1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,280 Welcome to the Classroom Narratives Healing and Education podcast, the space where education 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:12,080 meets resilience. I'm Joey Weisler, and in each episode, we dive deep into the personal stories 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:19,120 of educators, students, leaders, and frontline advocates who are navigating the complexities 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:24,800 of modern education. Whether you're just starting your teaching journey, or are a seasoned 5 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:31,040 professional looking for inspiration, we'll explore how to foster meaningful change, prevent burnout, 6 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:36,160 and build trauma-informed communities in our schools. Now, let's take a seat at the front of 7 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:44,160 the classroom and get started. Today we have a very special guest, Enma Leyva. Enma has been a high 8 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:49,920 school English teacher for 17 years in Broward County, Florida, and has dedicated her career to 9 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:55,120 helping students express themselves through writing, even when facing personal struggles. So 10 00:00:55,120 --> 00:01:01,840 Enma and I are also university colleagues, and I invite her onto the podcast due to her revolutionary 11 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:08,000 approach in writing and literacy instruction. Welcome, Enma. Thank you so much, Dr. Weisler. 12 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,920 It's so great to have you here with us. So Enma has worked with hundreds of students. I mean, 13 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:19,520 just this year alone, she has borderline 300 students altogether, and works to guide each 14 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:25,120 of them through the writing that takes place in her classroom. And Enma and I, a couple years ago, 15 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:31,760 were talking about a theorist whose name is Tim Gillespie, and his article called, "Why Literature 16 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:38,720 Matters", argues that high school English classrooms tend to "miss the boat", because even 17 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:44,480 though there is a state exam at the end of the year, we still implement this very cold and standard 18 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:49,600 and even emotionless approach to literary instruction. And the way that we teach stories 19 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:56,240 are literally to the book. And what Gillespie argues is that students would find so much better 20 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:04,400 success in literacy instruction if they focused on the element of empathy that our stories provide, 21 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:10,400 especially through their characters. So Enma, I wanted to ask to start with what types of stories 22 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,840 matter in your classroom and how? How do they matter? What can you also share for other teachers 23 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:22,720 who work with literary pedagogy or literary instruction? I think that the stories that 24 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:28,880 matter the most in the classroom are the stories about struggle and the overcome of that struggle. 25 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:35,520 My students really enjoy the stories about the bad boys. You know, we have books like The Outsiders, 26 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:41,200 which was written so long ago, and it's still one of the most popular books throughout the United 27 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:49,920 States. And so students like the story of a struggle, the story of an underdog, and those 28 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:57,840 characters overcoming their challenges, overcoming their obstacles, and maybe not transforming 29 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:07,120 completely. So stories that have real characters in them that mirror life and come out on top, 30 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:13,040 not perfection, but again, better than where they started. Those are the best kind of stories. 31 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:20,080 We really build this facade of success in real life, but literature tries to show that the 32 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:25,040 struggle is real. There's a lot of growth that we need to go through in order to find some element 33 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:30,560 of what we would consider to be success in our own lives. And I mentioned this in a prior podcast 34 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:35,440 with Pat Zwasta, for those who want to go back and listen, where we talk about the element of 35 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:40,800 fulfilling the dream and finding fulfillment over burnout. And I mentioned that podcast episode, 36 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,360 The Wizard of Oz, where we have Dorothy that is going through this yellow brick road, 37 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:50,000 and she thinks she's going to find her dream until she realizes that the wizard who can help her 38 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:55,520 reach her goal is only someone who's behind their smoke and mirrors. We had to let our students know 39 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,680 that there's so much that literature offers in terms of helping them through their own growth, 40 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:05,360 even though they may have a much larger road to go through in terms of finding their own success. 41 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:13,200 I agree with you. And growth is gradual. Just like writing, there's a process. There's no magic 42 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:19,920 button. And we always have to give ourselves grace, not just our characters. We give our characters 43 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:25,840 grace all the time. We become interested in them. We root for them and we grant them grace. 44 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:32,720 We say things like, oh, but they went through this. So we should consider. So why can't we give our 45 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:40,000 selves grace? That's why literature matters. It teaches us to give others grace. And hopefully, 46 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:46,720 if we pause and we're mature to give ourselves grace. That is for sure. The hero's journey that 47 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:52,800 each of us follow in our own lives is very real. And it can only be successful if we are kind, 48 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:59,280 and disciplined with ourselves when going through it. Tell us about a story that you use in the 49 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:04,320 classroom or like a novel where you've noticed that students have very emotional reactions 50 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,160 to the characters and transfer that back into their own lives. 