Belonging in the family,
Belonging in the community,
Belonging in schools,
Belonging in the classroom,
Belonging in a friendship group.
We belong through acceptance. Acceptance of our gender, nationality, celebrations, language, academic, physical, differences…. Simply who we all are as people. Different.
This for me is the most vital message of education.
Take a look at your school, take stock of the people in it – staff, students and community. Do all you can to help them belong.
One way of doing this is to complete an audit of who you have, and plan to purposefully celebrate them. Don’t plan for them, plan with them. Give them the responsibility of delivering the messages that are important to them. Everyone can talk for themselves. Use their perspective to educate others.
I lived in Hong Kong for 8 years. Chinese New Year is dear to my heart and my children’s early life experiences. So much rich culture, heritage and beauty.
恭喜发财
