How to celebrate Special Months - Embedding SEL and the Imagination

In a previous post, I put forward a venn diagram model for approaching Black History month. The purpose of this was to illuminate the ways in which celebrating history can sometimes cause us to neglect to understand present-day realities, and personal-social responsibilities to help ensure some of the darkest moments of our histories do not repeat themselves.

A model celebrating Black History Month using the past and present

While I had included history (past) and the present, below is an updated model which includes looking at the future.

'Future imaginings' or during Black History Month, Afrofuturism, is the imagining of futures (as distinct from a, singular, future) intertwined with science, history, and black diasporic thought.

A model celebrating A model celebrating Black History Month using the past, present and future

In this way, the teaching around Black History Month not only compasses past, present and future, but includes the individual identities, meaning that whether you are from the Black diaspora or not, you are a part of the story.

History + Present-day realities = Context

How understanding history, helps us to understand what is happening today. That may be about music, politics, sport or literature. In connecting those dots, students can begin to understand the environments which resulted in who they are and where they are. Having, understanding and being able to place oneself, others or things into context, allows for us to gain perspectives in our relationships, society and work.

Present-day realities + Future Imaginings = Social Justice

Social justice is a phrase which can mean everything and nothing at the same time. By connecting it with Black History Month (in this example), it allows us to focus on what can be done to help Black folks, by understanding what people, who have various identities within the Black experience, can go through. By aligning that idea to future imaginings, children and young people can take part in exercises (or even song writing) which is focused on realties in the Black experiences and what the future could/should look like.

Future Imaginings + Personal/Social Responsibility = Self-Improvement

If we are beginning to understand and process the Black experience, questions such as 'What is my role in this?' or 'What do I have to do with this?' may come up. This is a chance to be reflexive and to consider what your knowledge of the Black experience is, what your relationships to Black folks are/were like, and your part in it all. By looking into the future, we can also consider what we may want to be as human beings, and what we want our role(s) to be once we understand ourselves and our society(s).

Personal/Social Responsibility + History = Empathy

By understanding our role in today's society, we can consider other societies, and begin to understand what life was like for some folks, and what it is like now. Understanding history is a difficult task, with various and valid points of view seemingly conflicting, depending on who is telling the story. We can learn about history as various periods of time in which things happened, or we can immerse ourselves in history to in order to learn from it. This means asking ourselves difficult questions about who we may have been in certain situations, what we may have done, and who we may have done something to.

This model can be adapted as part of celebrating special months outside of Black History Month too, helping us to recognise our place in history, today's societies and how we are all responsible for ensuring better outcomes in the future.

A model celebrating Pride Month using the past, present and future

Feel free to get in touch with any suggestions, questions or speaking opportunities.

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