Teaching Love & Learning Freedom: Practicing Human Being

This transformative presentation challenges educators to reimagine classroom management and school culture by rejecting what the speaker calls a "culture of disposability" - the harmful belief that some people are throwaway. Dr. Shalaby presents three core principles that fundamentally shift how we approach education: that safety and control are incompatible, that punishment and accountability cannot coexist, and that "human being" is a verb requiring daily practice. Rather than using surveillance, rules, and punishment to control student behavior, the presenter advocates for creating environments where students learn to practice freedom responsibly through care, community belonging, and accountability.

The presentation demonstrates practical applications of these principles through real examples from their K-12 school, showing how simple shifts in language and approach can move classrooms away from policing logic toward teaching and learning logic. By reframing safety as "we keep us safe" rather than relying on external control, and by understanding accountability as a skill to be developed rather than something imposed through punishment, educators can create spaces where all community members develop the capacity for genuine care, responsibility, and restoration. This approach directly challenges the school-to-prison pipeline by interrupting logics of disposability and instead cultivating the skills required for true freedom and community care.

"Freedom means safely getting to be our whole human selves in community with other whole human selves without any threats or assaults to our well-being... Freedom means using our power to demand that each of us is taken care of, protected, treated with dignity and affirmed."

"There is never ever a way to hold another person accountable... We can only hold ourselves accountable."

"Safety results from every member of a community having their needs met... it results from belonging so that care and inclusion are the work of safety."

• How might reframing freedom as "we keep us safe" rather than "do whatever you want" change student behavior and classroom dynamics? What would this look like in practice with your students?
• Compare the traditional hallway poster ("be quiet, listen, look ahead") with the "How We Move with Care" approach. What similar language shifts could you implement in your classroom or school? What resistance might you encounter?
• How do current school disciplinary practices mirror the criminal justice system? What specific policies or practices in your school might be contributing to a "culture of disposability"?
• The presentation challenges educators to recognize when they're "doing the work of police officers." When have you found yourself in this role? How might you shift toward being purely an educator?