Today was Day #2 of letting my kids be in control in class. It’s only the second time I’ve seen them after breaking the ideas about building a community from Alfie Kohn to them. OK, I’m still navigating the line between being the adult with more knowledge and life experience and allowing students to negotiate their own ideas through careful thought, articulation, and discussion among themselves. It’s exciting and still scary.
I guess because I believe in my students that I’m not surprised they did well. We reviewed how we would discuss as a group and then got to work quickly. We examined several art slides for different themes. The students also made meaning of the pieces they observed. Klimt’s “The Kiss” suddenly became “Death Grip” for some and “Unity” or “Pure Love” for others. Some students were surprised and disconcerted that the forms of the two bodies are not proportioned realistically. Amira pointed out that the woman is wearing a dress–something I had never realized before. They enjoyed the slides as well as the discussion.
The few students I have who seemed to have chips on their shoulders toward me seem to be losing them. Nuku used to ask me, “Why you always pickin’ on me?” Now she isn’t asking. Why? Because I’m not picking on her. Simple, isn’t it? The group does most of the shushing and careful listening. Instead, Nuku is spending her time trying to come up with clever titles for the pieces we’re looking at and sharing them with the group.
My most energetic group returned today as well. Charles was angry because he couldn’t find a seat near his friends in the circle. I found myself threatening him to take a seat. It was a relief that that other class members were also frustrated and telling him to sit down. But I’m still wondering what I/we can do to make the community become a place where none of the students are frustrated because they can’t sit near their friends for one day. I’m still working on that. This group eventually got to work on the slides and did well. Most agreed that today’s class went better than the last one. I’m optimistic that the communities in each class will continue to take real form.
posted on January 8, 2007
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