behind this lesson is multidimensional. First, it encourages learners to reflect on their strengths, interests, and passions. They then have the opportunity to reflect on negative comments or inner thoughts that may run through their minds. But, the process of tearing and taping signifies that no matter what difficulties we face, we all have strengths, talents, and gifts to contribute to the world. Also, learners are able to visualize the effects their own words may have on their classmates; words and actions can hurt, and instead of breaking others down, we can build them up by being cognizant of our choices and interactions.
Many of my learners have opted to share their hearts with me. From this I’ve learned that kids, as young as 9 years old have faced incredible hardships and negative thoughts. And many, you’d never anticipate because on the surface they appear put together. As their teacher, I’ve learned to that each of my kids carries a completely different “backpack” to school. They come to us not only to learn, but to be loved. Love and acceptance is transformational, and allows us to get to the heart of high levels of learning.
Eventually in the series of lessons, learners identify what genuinely inspires them. We integrate writing standards and skills as we compose letters with words of thanks to those who inspire us. In turn, learners have received letters in return. In fact, one of my fourth graders received a letter and swag from the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. She was blown away, as was I!
Take Steps to Create a Culture of Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.®
You see, school is all about learning. However, learning is more than content. We can and should continue to explore how to develop rich learning opportunities for all, but if we don’t place an intentional emphasis on supporting every single learner to identify how they S.H.I.N.E. and then develop the culture where individuals embrace one another, it is comparable to attempting to build a house without the foundation. Understanding the strengths, passions, and how to navigate our goals to be successful enhances our culture so that we are able to bridge into deeper learning experiences. Every single child deserves to be seen and honored for their individuality. Together, let’s cultivate learning communities that foster the conditions for every child to fully blossom and S.H.I.N.E.!
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Bios
LaVonna Roth is a highly dynamic and engaging keynote speaker, learning specialist, author, and consultant who facilitates professional learning within schools. With a deep passion in using brain research as a fundamental foundation, she supports students, educators, parents, and the community to honor and value each other so we unite and become unstoppable in what can be achieved. By using these fundamentals, she identifies how to reframe adversities and use those moments to become the exceptional person you really are. LaVonna has taught at the elementary and secondary levels and is the author of 8 books. She has presented in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America and the Middle East on increasing engagement and the fun factor in learning. LaVonna is the creator and founder of the Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® movement and framework, where every person is encouraged to use his or her skills, talents and gifts… to illuminate the world.
Elisabeth Bostwick is a teacher who’s passionate about sparking curiosity and unleashing creativity to empower learning. She continues to be a leader in education as she avidly seeks alternative methods to innovate in the classroom and support systemic change for learners to thrive. Driven to elevate education and support educators in their journey, she partners with school districts to support cultivating the maker mindset, leveraging technology to enhance learning, and fostering a culture of innovation. Elisabeth presents on these topics and more at conferences including ISTE, NYSCATE, and Model Schools. Her first book, Education Write Now Volume II, Top Strategies for Improving Relationships and Culture, co-authored with nine other passionate educators, will release in December 2018. In early January 2019, her second book, Take the L.E.A.P., Ignite a Culture of Innovation will be released.
