Dear Morningside Center friends,

We hope your school year is going well! Below you'll find a new blog post about why joy matters, as well as lessons and resources to teach on Indigenous Peoples' Day. We wish you and your community an uplifting day of learning on this important day!

As the new writer/editor/storyteller at Morningside Center, I have the privilege and responsibility to write about our work from a few points of view. But perhaps the most important will always be—why it matters.

As an employee for just twenty days, I considered myself incredibly lucky to be able to participate in our NYC DOE Tier 1 training: five summer days shared with educators from across our city learning about using community-building Circles in school, and racial awareness and equity. (If you don’t know what Circles are, stay tuned—posts to come!) As part of Circle training on the first day we read a few short pieces, works about big concepts in education—like power, authority… and joy. The question was raised, why does it matter for our children to experience joy at school?

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Reflection & Sharing: Where Are You?

Students discuss the land where they live, and the Indigenous peoples who once lived there. Then they get to know each other by reflecting on four aspects of their lives, using Native American teachings on the Medicine Wheel. 

Who Does the Land Belong To?

The question “who owns the land?” underlies many conflicts. Students explore issues surrounding land, place, and belonging – especially as they affect Native Americans and African Americans.

Creating a Class Land Acknowledgment Statement

Students learn about the growing effort to acknowledge the Indigenous people whose lands we inhabit - and create their own land acknowledgment statement.

Looking for more? See more Resources for Teaching on Indigenous History & Culture.

What We're Reading

How to get ‘school avoidant’ students with disabilities back to class? Lawsuit pushes for solutions.

"New York City schools do not have a systemwide policy to evaluate students who are experiencing school avoidance and get them back in school, according to the suit. The system also lacks a process to track and identify chronically absent students who are struggling with school avoidance, according to the complaint." By Amy Zimmer at Chalkbeat

Being Empathetic Is Easier when Everyone’s Doing It

"Because empathy can allow people to connect across political, racial and economic divides, it lays a foundation for acts of cooperation and caring that allow diverse societies to flourish. Higher levels of empathy are tied to both individual well-being and broader social cohesion."

By Elizabeth Svoboda at Scientific American

"We all have stories, perspectives and ideas to enrich each other’s lives. In circles, we are all teachers & we are all learners." 

—Marieke van Woerkom, Morningside Center Staff Developer