1. Encouragement – the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.
2. Reimagination – the act or process of reimagining; forming a new conception or vision.
3. Sabbatical – a leave of absence from work, usually for an extended period, to pursue one’s interests or rest.
4. Liberation – the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression; release.
5. Neuroscience-backed – supported or validated by scientific research in neuroscience.
6. Collectively – involving all members of a group as a whole; done together with others.
7. Imagination – the ability to create mental images or concepts not present to the senses.
8. Systematize – to organize, arrange, or order according to a systematic plan or scheme.
9. Standardize – to cause (something) to conform to a standard.
10. Top-down – involving or directed by a higher authority or management.
11. Recentering – the act of refocusing or bringing back to a central position.
12. Deenergizing – causing to lose energy or enthusiasm; draining vitality.
13. Apathetic – showing or feeling little or no emotion or interest; indifferent.
14. Disempowering – causing a loss of power, authority, or influence.
15. Appropriating – taking or using something, often without permission, for one’s own use.
16. Visioning – the act of forming a mental image or concept of a desired future state.
17. Solidarity – unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest.
18. Dormancy – a state of inactivity or rest, often temporary.
19. Innovative – introducing or using new ideas, methods, or technologies.
20. Semidormancy – a state of partial inactivity or rest.

welcome to episode 291 of Angela Watson’s truth for teachers. I’m your host, Angela Watson, and I’m here to speak encouragement into the hearts of educators and get you informed and energized for the week ahead. Today I’m talking about how to create space this winter for dreaming and radical reimagination. You visit truthforteachers.com for an easy to read, easy to share version of this podcast episode. If you teach 8th through 12th grades, I have a special opportunity for you. I’m releasing a brand new curriculum line designed to help students find flow in the classroom and manage their time, energy, and focused attention. Now through December 15 only, I am offering a deeply discounted price on these resources so you can begin using them in January with your middle and high school students. If your classes aren’t turning in work in time, they’re disengaged and don’t have the ability to focus their attention on assignments. Finding flow can help them discover the root issues and learn neurosciencebacked strategies that actually work for teens and preteens. Go to findingflowsolutions.com to learn more. Remember, the discount ends December 15. That’s findingflowsolutions.com, so this episode is the last one for 2023 and truth for teachers will be back in January. My daily encouragement podcast will continue through December, though new episodes are dropping each day from Monday to Friday. Every episode of the daily Encouragement podcast is just three to five minutes long, so it’s perfect to listen to when you first wake up, to start your day on a positive note or during your commute so that you can ease into school mode or on your break to reenergize yourself in the afternoon. Some folks like to listen after dismissal to ground calm and recenter when the day is done. I’m going to do some really fun things in the second half of December on the truth for Teachers daily encouragement podcast that have absolutely nothing to do with teaching and will just help you relax into your break, be present in whatever you’re experiencing at the holidays, and spend some time on reimagining what you want your life and teaching to look like in 2024. If you like this idea of taking a break from working and thinking about work during your time off in December and early January, and really recentering in what’s important to you for the new year, make sure that you’re subscribed to the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement podcast it’s 399 a month. Build through Spotify and you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. Cancel anytime and know that I’m only committing to the daily encouragement podcast for this school year. So if it’s something that you would benefit from, don’t wait. The link is in the show notes. Or you can just Google truth for teachers daily encouragement. So the late December episodes of the daily Encouragement podcast will help you create space during your time off for dreaming and radical reimagination. Let’s get into that topic more now and set the scene for what you may want to do during your December break and throughout this winter in general, assuming that you’re in the northern hemisphere like I am and experiencing winter. Winter to me, is a time of slowing down, of going inward, of finding stillness that’s harder to access during the warm months. Those long, dark nights in winter give us more time indoors so we can concentrate more on home and personal projects with fewer distractions and things that we feel like we should be doing in the outside world. And that’s a big part of why I take my sabbatical in December. This is a tradition that I started out of mental health necessity in 2020, but I’ve made an annual tradition now because it’s really a good time of year for it. Schedules are shifting for the holidays. Most people have more time off, and there’s an eagerness in December to rest, to