February 17, 2012
Crew Not Passengers
I continue to ponder and reflect on the Design Principles. I often hear kids call out in class, with much exuberance, "I made a connection!" (Always makes me smile.) Well, picture me calling this out to you as I read through the design principle: Service and Compassion (last chapter...obviously not reading this in any particular order but hey, who cares...I love being in control of my reading), "I made a connection...!" We are crew, not passengers and how directly linked our motto is to service. "By placing service at the heart of learning, schools encourage students to see service not as an isolated action, but as a way of being a member of a community." Ah...service is a way for a student to have belonging! "Hey! I made another connection!"; the four quadrants of a drum circle!
Oh, I just want to copy the whole chapter...it is all so powerful!
It goes waaayyy beyond just creating a service learning project for the sake of serving...it's really an opportunity to empower kids to feel like they are answering to a call, "I need your help". Students shift from the narrow perspective of their immediate life and world, to having a responsibility for the whole. Crew, not passengers? (Learning to take care of the circle when we are drumming?)
It's amazing how deeply kids talk to me about what 'Crew, Not Passengers' means to them. They really get it! And yet, their responses all reveal that 'crew' to them, is only their family here at Renaissance. Do they understand that we are a crew of global citizens?
So where are we with our commitment to service? Rather than viewing it as one more thing to do, how can it be embedded? In what way does our community/global world call to our kids, "You are needed"?
"Service helps young people see the connections between the academic content and the problems people encounter in everyday life."
I leave you with this to ponder with me, "One of school's primary functions is to prepare its students with the attitudes and skills to learn from and be of service to others."
Calendar
Week of February 20 - 24th:
Monday, 20th:
* No School (Enjoy!)
Tuesday, 21st:
* RTI 7:30 a.m.
* Michelle/Lonnie's crew Winter Voyage
* Bill & Rebecca Crew's Winter Voyage
Week of February 27th - March 2nd:
Tuesday 28th:
* RTI 7:30 a.m.
* Neil & Lindsey Crew's Winter Voyage
Wednesday 29th:
* All School Meeting: Ms. Jill's Crew Hosts
* 6th grade to Art Museum
* Lauren & Brittany Crew's Winter Voyage
Friday, March 2nd:
*Teacher Work Day
* Texas Independence Day (ask Bill Dowdle about this!)
Love and Logic
Teacher-ism:
Don't criticize yourself, get down, or lose hope. Instead, pat yourself on the back for doing everything within your power to help.
Are you in a Morning Message Rut?
Think about subscribing to this blog to have new posts delivered to your email.
Featured Folk
authored by Mary Sue
authored by Mary Sue
I wrote this as an assignment for my Digi Ed Class, and I think it fits well with our Friday Flash! The assignment was an idea from NPR radio, who feature "This I Believe" from audience members.
MarySue
This I Believe
I believe that teaching is not a job. It’s a way of life. Today I commented to my husband Terry that I hope he appreciates what a great job he has. He works from home, makes way more money than I do, is able to work out in between conference calls, can eat and snack when he wants, runs errands once in awhile, and doesn’t have to drive when it’s icy.
There are downsides like loneliness, always being on the phone, and crazy co-workers.
But he didn’t point these out, he said instead that my job as a teacher is way better. He said I make a difference. He said when he dies, no one will care what he did for a living. He said when he dies, people will say what a great guy he was (and I added husband too). Then he said when I die, people will say what a great teacher I was. How I touched their life. How they remember me, even though they were only 7 or 8 or 9 when we were “crew”. Wow. Terry has told me that before, but not in quite the same way. I’ve always dismissed it, because I love teaching. I don’t feel noble at all, and I thought you should feel noble to make a difference. I thought being noble meant a whole lot of pain and suffering. I don’t feel noble because I love living in the world of 7 and 8 and 9 year-olds. Sure, they have some social issues, but for the most part they love to learn, and they want to have a good time while they do it. They love to laugh. They like a good joke. They love to be read to, and I love to read to them. I get to play with some cool toys and games with them. I get to learn reading, writing, science and math and social studies right along with them. I get to spend my day in a place full of joy.
Of course, there are downsides. I can tell when I’ve taken on too many projects, but I can’t stop myself until I’m so brain dead my body screeches to a halt. Dealing with all the adults associated with the students can get messy and discouraging. Always trying but not always succeeding in being on top of all the details. Carrying on with a smile, even with the flu or a cold or heartache over a friend or family member.
