Building Community in the Classroom

The Mind, Body, Voice class has been an absolute pleasure to facilitate. On day one, we gave the students an introduction to the course and a briefing of what facilitation meant to us as facilitators. We told the students that we were not there to fill their minds with information, but rather saw our sessions as a way to collaborate and discover information through dialogue, group work, and performances, all drawing from a variety of cultural perspectives. Another important element for us on day one was describing our class as a "sacred space" and a "community". We saw this time together as an amazing opportunity that will never be replicated in our lives (the sacred, something special and unique!). All of us will never be in the space in this building in this room ever again after this week, so we need to take advantage of our time together. Throughout the week, we implemented a series of "ice breakers" and team building exercises that included: going around the room and saying your name, something exciting you did that summer, and one thing you hope to get out of Balfour; they created a "Diversity Quilt" out of their individual storytelling pages without talking and communicating through body language and creative sign language; and informal discussion about their lives and personal experiences with social issues each day in class.

Dr. Betty Dlamini-Cannady performs a Zulu women's dance and Balfour students join in

Snapshot

My name is Alexis Saba and I am a female, first generation college student, currently pursuing a PhD in Education Policy Studies. I first attended Hanover College in Southern Indiana immediately after high school. Those four years were some of the most difficult of my life as they were filled with both emotional and intellectual challenges. The transition was not smooth and I struggled with maintaining a sense of balance between multiple academic and social pressures. I eventually found a “home” in the Anthropology department and took courses that stimulated my growth and expanded my consciousness of other ways of living throughout the world. After graduation, I gained work experience in fields of public relations, advertising, and higher education administration. However, I eventually returned to academic pursuits in International and Comparative Education. Currently, I research education policy in Pakistan specifically focused on out of school children.