The Culture of Celebration Series

As the winter season unfolds, many classrooms begin to feel a little cattywampus. Schedules shift, energy runs high, budgets feel tight, and the pressure to “make it magical” can quickly become overwhelming.

In this episode of The Culture Centered Classroom, Jocelynn introduces The Joy Budget a reframe that reminds educators that the most meaningful celebrations do not require money, elaborate plans, or Pinterest worthy perfection. Instead, they are built on connection, care, cultural competence, and co creation.

This episode builds directly on the first three episodes of the series, offering practical, zero cost strategies for honoring diverse traditions, sustaining joy, and strengthening classroom community during the winter months.

In This Episode You Will Explore

Why celebration does not need a financial budget

Jocelynn reframes celebration as a practice rooted in relationship rather than resources, emphasizing that connection is the true currency of joy.

How cultural competence guides winter celebrations

This episode revisits the idea that culture is not decoration and that honoring diverse observances requires intention, humility, and care rather than surface level activities.

The power of co creation during the holiday seasonBy inviting students into planning and decision making, educators reduce their own workload while honoring student agency and belonging.Zero cost celebration ideas aligned with the AnchorED for Achievement framework

You will hear practical examples including

1. Co creation audits
2. The Global Light Share
3. Affirmation artifacts
4. Celebration dance breaks
5. Community norms reflection circles

Each idea is grounded in agency, empowerment, community, hope, and reflection.

Why joy is a strategic practice not a seasonal event

Jocelynn connects these practices to long term culture building, showing how intentional celebration strengthens equity, belonging, and emotional safety.

Reflection Questions for Educators

• What does celebration currently cost me in time, energy, or stress

• How can I shift from planning for students to co creating with them

• Which traditions or celebrations feel meaningful in my classroom and which feel performative

• How does cultural competence influence the way I approach winter celebrations

• What joyful practices should carry beyond this season and into everyday classroom life

Resources Mentioned

• Back to School Series Freebie Lesson 1 from The First 10 Days Building Classroom Belonging customteachingsolutions.com/btsfree

• Focus Word Reflection Kit Available in the Virtual Learning Library and on Teachers Pay Teachers

In this episode of The Culture-Centered Classroom, we explore one of the most essential and misunderstood aspects of culturally responsive practice: the difference between celebrating culture and appropriating it.

Building on Episodes 1 and 2, Jocelynn offers a grounded, compassionate, and culturally competent look at what happens when celebration intersects with identity, history, and lived experience—especially during the diverse and emotionally charged winter season.

This episode is not about shame, it’s about clarity, courage, care, and cultural competence.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The Clear Distinction Between Appreciation and Appropriation

Jocelynn breaks down the difference through the lens of intent vs. impact, emphasizing that cultural celebration without context or permission can unintentionally cause harm—even when well-intentioned.

Why Cultural Competence Must Guide Celebration

You’ll learn four truths cultural competence teaches us:

1. Culture is not decoration

2. Traditions carry emotional and historical weight

3. Symbols have context and meaning

4. Practices emerge from lived experience—not Pinterest boards

These truths help prevent “performing diversity” and instead foster authentic cultural appreciation.

A Real-World Example: Florida State Seminoles FootballJocelynn uses the Florida State Seminoles as a concrete case study of how permission, relationship, and collaboration create a model for cultural appreciation rather than appropriation.
This example helps educators understand the importance of community consent, not assumption.

Why We Must Avoid the “Single Story” TrapDrawing on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s powerful TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, Jocelynn explains how incomplete narratives shape misunderstanding, bias, and cultural harm.
This example reinforces the need for multiple voices, not stereotypes or oversimplified representations.

A Simple 3-Step Guide for Culturally Respectful CelebrationAligned with the AnchorED for Achievement framework, Jocelynn shares a practical, actionable method:

1. Reflect — examine assumptions, intentions, and classroom norms

2. Learn — seek authentic sources, voices, and historical context

3. Implement — co-create celebrations with students and families

This guide helps you celebrate culture with confidence—not fear.

Reflection Questions for Educators

• What assumptions do I bring into cultural celebrations?

• Whose voice is centered? Whose voice is missing?

• Is this cultural element being used with permission, understanding, and respect?

• How does this celebration deepen belonging for all students?

• How can I create space for students to share (or not share) their traditions with agency?

Resources Mentioned

• TED Talk: The Danger of a Single Story – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• Back-to-School Series Freebie: Lesson 1 + activities
  👉 customteachingsolutions.com/btsfree

• Focus Word Reflection Kit – available in the Virtual Learning Library and TPT store

The Culture of Celebration Series

In this second episode of The Culture of Celebration, Jocelynn explores how meaningful, equity-centered celebration goes far beyond seasonal holidays and big events.
Real celebration—the kind that builds trust, belonging, and resilience—lives in the micro-moments we notice, honor, and name every single day.

