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Marissa Pienaar

@educatingmarissa

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✨Educator, Coach & Consultant ✨ Inviting us all to look at how we can cocreate a future of education where all thrive!

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So grateful to have hit 1k friends on this account! Some of y’all are new here, and some of y’all are my Day Ones! Appreciate you all. (Except the sugar daddys in my DMs, come get ya uncles puh-lease.)

Love y’all! ❤️❤️❤️

Throwback slide: diagonal bookends of my time in Peace Corps Namibia, rock climbing with the Sublime Sixth grade class, my lil library in my tiny classroom that I painted myself, my birthday and last week at my first teaching job as an independent studies teacher with my beloved students, and a note from one of my boys I tutored and taught to read when I worked at a placement for youth transitioning from the carceral system back home.

#socioculturalconsciousness
#morethananeducator #teachersforgoodtrouble #dismantlingwhitesupremacy #decolonizeyourcurriculum #educationforsocialjustice
#educationalleadership #teachersofinstagram #iteach #iteachtoo #teachinglife #Abolitionistteaching #liberatoryeducation #teachingforsocialjustice #culturallyresponsiveteaching #teachinginstagram #teacherfriends #educationforsocialjustice #communitybuilding #warmdemander #blackteachersmatter #berevolutinary #morethananeducator #teachersforgoodtrouble #dismantlingwhitesupremacy #decolonizeyourcurriculum #educationforsocialjustice
#educationalleadership #teacherspayteachers #tpt by @educatingmarissa

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4 years ago

Teachers make the world go round. ♥️♥️♥️#happyworldteachersday🌏🍎📚✏️ by @educatingmarissa

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an hour ago

What if tension isn’t something we need to eliminate?

What if it’s something we need to learn how to navigate?

I’ve been working on something that has been taking shape through years of leading, listening, getting things wrong, trying again, and watching what happens when educators are asked to hold both care and authority.

It’s called GRACE.
G — Gauge
R — Recognize
A — Ask
C — Contain the Drama
E — Engage Tension

GRACE is a practice framework within my Caring Authority model for responding to tension with clarity and humanity.

Because I don’t think educators should have to choose between being compassionate and being in charge.

I believe:
Accountability isn't punishment.
Curiosity can lead us into the conversation.
And winning power struggles isn't the goal.
Because when we make someone a winner, we also create a loser.

And losing, especially publicly, can be deeply damaging to belonging.

Sometimes the work is learning how to stay in the tension long enough to understand what it is asking of us.

That’s what I’ve been exploring through GRACE.

And now, I’ve turned it into an ebook. 📖
This is just the beginning.
More soon. ✨

With gratitude to adrienne maree brown, whose work has been deeply inspirational to this thinking, particularly around engaging tension without indulging drama.

Also shout out to my girl @armilgrace When I was working on the mnemonic and came up with GRACE, it just made sense. You are such an inspiration to me!

#CaringAuthority #GRACE #EducationalLeadership #SchoolLeadership #Education #EquityInEducation #EducatingMarissa by @educatingmarissa

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3 days ago

Can you remember your experience learning to read? What was it like? by @educatingmarissa

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4 days ago

You are not always right because you hold power and said so. You don't empower parents and students, they already have their own power. Being in solidarity isn't enough when we are moving in unexamined power dynamics.

Power is evident in every interaction we have, yet few take the time to slow down and notice it. I created the #caringauthority years ago to help us examine how power is moving through and among us and for us to start using our authority in life-giving ways, not diminishing ones.

We've all had those experiences where our power was diminished and know how that feels, this is a tool to support you in not repeating those cycles.

#schoolequity #teachersofinstagram #classroommanagement #adminofinstagram by @educatingmarissa

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5 days ago

We usually treat "power" like a bad word, but it really comes down to how we use it to build trust, hold firm boundaries, and lift each other up.

Check out the full graphic here, and if you have a minute, head to the link in my story to read the full article! Your support, comments, and shares mean the world to me.

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#CaringAuthority #HumanCentered #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #Empowerment #LinkInStory by @educatingmarissa

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7 days ago

Educating Marissa •1m ago
I wonder, if folx took the time to examine their lenses and the fullness of the article outside of their original visceral reactions, would a different conversation be happening. Our biases and sensitivities live in those first quick thoughts.
That said, as I say in my video there’s not just one right way to think, so I welcome differing opinions. Let’s get the conversation popping.

*A couple of corrections: I say “give her agency”, we don’t give others agency. I should have said allowed for her to use her agency.
Sounds like I say “her husband could have afforded to put her in a “better” school when I actually say her and husband. #nikolehannahjones #nyt #nicewhiteparents #thisamericanlife by @educatingmarissa

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13 days ago

We turned desks into shelters for lockdowns, parking lots into playgrounds, and a group of strangers into a community.

When I got back from Peace Corps, I taught at the intersection of my childhood and my future. I had grown up right across the street and then got to nurture my students’ growth and learn with them in that building. We learned so many lessons a book can’t teach and I continue to learn from those days as I move forward this journey as an educator.

#administratorlife #teachers #teachersofinstagram #caringauthority #oakland taken in East Oakland, CA by @educatingmarissa

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14 days ago

There is so much judgment before actual conversation. Don’t let your biases get in the way of actual connection.
I remember listening to an episode of thisamericanlife where they were talking about Mike Brown’s mom being like he just graduated high school as a response to this murder, and how this milestone is so important to so many families.
I have witnessed so much bias against parents who come as they are: in a bonnet, a hijab, or speaking another language.
People see education as the gift that it can be, the possibility route it can create. So, let’s pause and practice curiosity and cultivate connection before jumping to wrong conclusions about our families. #administratorlife #teachers #teachersofinstagram #caringauthority by @educatingmarissa

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16 days ago

Send help. #administratorlife #administratorlife💪🏾 by @educatingmarissa

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3 years ago

My office is really coming along! It’s certainly a vibe up in here. Love being the administrator for Class of 2025 and a part of the best admin team in the game. Go Monarchs! 🦁 💛💙 by @educatingmarissa

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3 years ago

Cheers to back to school PD season! 😐😕😶🫠

Creators: @teaching_humanity @ms.m_closet @chicago.teacher.memes @thesassyappleteaching by @educatingmarissa

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3 years ago