Andrew Walanski believes that choosing love over fear can change education and society beyond it. Inspired by Gregory Boyle's approach to humanizing gang members in their recovery, his message suggests a shift towards kindness and empathy in schools and discipline. It doesn't mean there aren't consequences, but the form they take must shift for the education system to make meaningful headway in addressing these issues. Here's a straightforward look at why love matters in learning.
Transcript:
Redefining Discipline: Love VS Fear Based Strategies
"I think that you can basically cut things down to humans acting out of two things. The love of something or the fear of something. And I think that for most human beings, it's the fear that takes over. And if we could just figure out how to operate out of the love, what a different world it would be." - Justine Fischer
"A lot of times it's this fear-based thinking like it's that easy us and them division, where somebody becomes dehumanized and minimized and their value shifts to somebody who's disposable to how we're going to react to different behaviors. And whether we react with patience and kindness and care and what that might look like, as well as boundaries, versus quick, simple, easy solutions. All those are choices, right? That, that we have to choose to make.
A big part of that. So part of my inspiration is Father Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries. You know, we started off the year with his TED Talk, which speaks to his work that he's done with gang members, right? And in his TED Talk, he does this beautiful job of humanizing folks who are seen as the most undesirable in society, right? So it's trying to take that mentality and shift it in terms of our practices as a school system." - Andrew Walanski