51 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:16,880 Oh my goodness. One of my favorite novels to read is Anthem. It's a futuristic society where they 52 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:23,040 have lost everything, but the most important thing that they've lost is knowledge. The whole book is 53 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:31,520 a struggle. It's literally a gigantic inner struggle on every other page because the character 54 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:37,760 wants to be a part of the brotherhood and the society, but they're battling who they really 55 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:46,480 are, which is a smart, gifted individual. And I feel that the fact that the entire story is an 56 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:53,600 inner struggle really touches my students because they're going through so many different types of 57 00:05:53,600 --> 00:06:00,000 inner struggle, but they're all going through a type of inner struggle. So that's more difficult 58 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:06,000 to just kind of accept that I'm going through an inner struggle and you're going through an inner 59 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:13,600 struggle and we're both going through something that's really the same, just different details. 60 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,960 Absolutely. You're reminding me of one of my favorite books as well, which is The Giver by 61 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:24,160 Lowry. And you're talking about Anthem by Ayn Rand, by the way. And The Giver by Lowry is 62 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,960 almost like the middle school version of that where we have a 12-year-old boy named Jonas who's 63 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:35,440 going through this society that has chosen to call it what it is, turn socialist, and eliminate 64 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:40,080 everything and make everyone feel equal and just get rid of differences and implement what they 65 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:47,440 would call to be sameness. The significance of the story is that Jonas, the protagonist, is the only 66 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:53,600 character in the entire society other than his predecessor who is able to actually feel and 67 00:06:53,600 --> 00:07:02,080 acknowledge the existence of differences. And in implementing sameness, it reflects on the educational 68 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:08,400 institution how creativity is diminished. It shows the consequences of what happens when that element 69 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:14,720 is replaced. And it makes us also question how social structure works when we choose to either 70 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:20,000 promote or limit our own freedoms. And this particular text is also really great for students 71 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:26,400 because as they go through this society that, for example, got rid of the word love, the emotion of 72 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:32,640 love doesn't exist. And when Jonas, this protagonist, turns to his own father and says, 73 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:39,200 father, I learned what love is. Do you love me? The father says, I don't know. I enjoy you. 74 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:45,440 But love isn't a thing. And there's so many different types of emotional reactions a reader 75 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:51,680 can ironically get from that experience. And when we put The Giver side by side with Ayn Rand's 76 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:58,160 Anthem, it leads us to question, how do knowledge and emotions work inside a classroom like yours? 77 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:04,080 The way that knowledge works is application. There's a lot of numbers in education right now. 78 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:09,600 There's a lot of data. And we have to remember that at the end, it has to result in application 79 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:16,240 and building relationships. So if we only think about numbers and data and the end goal, 80 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:22,720 and not the journey that we've gone through to get to that goal, then what are we really doing 81 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:29,360 with that knowledge? Because if we don't apply it to our everyday lives, and if we don't build 82 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:35,360 relationships based on that knowledge, then really, what are we doing with it? I believe that's a 83 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:40,480 great question to contemplate because other than keeping the data in the filing cabinet, some of 84 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:45,680 us don't know what to do with it. But as a result, trauma and burnout have become big topics in 85 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:50,800 education. Could you share a specific story or insight from your experience that highlights the 86 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:57,440 impact of these challenges on both students and educators? Absolutely. So I have students do things 87 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:01,360 for the home as well. I have the students communicate with their parents throughout the 88 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:06,400 year. So I'm not the only communicator. They have to tell their parents. And I tell them all the 89 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:13,520 time. At any time, if I called them, I said, hello, I'm calling about little Samantha or whoever it is. 90 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:19,600 Are you aware that they have a big project? I expect your parents to know. So I really encourage 91 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:25,920 communication on all levels, not just me speaking to the parent, but the students speaking to their 92 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:31,440 parents. I do a lot of journaling. I think journaling really, really helps my students. 93 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:38,160 And when we're participating in the literary fair, so this is a big thing with burnout, right? 94 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:44,160 You've got to do things in your classroom that are fun, that you as a teacher think are fun. Yes, 95 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:49,440 we have to do curriculum based things, but we have to do things that we really consider fun. 96 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:55,200 One of the things I consider fun is participating in the literary fair. And here in Broward County, 97 00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:01,840 they have so many options and so many categories. And I tell the students, the only way you're going 98 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:06,880 to win is if you open up your heart and really write the best that you can. 99 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:10,960 And I go, and in order for you to write the best that you can, yes, of course, it's going to come 100 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:16,560 from your brain, but your heart has to participate in this practice. I've been very blessed. I've had 101 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:22,080 winners that have gone to the literary fair, not just school level, but district level throughout 102 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:28,000 the years. And it's a very exciting thing. They win here at school, they get a certificate or a 103 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:33,680 prize of some sort, and then they go to the district literary fair and they've won trophies. 104 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:39,440 So they've gone with their parents and it's just a big honor. Like, wow, I am the best, for example, 105 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:46,560 Haiku writer in all of Broward County. There's thousands of kids in Broward County. It's one of 106 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:54,000 the biggest counties in the United States. And so when they win in that category, it's amazing. 