spend time with loved ones, to have a good time, to enjoy gifts and special treats. And the expectation to answer emails and get things done is loosened. People tend to shift to a more relaxed schedule in general as a society. So for my sabbatical, I stay offline as much as possible during the first two weeks of December, and then in the second half of December, I completely disconnect from work and the whole online world until after New Year’s Day. If you want to learn more about my sabbatical or how you can take one with me on your break, check the link in the show notes or just go back to episode 244. If you download 244, that will explain more. Now, since I’ve already talked about the logistics of the sabbatical in past years, I thought I would focus this year not on how to carve out time or what to do during that time, but on how we might direct our thoughts. With everything happening in the world and in our schools, this feels like a really important time for what historian, author, and UCLA professor Robin D. G. Cowley referred to as freedom dreaming. To him, this meant visualizing a future of joy and liberation for all people, he’s quoted as saying. Freedom Dreaming is a tool that invites us to create the world we dream of by first, visualizing the future we want to live in, and second, determining the actions that will lead us there. Freedom dreaming originated with a vision for the liberation of and leadership by marginalized people, particularly people of color. So I want to be careful here inciting that important work while not appropriating it for my own purposes. The type of dreaming that I’m referring to certainly includes liberatory practices, but it may not always center on that. So rather than using this very specific term that is attributed to a specific person, freedom dreaming. I like the term radical reimagination for what I’m talking about here. This is the ability to imagine the world, life and institutions, not as they are and not as they have been, but in an entirely new way. And I think this quote from Max Haven sums it up. He said, the radical imagination is not just about dreaming of different futures, it’s about bringing those possibilities back from the future to work on the present, to inspire action and new forms of solidarity. Today, a part of liberation, of freedom, of creating the world we want to live in, is being able to imagine something better. If we can’t imagine something better, then we can never have it. So maybe this winter could be a time for you to freedom dream or radically reimagine possibilities. Is there an aspect of your life that you know needs to change? Something that’s not working well for you? Something that you need to let go of? What would something better look like in that area? What else could be possible beyond what you’ve previously experienced? Also consider what you could radically reimagine in your work. For example, in the trainings I do with teachers in my finding flow solutions curriculum, there’s a big emphasis on radically reimagining student engagement. So we talk about what would it look like for students to fully participate? What would it look like for students to care about their learning, for them to experience success in class? Only once we imagine something better, once we really see it in our mind’s eye, can we plan the short term and long term steps to get them there. The vision, the radical reimagination of the problem and the possible solutions, that’s an essential component. We’re so used to students being apathetic or disengaged that we just assume it could never be any different. So what is happening right now in your school community or your classroom that’s disempowering and deenergizing? What’s something that you’d like to change but aren’t even sure it’s possible? I think because there’s so many limitations and systemic issues in education, it’s easy for teachers to say, well, this is just never going to happen. This is completely unrealistic And I think that stems from being asked to do the impossible, right. If you’re constantly being asked to do more than you could actually do, then when someone’s like, I know, let’s have this collective vision where we all support each other, you’re like, yeah, right. I can’t even manage what I’m already doing, much less that. But I think it’s important not to lose that space for dreaming, because if we wait for someone else to have that vision, it’s not necessarily going to be what we need. Because I don’t think anyone knows your classroom as well as you as a teacher, and no one knows your community, your schools, your demographics as much as you. And so I think we need teachers and parents and students and other stakeholders to all have a voice in this dreaming and to be able to dream together without saying, we’re going to go implement this three step process tomorrow. I mean, the thing about freedom dreaming or radical reimagination is that you can’t systematize it. You cannot standardize it. You cannot look for a consultant to just come in and make it happen for you overnight. It’s something that everyone has to be collectively invested in, and it happens over time. It’s shaped by the individuals in that specific location. What’s going to happen in one school is not necessarily going to be what’s happening in another. So I want to say that I understand that dreaming of something better can feel unrealistic, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to go implement it right away or see change