Even though we still have six months left in this school year, we are starting to think ahead to NEXT year, with the imminent registration for Kindergarten and Grade 5 French Immersion. Even though our school has grown by over one hundred students and will continue to grow, I think we have maintained our small school feel, and welcomed our new students and families into our school community.
In his academic writing, John McKnight, professor of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, describes five indicators of community. The first is Capacity, which can be described as, "the extent to which an enterprise or a nation, or an organization like a school, actually uses its potential output." It is, perhaps, our most important to work: to build capacity in the students in in ourselves as teachers. How can we tap into human potential most effectively, so that all learners feel themselves to be growing socially, emotionally, physically and academically? That is our most pressing question.
The second indicator of community is Collective Effort. There are countless examples of people working together in our school, from the teachers collaboration and sharing, to the students working and learning together, to the members of the basketball team practicing their game along with their coaches. Humans are meant to work together - they are small group beings - as Johnston and Johnston put it.
The third indicator is Informality. We are informal when we play and laugh together, when we sing and make music, when we are good and caring listeners. While we cling to some formal structures and manners and rituals in schools, there are still many opportunities to be informal with one another. Students appreciate having choices and flexibility in their learning, as much as the adults like to have autonomy in how and what they teach. In some other countries, the curriculum and expectations for its delivery are so rigid and oppressive, I cannot imagine how there can be much joy in teaching or learning.
Stories are the fourth indicator. Personally, I think that learning is ALL about stories. Sometimes they are subtle, embedded, or simply implied, like in the teaching of Pythagorus' Theorum or why the English language is as quirky as it is. But more often, the stories are right in front of us: in picture books, in novels, for sure, but also in history and science and math and technology. We tell each other stories all the time - it is how we engage, entertain, persuade, influence, and conflict with one another. And what are the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves? I wonder about this all the time, like when a student comes to the office for misbehaviour, or when they do poorly on a test or assignment, do they tell themselves, "This is who I am and always will be" or have we helped them know that it is okay to make mistakes, and nurture better, more optimistic outlooks?
The fifth indicator of community is celebration. It's kind of sad that we sometimes have to remind ourselves to celebrate. It seems easier sometimes to focus on what is NOT working. Why is that?As Goldie Hahn says in her MindUp Curriculum, we want to "equip our children with the skills they need to live smarter, healthier, and happier lives. Together we will create optimistic classrooms where children successfully cope with the stresses they face in school, at home, and in their communities."
It's hard to be optimistic when we hear so much bad news and sad stories in the news. But thank you for being the kind of people who support and encourage another, as we have seen in recent times of loss and crisis. That is definitely something to celebrate.
