#teacherscollege studentprofile curriculumandteaching nonviolence ColumbiaTC

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Dominique shares Nonviolence with the TC community!

Dominique is a first year in the Curriculum and Teaching department; she is a certified Nonviolence trainer, and is passionate about sharing nonviolent philosophies and practices with others. What is Kingian Nonviolence?  In a very general sense, it is the nonviolent philosophies and practices seen during our country’s Civil Rights Era executed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as well as many others. However, nonviolence is not something that can just be discussed in the past tense. To quote the first principle of Kingian Nonviolence, “Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.” It can be practiced in every varying aspect of one’s life with a lot of thought, effort, and sacrifice.    How does the Nonviolent philosophy correlate with the TC philosophy? What makes Teacher’s College so special is its dedication to social justice and drive to advocate for one’s classroom. At the end of the day, we, as educators, want what is best for all of our students. We want to build an environment in our classroom where they feel comfortable, accepted, and eager to learn among their peers. In Kingian Nonviolence, this is often referred to as the beloved community - a community that includes and accepts all, no matter the circumstance. In my short time thus far at TC, this is a objective of all future educators I have encountered, and I truly believe that nonviolent practices and ideals can help its development. How would Nonviolence techniques be a useful resource for prospective teachers? The possibilities are pretty much endless! During my training, the absolute first thing we did was learn and discuss the importance of paying attention and empathy. We also discussed the extensive definitions of violence, non-violence, and nonviolence (yes, there is quite the difference between the latter two). When preparing to have one’s own classroom, in order to keep it a safe and productive space, these are all things to keep in mind. Additionally, as educators, our classes are bound to experience many conflicts every year. Kingian Nonviolence outlines different types and levels of conflict to help it be more easily identified, as well as steps to help resolve it. I can go on, but these are just a few examples. How can you see Nonviolence being implemented in the classroom? This is another question to which I have so many different ideas! When I was being trained, I was fortunate enough to meet with an elementary school teacher and a few of her students who discussed the many different ways they have used and learned about nonviolence in their school. I could write a list of how educators can implement nonviolence, but I’ll just explain my favorite daily activity that was shared with me. In the beginning of the school year, one practice many teachers follow is forming classroom rules or policies that all students should keep in mind. These usually include things like “work hard” or “don’t be afraid to make mistakes.” In the classroom of the teacher I previously mentioned, she included a list of the six principles of Kingian Nonviolence. Not only did they learn about what each principle meant at the time, but every day throughout the year they would choose one to focus on applying to their day. This allows us and our students to constantly practice nonviolent ideals. It is important to note that we can’t just decide at the beginning of the year that our classroom will be a nonviolent space and expect it to always work out; it is not something you can master fully one day. Nonviolence is a forever goal that requires constant effort and practice. This activity reminds us of that. How are you looking to bring your knowledge of Nonviolence to the Teachers College community? I would love to speak to any who are interested in learning more about nonviolence and how it can be brought to schools! It would be even better to train more future educators and administrators in nonviolence so it can be spread to wherever we all move on to after TC. If you are interested in learning more about Nonviolence and how you can bring it into your classroom, please contact Dominique at [email protected].

#teacherscollege studentprofile curriculumandteaching nonviolence ColumbiaTC