right away. I want to really impress upon you that there is value in the vision. There’s value in dreaming and imagining and working towards something in your mind, even if the system isn’t cooperating in terms of actually being able to implement it right now. And I think it does on some level have to be a collective effort, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a top down thing. A small group of teachers, particularly if teachers can align with parents, because a lot of times families tend to have more influence on what’s happening in schools than the actual teachers, for better or for worse. That’s just how it often is. If you can align with just a handful of families in your community, parents of kids in your school, we’ve seen how a handful of rowdy parents at a school board can push an entire minority opinion agenda through. Right. And I think that folks who are really thinking about what’s best for teachers and kids can be doing the same thing in terms of recognizing the power of a small, committed group of people that you don’t have to get everyone on board and get everyone to see your vision in order to create change. You can find like minded folks and band together and work to create that change and maybe even look for things that you have in common with people who aren’t on board. There’s going to be certain issues that everyone’s never going to agree on. But maybe in your school community, everyone agrees that kids need more recess time. So there’s very few people, I think, in terms of teachers or parents, who would say, I want less play for kids. I think we’ve all gotten to the point where we understand now that fresh air, physical movement, all of this is really, really important for kids to be able to focus. So are there things that we could actually band together in and accomplish together? Could we work together to make sure that kids have more time for play? And then your allies, then you’re working with people who may not agree with you on other things, but you were able to come together on this one topic. When those more controversial things come up and you get pushback, it’s much harder for folks to think that you’re just a monster who hates kids. Clearly you’re not because we just work together to get more recess time. So maybe think about it like that. Are there some ways that you can work together to accomplish things that you do have in common with other folks in your community to create a positive change? And then from that larger group, can we find this small cadre of like minded folks to push the envelope a little bit toward the things that maybe not everyone agrees on, but that something could maybe be brought into existence? Because a lot of people are not dreaming. They’re not envisioning something better. They don’t actually have a plan, and they don’t actually know what they want to happen. And I think that’s something we’ve seen at these school board meetings, too, right? Like, a lot of these folks who are getting up and being very loud don’t actually know what they want. They have these very vague fears around certain things that they think might be happening that they don’t want to happen, but they’re not sure if it’s happening and they can’t actually give an example of it having happened. They just don’t like it. So that’s not having a clear vision. And if you ask, what harm do you think is being caused? They can’t answer that. And when you say, what should we teach instead? There’s not always a clear answer for that, too. So if we can have clear answers, if we can be really clear on this is exactly what we want to do, this is why we want to do it. This is how it’s going to affect different groups of children and this is how it’s going to affect all these different demographics. That’s our goal. We want to have clear visions. It’s much harder to argue that down with vague, feeling oriented things like, I’m just afraid someone’s going to feel bad, or I’m afraid that something might happen because of this. No, we have a clear vision. We know what we’re working toward and here’s how we’re going to do it. I think if we can come in with that freedom dream, that radical reimagination, we can formulate it into something that could actually be doable and articulate that plan. And when you have a clear plan like that, it’s just much easier to get change accomplished. So obviously none of this is easy, none of this is overnight, and none of this is individualistic. I don’t ever want to put more on the backs of teachers because I think those of us who are not in the classroom also need to be leading this kind of work or assisting or supplementing this kind of work, amplifying this kind of work, because it can’t just be another thing that teachers are expected to save our culture from. But I do want teachers to feel like you don’t have to wait for help to come from the outside, that you have power, you have influence. You know what those students need better than anyone else because you’re the only one who’s in the classroom with them all together every single day. Parents know their individual children, but they don’t know the whole class. They don’t know the dynamics of the class. They don’t know what these other kids are going through or what their families are like, their upbringings, their personalities and preferences. You as a teacher know that. And so I think really drawing on those strengths, this additional insight when we’re creating change can make a big difference as much as student