By Zahra A. Belyea, M.Ed, M.A.Collaborative Coaching Specialist
The word we heard over and over again from the amazing educators who joined us for our second annual Teacher Institute focused on Empowering Writing Instruction* (part of Teens in Print’s Summer Journalism Institute): Joy.
Below are quotes from two such participants, who each highlight the importance of being intentional about integrating joy into their learning environments and practices:
“There have been several things, but maybe most impactful, has been…being able to observe the student writers and even seeing them in the energizer-type activities and just how it was for me, a beautiful example of how joy affects or can be a part of a learning experience and a way to make it part of a learning experience for students…”–
“What I think [the energizer activity does] is that it sets up the type of community that you need for, ultimately, the product that you want. And so, when I think of the products that are demanded by the Institute, and I'm also talking about your [Summer Journalism Institute] program, they're definitely high quality. And, [I know] you got there through an ample amount of collaboration, etc. So [if I implemented these strategies], I think there would be more joy [in my own practice]. I think there's going to be more of an instantaneous community, and I need that.”
It was both touching and confirming to see this idea of joy permeate so much of what the educators discussed, observed, and ultimately added or infused into their end-of-Institute curriculum projects.
During one of our debriefs about last year’s Institute, my colleagues and I looked at the Empowering Writing Framework, developed for that Institute.** It was a great discussion that brought to the surface for us that although WordPowered is an organization that cares deeply about culturally and historically responsive practices, those convictions were not explicitly spelled out in our framework and the ways in which we facilitated the workshop. We made the decision this year as a team to put those values front and center by adopting Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning framework, upheld by what she has coined the Five Pursuits: Identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy. The Cult of Pedagogy podcast has a great interview with Dr. Muhammad on the pursuit of joy.
Which brings us back to how excited we were at how quickly the educators at this year’s Teachers Institute embraced the idea of joy: We saw them laughing together with the teens with whom they were paired up to play the game “Draw What You Hear,” as well as in deep conversation with each other about how to bring joy intentionally into their classrooms and learning spaces.
As these educators battle against ever-changing district initiatives and juggle content that has to be “covered” with content that sees and treats students as brilliant and critical thinkers, when these educators see joy as an integral “weapon” in the fight for civil and human rights, a balm against banal assignments, and a thread of connection across communities, it is a beautiful sight to behold.
One might even say it was a joyous sight to behold…
*For a great overview and insight into our first Teacher’s Institute (Summer 2025), please read “Learning Alongside Students to Reimagine Student-Centered Learning at WordPowered Summer Teacher Institute” by my colleague Meghan Rosenberg.
**This year’s framework is a beautiful work in progress. To learn more about last year’s model, please read “What If Your Students Wrote for the World, Not Just for a Grade?” by my colleague Dr. Meredith Moore. In one section, she highlights the framework, “Teachers can use the Framework for Empowering Writing Instruction to design writing assignments that students will care about and to teach writing in ways that help students become powerful communicators.”
Zahra A. Belyea, M.Ed, M.A.
she/her
Zahra is a Collaborative Coaching Specialist.
Her Professional Journey
Zahra A. Belyea holds a B.A. in English from Boston University, an M.Ed. in Secondary Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College, and an M.A. in Theatre Education from Emerson College. During her years as an educator, she has had the honor of working with many students as she taught and tutored in both writing and literature on the collegiate, secondary, and middle school levels, held the position of Academic Support Specialist for Graduate Students, and was the former coordinator of a writing studio at a university in Florida.
As a teaching artist, movement performer, and playwright, she has had the privilege of working, performing, or writing with or for numerous venues, artists, art institutions, and theatre companies such as Open Theatre Project, We Create! Celebrating Women in the Arts Festival, Company One Theatre, Central Square Theater, ArtsEmerson, The Billie Holiday Theatre, Fort Point Theatre Channel, On With Living and Learning (OWLL), and And Still We Rise Productions, for which she was a former Assistant Director. Stepping into the role of Instructional Coach has been the answer to a prayer she forgot she made several years ago. Like WordPowered, she understands that words matter and access to opportunities to lead and have one’s voice heard should not be relegated to those with the means to propagate majority approved constructs.
Her Personal Journey
Zahra first met Shakespeare as a teenager, Hamlet becoming her favorite play. Her relationship with and to the text has changed over the years, growing in ways deep and wide: Since losing her own father in 2015, she better understands Hamlet’s lens of grief, looking at a world continuing to spin without their fathers in it. She is grateful to her sisters, her parents, and extended family and friends who have walked with her along this journey, so that unlike Hamlet, she has learned the gift of love her father left behind and the reality that she lives in community with many people who have suffered loss, learning to see each other and remind one another that we are not alone and we don’t have to be alone.
As she continues to embrace Faith over Fear, Zahra is leaning closer to God, who continues to help her navigate through a life that has not always been what she has wanted or expected, but one which has been teaching her that as long as she stays open to opportunities as they present themselves, remains compassionate to the people around her, and stays humble, she doesn’t need to know where the road will take her.