Running a student led
classroom can mean that sometimes the best laid plans for the school day fall
by the wayside. Prioritizing
what is important when building relationships with individual students and a
classroom community can often pause the academic day. Our ELA block got cut short this past week due
to a note that was left in our bothering box. A student happened to mention he
or she felt excluded from a few of the other students in our classroom.
At the start of the school
year I observed classmates gravitating towards other students from a previous
classroom, sports, or other after school activities. The exclusion was not intentional,
but the student’s feelings became the priority for me. If the student wanted me to talk to him or her,
he or she needed to sign his or her note left in the bothering box. If he or
she wanted me to be aware of a bother happening in his or her life, he or she
could drop the bother in the box and walk away. There was no name on this bothering
box slip.
This one note drove the class
meeting we had instead of working on vocabulary. Discussing what it meant to
have an inclusive classroom was our topic for our class meeting. I wanted to show students what
you put the box does get addressed, building trust between students and
teacher.
I started the discussion asking
what inclusion of others meant. Students had a range of valid ideas. We also discussed
when you try to include someone, how to handle when the other person wants to
be alone. This is a reality for our students. I dove into an analogy that
students could relate to. I shared that when you do not pay attention to your
surroundings and do not give another person a good chance you might miss
out on the opportunity to learn and grow from someone new. This is similar in their world to not giving a
book a good chance. They could miss the opportunity to go on an adventure,
learning something new, or disappear into a world so different than their own.
To build a collaborative and
inclusive culture I surprised students by breaking them up into random groups
to play indoor recess games. We had Connect Four, Headbandz, Jenga, Chutes and
Ladders, Uno, and Guess Who going on all at the same time. I heard a lot of laughter and
conversation happening between students who had not really spoken to each other
yet this school year.
In these moments we all
flourish as a classroom community. We took a break from our academic day to play
and have fun with each other. This
experience helped our class be ready the rest of the week to take on challenges
together. I even noticed different partnerships forming and students sitting
near new friends. We, as
educators, need to take more cues from our students. I will forever be grateful
for the bothering box that has helped me delve into the social emotional needs
of our classroom community. The
next note left in the bothering box was this experience made a student think
about the time he or she had to end a friendship. That will be a conversation
for next week!