choice and student buy in. And those kinds of things can feel like meaningless buzzwords sometimes it really is important the kids have to feel connected to the teacher and feel like they can be safe and be vulnerable in order to give that kind of input and to kind of get the engagement that you want. So in our reimagining, I would urge you not to underestimate the power of tapping into your students thoughts and work and ideas, the power of following your students leads, because a lot of times they have even better ideas than we do. They see possibilities that we don’t see, and they can think of things that are going to engage their peers that we might not even have thought about. So some of the most powerful things that I see happening right now in schools are very much student driven, and the kids are kind of leading the way for teachers and parents. So those are just some of my thoughts on the power that you hold to create change and the types of things that might be possible. And what I’m encouraging you to do is to think about if you could spend some time over your holiday break reimagining what could be possible in your classroom so that you return to school more reenergized and more grounded in your vision for 2024, can you prioritize time for daydreaming and imagination as you think about a community you belong to, your school, your neighborhood, or another community that has personal significance? What would it look like to radically reimagine how something is working? Just play around with the idea. Get your imagination going with prompts like these what if. Wouldn’t it be cool if. Can you imagine if I would be so excited if really experience that reimagination experience in your mind. Feel it in your body. What it would be like to teach in a classroom in which students are engaged and enthusiastic Or a school in which colleagues and administrators and family members are all working on the same team, moving together toward a shared goal. Or maybe it’s something in your personal life. Maybe your what if could center around having a comfortable home in which you’re surrounded not by clutter or lack, but with things that enhance your life and make it better. What if you had peace in your home so it feels like a place of refuge? What if you’re doing something for your physical or mental emotional relationship health that will transform that area of your life into something even better than you previously dared to imagine this winter, let yourself daydream and envision and think about why this reimagination matters to you. Why is it important? Really ground into the purpose of it? The why matters so much. And it helps you keep pushing through once things get hard. Because at some point you’ll allow yourself to imagine how this radical reimagination could become reality. What would need to happen long term that you would work toward? Who else might be involved? What small, everyday steps could help you make that dream reality? Now all of these imagining steps don’t have to be done sequentially. You don’t have to sit down and focus intently with a pen or a laptop and take notes on what is your radical reimagination? How could you make it happen? Certainly you could do it that way. But more than anything, I’m trying to just plant these seeds in your head so that the ideas will resurface when you’re sitting at a traffic light waiting for it to turn green, when you’re standing in line at the grocery store, when you’re looking up at the dark night sky at 06:00 p.m. And trying to find the stars. I want this idea to come back to you, this reimagination. Plant the seed for your dream. That’s the priority. Return to it again and again. Allow your mind to wander to your dream and think about stuff that seems impossible or far fetched. Don’t try to jump immediately into action mode. Don’t think about all the limitations. Just practice dreaming. You may even want to dedicate this entire winter season to freedom. Dreaming or practicing radical reimagination? Go inward more. Carve out more time for stillness and solitude. More time for playfulness and joy, which spur creativity and innovative thinking. Almost everything that’s happening outside our windows right now is about to go into a phase of dormancy, or semi dormancy, at least in my part of the world. Here in the northeast United States, the animals will soon be less active the trees and plants won’t produce leaves or flowers until spring. The ground will be cold and hard, but that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. The stillness of winter, the time of rest, is essential preparation for the activity of the spring to come. There will be a time for action, for movement, for doing, but the time for stillness is valuable too. Take all the time you need. You’ll hear from me each morning throughout the month of December on the Truth for Teachers daily Encouragement podcast. And in the second half of the month, when you’re on break, I’ll help you create space for dreaming and radical reimagination through those short three to five minute episodes so that you really keep this idea in the forefront of your mind. I’ll be back here on the main Truth for Teachers podcast in January, ready to ring in 2024 with you. And sharing more resource is to help make your dreams a reality, to make this thing that you’re visioning and imagining actually come to life. Have a wonderful December, and I’ll see you in the new year. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be worth it.