As students and educators navigate the emotional highs and lows of the winter season, this episode offers a compassionate, culturally responsive reframing of what it truly means to celebrate one another in ways that feel safe, affirming, and authentically human.

This conversation is a continuation of the work we began in Episode 1 and beautifully connects back to your Back-to-School series, “The First 10 Days: Building Classroom Belonging.” It’s the perfect mid-year reminder that the roots you planted in August need care, water, and attention in November and December.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

Why the holiday season requires deeper care and cultural responsiveness

Jocelynn highlights how disrupted routines, varied cultural traditions, and heightened emotions make micro-celebrations especially powerful in November and December.

What micro-celebrations actually are—and why they matter

Discover how tiny, intentional acts of noticing effort, growth, and courage strengthen classroom culture far more than large events or public ceremonies.

How cultural competence shapes our understanding of celebration

We often assume students want to be celebrated the way we prefer to be celebrated. Jocelynn challenges that lens and offers strategies for honoring cultural variation with humility and intention.

The essential role of the AnchorED for Achievement and AAA Frameworks

Learn how micro-celebrations reinforce Agency, Empowerment, Community, Hope, Opportunity, and Awareness—core components of your instructional and relational practice.

Why this is the perfect time to revisit your Back-to-School work

Jocelynn invites educators to reflect on everything learned during The First 10 Days: Building Classroom Belonging—identity, voice, norms, storytelling—and use those insights to shape mid-year celebrations with greater care and nuance.

Download the free Day 1 lesson & activities at: customteachingsolutions.com/btsfree

How administrators can support teachers through micro-celebrations

School leaders receive specific, actionable ideas for recognizing the adults who hold the emotional and community labor of the school.

Practical, ready-to-use micro-celebration routines

Try Joy Journals, “We Noticed” boards, one-word celebrations, shout-out postcards, or 30-second video affirmations—simple ideas teachers can implement tomorrow.

Reflective Questions for Educators

1. What small moments did I notice today that are worth celebrating?

2. Which students thrive with public affirmation—and which prefer quiet celebration?

3. How do my own cultural experiences shape the way I define “care” and “celebration”?

4. What norms around celebration did we build in August? Do they still serve us now?

5. How can micro-celebrations help stabilize or strengthen our classroom culture this season?

Related Resources

• Back-to-School Lesson 1 Freebie: customteachingsolutions.com/btsfree

• Focus Word Reflection Kit for culturally responsive year-end reflection (Virtual Learning Library + TPT)

Connect with Jocelynn

• Instagram: @iteachcustom

• LinkedIn: Jocelynn Hubbard

• Website: customteachingsolutions.com

As we enter the winter holiday season — a time filled with classroom parties, family gatherings, cultural traditions, and moments of both joy and complexity — this new series, The Culture of Celebration, invites educators to pause and ask a powerful question:

What are we really celebrating?

In this first episode, Jocelynn unpacks the deeper meaning behind celebration, explores the connection between culture and recognition, and models how cultural competence helps us design celebrations that are equitable, authentic, and inclusive for every student.

Whether you love the holidays, find this season heavy, or fall somewhere in between, this episode offers grounding, compassion, and practical insight for educators navigating November and December with intention.

In this episode we explore:

• Why this episode matters during Thanksgiving week and the National Day of Mourning

• How the holidays can bring both joy and tension for students and families

• The difference between celebration as performance and celebration as meaning

• How celebrations tell a story about what a community values

• A clear, accessible definition

• Why cultural competence is a mindset shift, not a checklist

• How our own cultural lens shapes classroom celebrations

• How her approach to holiday travel and traditions transformed

• Moving from “this is how we’ve always done it” to “what do we actually need right now?”

• The role that grief, motherhood, and healing played in redefining celebration

How to use the AnchorED principles (Agency, Norms, Community, Hope, Opportunity, Reflection, Empowerment, Data-Informed Practice) to evaluate classroom and school celebrations:

• Opportunity: Who gets seen?

• Agency: Who gets to choose how they are celebrated?

• Norms: What values guide recognition?

• Community: Whose stories are centered?

• Hope + Empowerment: Are we uplifting what is possible?

• Reflection: What messages are we sending?

