It's hard to believe that I'm in the best shape of my life at this age.

Hey Advocates,

I turned 40 yesterday. It's hard to believe that I'm in the best shape of my life at this age. But I still have more things that I want to accomplish. Health and fitness was one of my aspirations. Next up, skydiving. I'll keep you posted.

This summer, I've been in the classroom teaching at the local university a class called EDUC 2204: Families, Community, and Culture to incoming first-year students. This is week five of the seven-week course, and I told the class that my birthday was on Thursday. I walked into class yesterday to a surprise "Happy Birthday" song, cake, and a card. Here's a little clip from yesterday.

I was shocked and honestly, it made my day. If you have a summer birthday, you understand the envy of seeing your peers have cupcakes or celebrations during the school year. 

As a kid, I remember it was nice to participate with my friends to celebrate another year of life; however, I recall wishing I could know what it felt like.

My experience yesterday in class made me wonder. Are we excluding students when we do birthday celebrations at school? 

If you've been keeping up with the Weekend Voice over the past few months, you know that I've been researching/speaking on creating a sense of belonging in schools. I want your thoughts on this topic. Birthdays, yes/no?

I think schools need to consider the diversity of their student population and ensure that birthday celebrations do not unintentionally exclude or make some students feel left out. Specifically, consider students who do not celebrate birthdays or those with birthdays outside of the school calendar. Some schools have policies to minimize the potential exclusionary aspects of birthday celebrations, such as discouraging the distribution of individual invitations in class or encouraging alternative forms of recognition that include all students, such as celebrating all birthdays in a given month or having a general celebration for everyone. I like the idea of having a general celebration for everyone because it limits "othering" students.

Remember the formula, a sense of belonging requires a student to feel accepted, included, and supported. This can involve finding ways to celebrate and recognize students' birthdays while being mindful of potential exclusionary dynamics. 

Content Created This Week

Those are my thoughts this week. Make sure you check out Monday's podcast episode next week.

Have a great weekend,

-Sheldon

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