“Dream big. Don’t let the limitations of our
Deonna Smith
current reality rob you of something better.”
What It’s About
When school administrator and educational advocate Deonna Smith was in the classroom, she was proud that she ran a tight ship and kept her students quiet and compliant. Looking back now, though, she asks herself if her students felt seen and cared for. She wonders if she taught them to take pride in their culture and themselves. In short, she questions if they learned to become part of a community. In her book, Rooted In Joy, Creating A Classroom Culture of Equity, Belonging, and Care, Smith focuses on helping teachers find ways to bring out the best in their students. She focuses on making learning communities safe, joyful places where students can become the best versions of themselves.
What We Love About It
Rooted In Joy is aspirational but it’s also practical. Smith understands the challenges of being an educator and acknowledges that creating a classroom community takes both time and effort. This is why she breaks her community-building habits down into daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly practices. From daily greetings to de-escalation techniques, teachers can begin with small changes that will have a big impact in their learning environments. Smith also identifies mindset shifts based on classroom awareness and approaches to try while acknowledging that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Teachers are the experts on their students and classrooms. Her reflection questions and challenges offer good parameters while still understanding that a safe, joyful community can look different in every space.
And she reminds us that teachers exhibit brilliance and resilience every day. She concludes “Teachers have always been steadfast in their dedication to their students . . . we find a way, or we make one.”
What Do You Think?
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