• Themes inspired by Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s “The Invitation”

• Why authentic celebration centers truth, humanity, and belonging

• How to move beyond calendar-based celebrations to culture-based celebrations

Reflection Questions:

Use these alone, with a colleague, or in a team meeting:

1. What do our current classroom or school celebrations communicate about what we value?

2. Whose traditions, identities, or stories are highlighted? Whose are overlooked?

3. How might we invite more student agency into celebration?

4. What would celebration look like if it honored each student’s story, comfort, and cultural lens?

5. Where can we shift from performance to authenticity?

Related Resources:

If this episode inspires you to rethink celebration in your classroom, check out Jocelynn’s Focus Word Reflection Kit — a set of worksheets and slides designed to help you and your students enter the new year with intention, authenticity, and joy.
Available in the Virtual Learning Library and Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Connect:

• Instagram: @customteachingsolutions

• LinkedIn: Jocelynn Hubbard

• Website: customteachingsolutions.com

This episode is a love letter to the hard, holy, and unfinished work of equity; a celebration of every educator who stayed in the fight. We ground our reflection in the fierce resilience of Maya Angelou's Still I Rise and the promise of our ancestors.

The work is challenging, but our commitment to move forward (Still We Move) remains fierce. Join us for a final reflection on the questions that shaped this season and learn the 3 practical commitments you need to anchor your spirit and sustain your energy through the next chapter.

Key Takeaways from Episode 10

• Rest as Resistance: Understand why pausing with purpose and releasing the heavy weight of the work is a strategic move, not a weakness.

• The Ancestral Blueprint: We reflect on the wisdom of liberation architects like Mary McLeod Bethune who taught us how to build with vision in the face of limitation.

• The AnchorED Challenge: Discover the 3 Actionable Commitments (The Still We Move Trio) designed using the AnchorED framework to transition from reflection into immediate, sustainable action.

• You Are the Dream: A profound reminder that your courage, your presence, and your joy in the classroom are the legacy of generations of hope.

Looking Ahead: The Culture of Celebration:

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of our next series: "The Culture of Celebration: Joy as an Equity Strategy."

This series is your intentional pivot into renewal. We'll explore why affirmation and joy are vital to sustaining anti-racist work. We'll conclude the series by sharing my revised process for choosing a focus word or phrase for 2026—a blueprint for anchoring your next year in clarity and intention.

In this episode I mention:

• Maya Angelou

• James Baldwin

• Mary McLeod Bethune

• W.E.B. Du Bois

• Paulo Freire

• Gholdy Muhammad

• Jimmy Casas

• The AnchorED for Achievement Framework

Resources to Anchor Your Work:

• Comprehensive Support - https://customteachingsolutions.com/services

• Virtual Learning Library - https://customteachingsolutions.com/virtuallearning

• Teaching Materials - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/custom-teaching-solutions

• Activities for creating a welcoming and inclusive class - Buy resources in my TEACHER SHOP!

• Culture-Centered Teacher WORKSHOPS - Click HERE for more information

  
  

  Ready to Take Action?

• FREE Roadmap: Grab your FREE "The Welcoming & Inclusive Classroom Classroom Roadmap" at: https://customteachingsolutions.com/theroadmap

• Discovery Call: Schedule a free DISCOVERY CALL to discuss bringing the AnchorED framework to your team: https://calendly.com/customteachingsolutions/35min

• Check out The Culture-Centered Teacher Workshops HERE!

Connect with me:

• Email - [email protected]

• LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cts-custom-teaching-solutions/

• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iteachcustom/

• Website - https://customteachingsolutions.com

**Custom Teaching Solutions is an affiliate for Bookshop.org, which means we receive a commission on every sale that comes through our link at no additional cost to you.**

This episode shifts the spotlight from individual action to institutional design. If your school’s equity work disappears when one leader leaves, it was never sustainable to begin with.

Jocelynn challenges listeners to design schools that can withstand disruption—political, cultural, and structural—by embedding equity into systems, not personalities. She shares how equity audits and strategic planning become powerful tools for long-term transformation, and outlines the design principles that turn your vision into structure.

Whether you're a principal, coach, teacher-leader, or team lead, this episode helps you build earthquake-ready equity systems—the kind that flex but don’t fall.

Key Themes:

• The problem with personality-driven equity

• Designing for disruption: anticipating the storm

• Equity audits and strategic planning as system tools

• Building equity into policies, PD, hiring, and onboarding

• Moving from vision to infrastructure

Reflection Questions:

• Data-Informed Practice: What data are you collecting to assess structural equity?
• Community: Who's at the redesign table—staff, students, families?
• Opportunity: Where do gaps in access, visibility, or advancement persist?
• Agency: Are your systems empowering or policing?

This episode is a reclamation of pause. In the face of backlash, pressure, and exhaustion, we’re not just talking about resistance—we’re talking about boundaries.

What if rest is resistance? What if pause is power? What if walking away for a moment is what allows us to keep standing?

We explore how boundaries protect instructional clarity, model integrity, and create space to recover joy. With the guidance of bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and Brené Brown, this episode reminds you that you don’t have to burn out to be brave.

