At Prairie Creek, each class spends some time during the first six
weeks of school in discussions about how we want to be together as a
classroom community. At the younger grades, this often involves
creating a set of classroom expectations (rules) and/or a class
constitution. The expectations can often be boiled down to some
variation on "respect others, respect yourself, respect your
environment". The exact list of agreements is in some ways less
important than the process of discussion and consensus-building that is
used to generate it.
fifth grade, they have internalized these rules and generally live them
as a matter of course. So we take the spirit of that "rules" discussion
to another level by engaging in a discussion we call "This we Believe".
It's inspired by the NPR series "This I Believe",
in which people read essays that describe some guiding belief in their
lives. Through a process of brainstorming and discussion, students
propose This We Believe statements. Each statement is discussed by the
whole group; meaning is debated, wording changes are proposed and
discussed, until we can come to consensus on the statements. We use a
consensus process called "Fist to Five", in which everyone in the group
raises a hand with a fist (meaning "I block consensus") or a number
from 1 to 5. The numbers indicate the level of acceptance of the
statements, with 1 being a very weak consensus and 5 a very strong
consensus. If a student puts up a 1, 2, or 3, he or she has the
responsibility to share his/her reservations or questions with the
group, along with what changes would need to be made in order to move
him/her closer to 5. In the end, each statement must have a consensus
in order to be accepted.
-CTO
The Herons finished their "This We Believe" document earlier this week, after several days of debate. The finished document reads:
We Believe
… the Herons are ready for more responsibility outside and around the classroom.
… we should use our materials wisely so they last longer, and we will all be able to use them.
… in having a safe classroom, physically and emotionally.
… we should have as much fun as possible and work as hard as we can.
… in working together and taking good care of our school and classroom.
… in being green, observing nature from a distance, and not disturbing it.
… we should treat each other respectfully by using language appropriate for school, not interrupting peoples' work and words, and listening to each other.
The Herons put careful thought and discussion into each of these statements, and, at times we all despaired of coming to an agreed-upon list. By far the most debated statement was "we believe we should treat each other respectfully by using language appropriate
for school, not interrupting peoples' work and words, and listening to
each other." We began with, "we should respect each other," but several students wanted to clarify what that meant. The Herons agreed that appropriate language was part of that respectful relationship. An addition of "listening to each other" was added by HG, but MR had some serious concerns about the phrasing. "What if someone just interrupts your conversation with somebody else? You shouldn't have to stop and listen to them." Once the final statement was approved (with a 5 from everyone), a sense of pride radiated throughout the group. Rather than giving up on such a difficult task, the Herons pushed on together and arrived at a consensus that everyone was very happy with. The Herons have absolutely begun "having as much fun as possible and working as hard as we can."
– ET
The Rookery 