I did the office thing for many years. I was a Secretary, I was an Administrative Assistant, and an Office Manager. I mostly liked the people, but not the work. Thankfully, in my late 30’s teaching discovered me. A voracious love of learning came back into my life. Happy childhood memories came back. Passion for teaching rushed in. Many years have gone by, and still - it doesn’t feel like a job.
It feels like life.
MarySue
This I Believe
I believe that teaching is not a job. It’s a way of life. Today I commented to my husband Terry that I hope he appreciates what a great job he has. He works from home, makes way more money than I do, is able to work out in between conference calls, can eat and snack when he wants, runs errands once in awhile, and doesn’t have to drive when it’s icy.
There are downsides like loneliness, always being on the phone, and crazy co-workers.
But he didn’t point these out, he said instead that my job as a teacher is way better. He said I make a difference. He said when he dies, no one will care what he did for a living. He said when he dies, people will say what a great guy he was (and I added husband too). Then he said when I die, people will say what a great teacher I was. How I touched their life. How they remember me, even though they were only 7 or 8 or 9 when we were “crew”. Wow. Terry has told me that before, but not in quite the same way. I’ve always dismissed it, because I love teaching. I don’t feel noble at all, and I thought you should feel noble to make a difference. I thought being noble meant a whole lot of pain and suffering. I don’t feel noble because I love living in the world of 7 and 8 and 9 year-olds. Sure, they have some social issues, but for the most part they love to learn, and they want to have a good time while they do it. They love to laugh. They like a good joke. They love to be read to, and I love to read to them. I get to play with some cool toys and games with them. I get to learn reading, writing, science and math and social studies right along with them. I get to spend my day in a place full of joy.
Of course, there are downsides. I can tell when I’ve taken on too many projects, but I can’t stop myself until I’m so brain dead my body screeches to a halt. Dealing with all the adults associated with the students can get messy and discouraging. Always trying but not always succeeding in being on top of all the details. Carrying on with a smile, even with the flu or a cold or heartache over a friend or family member.
I did the office thing for many years. I was a Secretary, I was an Administrative Assistant, and an Office Manager. I mostly liked the people, but not the work. Thankfully, in my late 30’s teaching discovered me. A voracious love of learning came back into my life. Happy childhood memories came back. Passion for teaching rushed in. Many years have gone by, and still - it doesn’t feel like a job.
It feels like life.
Peek Into the Life of Our School
 |
| Valentine's Day Celebrations An opportunity for relationship building Connections to 'Belonging and Generosity' from the Circle of Courage |
 |
| Clever Lauren makes Valentine crayons for her Crew. I should 'pin' those! |
 |
 |
| Opportunities for creative expression! |
 |
| Brittany provided a Valentine inspired opportunity to build belonging and generosity. She made name cards, and then each student recorded a kind word about one another. Now, they'll be desk name tags! Great way to let an event live beyond the moment! |
 |
| Passing out Valentines in kindergarten... a rich literacy learning experience! Kathy shared that it is common for kindergarten students to take their Valentine boxes home and read, re-read, and re-read their Valentines all through the spring months! |
 |
| Hand-made Valentines. |
 |
| Robin Hood! |
 |
| Have you been to our archery range? Way to go Doug! |
 |
 |
| How inspiring! Spring must be on its way! The bulbs are blooming in kindergarten! (Science Expedition) |
Thanks Jody and Kathy for shining the light on our skills as facilitators.
I plucked the information below, directly from our Adventure Education Curriculum Handbook.
There's more if you want it!
Nice link between facilitating Ad. Ed. and a drum circle!!!
Framing
Framing provides the opportunity for facilitators to prepare the students for the challenge they are about to face. Framing is carried out with a “big picture” in mind- the facilitator will introduce ideas in framing with the direct intention of returning to those concepts in the debriefing. Framing may contain some or all of the following components, depending on the nature of the activity and the desired outcomes of the activity.
- Safety Briefing
- Introduction
- Instruction
- Outcomes
Activity
Activity is characterized by action on the part of the students, but still requires deliberate attention on the part of the facilitator. The facilitator is constantly assessing the performance of the students, and if necessary guiding them appropriately.
Debriefing
Debriefing is the opportunity for students to draw a link between what they learned in the activity and future application of that learning. In debriefing, the facilitator guides the students through a discussion as they process the activity. Remember to use the predefined outcomes of the activity to help structure the debriefing.
Considerations for the Facilitator
· Pay attention to Maslow
· Time
· Language
· Age appropriateness
· Connect lessons to specific real-life scenarios
Have a great weekend!
Deborah
No comments:
Post a Comment