KEY THEMES:

• Boundary-setting as equity leadership

• Rest and reflection as tools for sustainability

• Choosing when to speak, when to stay, and when to pause

• Instructional integrity and values alignment

• Holding the line without losing yourself

THOUGHT LEADERS REFERENCED:

• Bell Hooks – Living your values

• Audre Lorde – Rest as self-preservation

• Brené Brown – “Clear is kind”

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What boundary do I need to define more clearly?
2. Where am I pulled away from my values?
3. Who is in my boundary-keeping community?
4. What future am I protecting by setting this boundary?
5. What do my students learn when they see me model care and clarity?

If you are seeking strategy or support to help you or your team visit https://customteachingsolutions.com/equitytools or reach out to Jocelynn on LinkedIN.

What if the most powerful lesson your students learn isn’t in your curriculum—but in your character?

In this reflective and deeply human episode, Jocelynn explores what W.E.B. Du Bois called the “double consciousness”—and how that internal tension shapes what we model as educators. Students aren’t just learning from our words; they’re watching our pauses, our reactions, our silence, and our joy.

This is an episode about mirror work—the quiet, ongoing practice of modeling courage, joy, humility, and humanity. It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence.

From classroom culture to leadership choices, Jocelynn weaves in powerful quotes from Baldwin, Freire, and Octavia Butler, plus a call to revisit our earliest memories of power, apology, and grace. This episode will stay with you.

Key Themes:

• What students learn from teacher behavior

• The emotional power of modeling courage, joy, and imperfection

• The “unspoken curriculum” in every classroom

This episode is for every principal, coach, and school leader carrying the weight of instructional equity in a moment of increased scrutiny and resistance.

When inclusive practices are questioned, books are banned, and professional values are under fire, what does it look like to lead with courage and clarity?

Jocelynn Hubbard explores what it takes to hold the line and protect the vision when your integrity is tested and your community is watching. She shares real stories from her leadership coaching cohorts, unpacks the tension between risk and responsibility, and reminds you that instructional excellence is an equity strategy.Key Themes:

• Instructional leadership in politically restrictive climates

• How to lead for equity when systems are pushing back

• The emotional cost of carrying the work

• Coaching cohorts as communities of care and courage

• Using data and norms to protect culturally responsive practices

• Equity as evidence-based instructional improvement

Thought Leaders Referenced:

• Jimmy Casas – “Your title doesn’t make you a leader. Your impact does.”

• Brené Brown – “You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. But you cannot choose both.”

• Bell Hooks – “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”

Reflection Questions:

• Would I follow me? Why or why not?

• What instructional or behavioral norms can serve as a shield in moments of pushback?

• How am I modeling vulnerability and clarity for my team?

• What equity-centered practice needs to be defended with data this week?

• What does courageous leadership look like for me right now?

Are you a school leader navigating the tension between advocacy and accountability?

Let’s build your capacity AND your community.

Explore coaching cohorts, equity audits, and strategy sessions with Jocelynn at https://customteachingsolutions.com/equitytools.

In this episode, we tackle the monumental challenge of teaching equity, justice, and critical thinking in an era of restrictive policies and political scrutiny. We provide a strategic roadmap for maintaining your professional integrity without sacrificing your personal safety.

Key Takeaways

• The Duty of Non-Neutrality: We examine Freire’s belief that education must always serve freedom, and what neutrality truly costs our students. We also share the powerful context of his exile for holding this stance.

• Strategic Advocacy: We break down actionable moves into two categories: Subtle Moves (using curriculum as a shield, letting primary sources speak) and Bold Moves (collective advocacy, knowing your policy).

• The AnchorED Framework: We introduce the AnchorED for Achievement framework—Agency, Norms, Community, Hope, Opportunity, Reflection, Empowerment, and Data-Informed Practice—as a memory tool and strategic guide for applying these advocacy moves.

• The Un-Bannable Work: We focus on how empowering students through Agency and Empowerment ensures that the core work of critical thinking continues, regardless of external attempts to restrict content.

Reflection Questions

• For Teachers: What is one "anchor" from the AnchorED framework that you can apply this week to a potentially challenging topic? How can you use Data or Norms to shield a crucial discussion?

• For Instructional Coaches & School Leaders: Where in your curriculum or PD agenda are you inadvertently promoting neutrality or compliance? What is one way you can create a safer "collective" space (the Community anchor) for teachers to discuss restrictive policies without fear of retaliation?

• For Everyone: Where in your community or personal life are you tempted toward silence? What is the personal cost of that silence?

Resources Mentioned

• The work of Paulo Freire (Pedagogy of the Oppressed)

• Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

If you're looking for support to continue this work in your own school or classroom, I invite you to explore my Equity Audit Tools, Student Data Dive Tool, and Coaching services. You can find all of these resources at https://customteachingsolutions.com/equitytools.