A School Where I Belong

The Blog Behind the Book

In the lead up to the publication of A School Where I Belong, we have shared some of the conversations we have had with learners, teachers and principals.

The book is now available in stores!

In the coming weeks all of the filmed conversations will be available on this site as well as advice, strategies and suggestions for schools to create places where all feel they belong.

As the book is launched across the country and we continue our work in schools with teachers, management teams, parents and learners, we will keep on sharing reflections and what we are learning.

Battling Bias

Certainty brings assurance. Uncertainty is disconcerting, but it brings with it the possibility of change.

This is the paradox of human existence – we deliberately seek certainty in our lives, but it is only in times of uncertainty that we open ourselves up to the possibility of change. It is hard for us as human beings, and harder still as educators, to allow uncertainty into our lives. It is hard to deliberately open our minds to the possibility that our position and our understanding of the world is not as sure as we believed it was. That maybe what we have accepted as certain is in fact not so certain. That maybe our minds have been playing games with us all along – we have consciously believed something whilst unconsciously holding on to something completely different. What we thought was certain, is actually not so certain.

If we heed Sue’s call to embark on a journey that may reveal what has long been unconscious, it will disturb our certainty. But this is necessary if we are to step into the space that allows for personal, and through this, professional growth.

Roy HellenbergComment