youtu.be/PIHtuKc3Gjg Last week didnt start out as one of the better ones for my students. For whatever reason (and Ive found over the years that many of my students have a variety of legitimate reasons) my kids had a very difficult time getting along and accepting one anothers differences. They also argued about pencil ownership, places in line, and just about any other ridiculously petty area of conflict you might imagine. On Thursday morning, I stopped everything at about 9:00 after a few students had already started to rev up the bickering. I asked the entire class what they thought it might feel like if everyone you met for the entire day had only positive and uplifting things to say to you. What if nobody argued for a whole day? What if classmates took the time to ask you how you were doing, and cared enough to build you up and make you feel good about yourself? How would that make you feel? How would that make them feel? Would you look forward to each day just a bit more, if most of the people you spent the day with were kind and thoughtful? Why cant that happen?! A few were ready to speak up. I asked them to wait. I said, I want you to see this. And then I cued up this video. My students sat silently and watched. I watched them, hoping that the message might stick. After the clip ended, I asked the entire class, Why dont we try to make things better more often, when we all have the abilities to do so? We had a ten or fifteen minute conversation. It seemed productive. Nearly every member of the class agreed that our classroom, our school, and the world in general would be a much better place if we practiced kindness more often each day. Then approximately 20 minutes later, several of them were arguing again. I just stood there, mouth agape, and rubbed my eyes in disbelief. As I was driving home after school, I was initially discouraged. Then, I began thinking about how long it takes some students to learn even the most basic of concepts. I was hoping for a classroom epiphany, when I probably needed to just continue adding bricks to the foundation of civility. Friday morning when I came into the building, I wasnt sure what to expect. It was a meeting morning, so when I arrived at class the throng of students greeted me. They bustled through the door to put up their lunch choices and headed out to breakfast. Then it began. First with students from other classes who hadnt heard Thursdays message. Jordan, from Mrs. Lynns class, entered the room, smiled, and silently gave me a hug. Jayna, from Mrs. Holtzs class, entered and did the same. 5th grade student, Bradley, popped his head into the room and wished me a great day. Then my kids started joining in. A busy Damien politely asked Katelyn to make his lunch choice, then even more politely thanked her. I practically giggled, and praised both of them. Emilie arrived, put up her supplies and coat and headed to her desk. She then said, Oops! I forgot! I have something for you, Mr. Nantz. She turned back and removed a letter from her backpack. It was an eloquent written apology about her behavior choices from the prior day, and her willingness to make a new start. I put my arm around Emilies shoulder and said, Em, this means a lot to me. Thank you! Do your best to make a difference and you will. We went on to have our best day of the week.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:30:18 +0000
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