107 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:59,200 And that's one way I build relationships with them in the classroom. I've also done journaling as 108 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:04,000 well, and there have been a few students within my own classes where we've done something called the 109 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:13,120 monthly self-care balance journal. And it really acts as a self-care challenge where every 30 days, 110 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:20,640 it's on the first of every month, I ask students to submit some kind of multimodal artifact, 111 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,760 however they want to see it, even at the college level when I do this, the only wrong way to do 112 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:33,200 this, the only wrong way to do this assignment is to not even try. Some multimodal submission that 113 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:38,800 shows what they've done to focus on their own wellness beyond the academics within the past 30 114 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:42,560 days. So on November 1st, which is coming up, they're going to tell me everything that they did in 115 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:48,960 October to accomplish that. And I'd love to see joining clubs. I'd love to see community service. 116 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:54,400 I'd love to see volunteer and even having a picnic with your family, putting your phones away and 117 00:11:54,400 --> 00:12:00,240 talking to a sibling and having those interactions that go well beyond the classroom. And in my 118 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:05,520 practice of doing these journals back in 2019, I was actually very much easily able to catch the 119 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,560 students who were courageous enough to put into their writing or vulnerable, if you want to say, 120 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:14,880 hey, you know what, I don't really have any friends. I'm eating alone at lunch and I'm trying to work 121 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:20,720 towards that. And it gave me an in, if you will, to try and build a partnership with them as a way 122 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:25,120 to make sure that they got the guidance that they needed to succeed and they're at a classroom 123 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:31,280 spaces as well, because we need to build those social skills as well. Before we started our 124 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:36,080 recording here, you're recording this afternoon from your own classroom and you walked me through 125 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:41,120 your classroom and you showed me that for at least 16 years, you have been decorating with different 126 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:46,560 character traits because that's so important to you. How do you use or rather infuse character 127 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:52,640 traits in your own classroom that sustains itself on literature and writing? And what can other 128 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,480 teachers learn from that in terms of trying to bring those ideas into their own strategies? 129 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:04,560 Well, the humanities literature is all about empathy, kindness, character. I'm a great 130 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:13,520 lover of history and every story that I find, every informational piece, every poem, any type 131 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:20,800 of genre, I look for character first. I have to be honest, that's like one of the top five things 132 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,240 up there with the standards and up there with all of the things that we're supposed to do. 133 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:33,120 I think of what character trait does this story instill? Citizenship, responsibility, fairness, 134 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:40,720 graciousness, trustworthiness. I'm always looking at an ethical angle. So when I teach literature, 135 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:46,880 I always start with the ethical angle. During Black History Month, I teach not just about 136 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:54,080 American history, but Black history in general. And one of the characters that I teach my students 137 00:13:54,080 --> 00:14:00,400 about, the humans that I teach about, is Nelson Mandela. And I speak about resilience and I speak 138 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:06,480 about strength. I teach them about Malala. I teach them about compassion and tolerance. 139 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:12,320 I remind them, look at what's going on in the world all over again. And this was after Malala. 140 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:20,480 Wow, a decade after this young girl got shot. Why are these things happening again? It's a lack of 141 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:26,000 tolerance. We'll start with the word tolerance. It's a lack of compassion. So I'm always looking 142 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:34,160 at character traits in everything that my students read, because I think that is one of the most 143 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:39,040 important lessons, if not the most important. Absolutely. Thank you so much for all of that. 144 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:44,400 And if there could be one takeaway that our listeners can gain from our conversation today, 145 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:49,520 what would you want them to know? The world is brighter than it looks. I think that sometimes 146 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:55,200 we're drowning as educators and maybe even as people in general, that we don't make enough money 147 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:02,080 or that we can treat ourselves or provide for our children or ourselves the way that we want to. 148 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:09,360 But the materialistic will never win over the non-materialistic, right? The things that we 149 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:16,800 provide that live on and on. So the world is brighter than it looks. And if we use communication 150 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:24,640 effectively and if we have empathy for others, then the world will be even more and more bright. 151 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:30,240 And as Enma has offered already, the English classroom is the perfect space to focus on how 152 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:35,680 writing can produce welcomed emotions by our students for our teachers to strengthen those 153 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:40,640 partnerships. And of course, in the coming seconds, we will have significantly more in-depth 154 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,000 discussions as to how that can be done. So you'll definitely want to stick around. 155 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,920 Anma, thank you again so much for joining us today and for sharing all of your insights. 156 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:53,200 And thank you again for sharing all the work that you have done within your classroom. And for those 157 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:58,160 listening, remember to take care of yourself and your students and let us continue to keep building 158 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:04,320 spaces where stories of resilience and healing can all thrive. Thank you for joining us on the 159 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:09,920 Classroom Narratives Healing and Education Podcast. If today's episode inspired you or made you think 160 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:15,280 differently, I'd love to hear from you. Drop a comment or review wherever you listen to podcasts 161 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:20,720 and stay connected with us on the at Classroom Narratives Podcast over Instagram and Facebook. 162 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:27,200 Remember, together we can transform our scars into stars in education. One conversation 163 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,200 at a time.