She has nurtured artistic self-expression in students at design institutions, among refugees in camps and in rehabilitation centres among others. These words capture what Fabrienne is: an artist, therapist, a guide and mentor.
(Image created by Miguel Carraca from Noun Project.Color Outside the Lines with Fabienne Francotte The children in our care are absolutely worth it. May love drive and frame all we as educators say and do. All the knowledge in the world cannot compare in strength or worth to love. May they exit our classrooms walking with the confidence and dignity of highly valued and loved individuals. May our students enter our classrooms knowing they are known and loved. Engagement is always for the purpose of their empowerment. Planning is thinking deeply about each child on our classroom roll, not just their academic abilities, but who they are and what they value. True teaching, real teaching, is an act of love.ĭata is knowing our students. And most importantly do we teach children that they are loved and that they, as unique and wonderful individuals, are of far, far, far greater importance than the academic knowledge they are acquiring? Do we teach children what really matters? Do our classrooms embrace the fullness of our student’s humanity? Their potential? Their hopes? Their worries and concerns? What they feel makes them special and unique? Do we take the time to enjoy their sense of humor? Do we connect learning to children’s family and friends? Even better, do we really involve them as partners in the education of their children? After all, these are the people who at the end of the day really matter to our students.
In the midst of this, I can’t help but ask myself many questions. All the things they felt made Tom special to them. Students have shown me their favorite pictures of him, screenshots of his iMessages and his Snapchats. Stories of their friends quiet and cheeky sense of humour, his close friendship with his father and younger brother, their friends ability to sense when someone is feeling down and to cheer them up with a hug if you’re a girl or a friendly tackle and wrestle if you’re a boy, his shoulder barge way of saying hello, his signature emoji, his favourite movies, his mischievous escapades, the stories go on. 13-year-olds should never have to grieve this deeply.Īs I’ve listened to students processing their grief, reflecting on all they loved about their friend, I’ve heard poignant anecdotes. They’ve had to grapple with a non-responsive Snapchat friend, a silent Facebook friend and iMessages left unanswered. Grappling with his absence in school routines and activities, at rugby and footy training, and the knowledge that he will no longer be joining them on after school fishing and camping trips. We have comforted mourning students who are grappling to make sense of the reality that their friend and classmate will no longer be joining them. We have felt the intense loss and injustice of a young life taken too soon. The start of the semester has been a painful one for our students and teachers. One of our Year 8 students, Tom, tragically passed away on the weekend. (A post I composed last year via Medium).
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