From the President

WSST President, Kristin Michalski

Belonging. Why does it matter? Maslow placed the need to belong in his hierarchy of needs, placing it above psychological and even safety needs. We are wired to belong. Evolution showed us that there was safety in numbers. Therefore, we are social creatures with a drive to connect. Without connection, we do not feel valued or supported emotionally and socially. We cannot be our authentic self. When we lack a sense of belonging, we are left with an unpleasant feeling, feeling like an outsider, or fearing we will be rejected. This is why we seek out organizations such as WSST.

In WSST, you find people with common interests and aspirations, a community. The importance of community cannot be overstated. We are bonded by our values and goals with a shared sense of purpose of bringing the best science education to our students. As part of WSST, we are part of something greater than ourselves. As advocates for education, WSST respects the importance and responsibility of every member.

Being part of a professional community like WSST also provides good role models for students. When they see us reaching out professionally, we model for them how to do the same with their peers. In essence, we’re helping them develop their soft skills, their mental health, and life-long habits by modeling belonging with our teaching cohorts, departments, faculty, and professional organizations. And these benefits are also magnified if we talk about them and their value as we teach. In addition, as a busy educator, it is easy to feel lost and alone, especially with the stress of teaching. You may even teach at a school where you are the only science teacher; a community like WSST helps connect you with a network of teachers, helping increase your enthusiasm for teaching and fostering a feeling of connectedness.

The leadership of the WSST organization is committed to increasing members' sense of belonging. Our action plan to reach this goal is as follows. We will create more intentional connections, by creating social events at the conference and across the state with district level gatherings. We will invite opinions and perspectives from members by surveying the membership as well as non-members, offering town hall sessions at the conference, and inviting members to attend annual board meetings. We will approach belonging with inclusivity in mind, using a lens that recognizes diversity from elementary to post-secondary, biology to physics, and from diverse backgrounds and geographic areas. Finally, we are investing in this goal by making it our main objective in our 5-year strategic plan. We have hired an outside organization who can help us focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion as we set overall goals for our organization and develop a plan to achieve them. The goals include, but are not limited to: ● Engaging with others to make them feel valued and accepted● Ensuring inclusion● Treating others with dignity and respect● Valuing diverse people and ideas● Empowering members to contribute their own ideas and achieve their goals

What can you do to increase your sense of belonging? Make an effort to put yourself out there - consider running for an open position on the WSST board or join a committee. Seek out activities and people with common interests by attending social events offered by WSST. Be patient as it may take time, but the benefits will be worth it. Finally, practice acceptance by focusing on the similarities and not the differences of members in the community and be open to new ways of thinking.