East Asia Regional Council (EARCOS) – 18th Teachers’ Conference 2023 “Creating a Culture of Care”

Cultures of Dignity’s Charlie Kuhn & Carey Goldstein will be traveling to Malaysia for this year’s “Creating a Culture of Care” EARCOS teachers’ conference.

They will be speaking on Creating a Culture of Dignity & #StudentVoiceMatters

Creating a Culture of Dignity:
Treating people with dignity matters. But creating a culture of dignity must go beyond slogans, posters and programs that don’t have real-life applications or only exist briefly and then disappear.  A principle-based approach is needed to give people structure and flexibility to turn common social challenges into teachable moments where everyone’s dignity is affirmed. Moments that create a sense of belonging for everyone. With this as a foundation, adults and young people can learn skills to understand emotions, manage conflicts, create appropriate boundaries, and effectively advocate for themselves. This environment creates strong, supportive relationships where adults, children, and communities thrive.

Topics covered:

• What is Dignity?
  • We will dive deep into understanding the concept of Dignity and a principle-based approach.

• How do you teach Dignity through explicit instruction?

• We will explore ways to teach the concept of dignity to our students, and go over theoretical questions such as, “What is the difference between Dignity and Respect?”

• How do you model/teach dignity in our everyday lives?

• We will give concrete examples of how teaching dignity can be done through teachable moments in the classroom.

#StudentVoiceMatters
School leaders and teachers should not act alone. Successful culture change is possible when schools include and consider students’ perspectives. Valuing students’ voices and understanding social dynamics are critical to creating a space where all feel heard and valued. 

Young people are asking for leadership roles in new and innovative ways. These roles include traditional leadership positions like student councils, peer leadership, orientations, athletic teams and student advocacy groups. How do students bring dignity into their understanding of leadership and learn effective strategies to manage groups, inspire, and listen to others? What social dynamics exist and can get in your students’ way of becoming strong leaders?

Topics covered:

• What are social dynamics and how do they affect my students?

• We will identify social dynamics and work on understanding what they can look like for our students and us.

• We will explore how social dynamics can play a part in students’ lives and the energy they bring into your classrooms.

• How do you teach how to navigate social dynamics?

• We will provide you with some explicit instruction on how you can support students with how to navigate social dynamics.

• We will give concrete examples of how you can model/teach navigating social dynamics through implicit teachable moments in the classroom. 

• How do you define leadership with students’ voice in mind?
  • We will explore how young people’s experience with authority influences their leadership style. 
  • We will discuss how feeling valued creates a sense of belonging.