MCC Friday Reflections

The conversations were few and far between.  They consisted of very minimal information.  I often wonder what it was like in Germany during the rise of Hitler.  My mother was there. She witnessed the events. She told me what she felt she wanted me to know.  My 3-year old daughter was taking a bath one evening and I sat on the small stool, watching her play in the tub.  She has waterproof crayons that allow her to draw on the tub walls without leaving much of a mark.  She was facing me and I couldn't see what she was drawing; I could only see her from the shoulders up--her face in plain view.  She was intent on focusing on her picture.  Her eyes wandered from side to side as she drew and her mouth moved as if it were helping her hands.  Every once in a while she would lean back a bit to inspect her work then tilt her head forward as she drew herself closer to the drawing...intensifying her intent.   She looked like...

To Touch the Future... My students struggled this week with working in groups.  They found themselves raising their voices, disrespecting one another, arguing, and trying to out-speak each other.  The task at hand was lost in the confusion. During one cooperative group time I decided to stop the activity altogether and gather my students back as a class.  We discussed the dilemma that faced them.  We came up with a plan for them to follow in order to complete their task while working together, peacefully. We practiced.  We practiced listening to one another. We practiced using whisper voices and above all, we practiced respecting our task, the process, each other, and ourselves. Toward the end of the week they were once again put into groups to work on a task.  This time it involved math.  Any adult in the room was simply there to facilitate the process of them working together effectively and peacefully.   They ...

Birds of a feather... It has been said that if you want to understand what is going on with the environment, watch the birds.  They will form groups, they will stake out safe places, they will leave suddenly when danger is present, they will quiet themselves in anticipation of a storm, and sing joyously when the weather is pleasant.  They will fly in large groups of their own kind yet each one has their own space.  Of their own kind...we see this in birds--and it is also part of our human experience.  We, quite naturally, seek out people with whom we have things in common.  It helps us feel secure in who we are, it affirms our beliefs and actions.  The beautiful aspect about being human, however, is our ability to seek out those who are different from us.  We have the choice to align ourselves with whomever we choose. As a teacher I see children "flying" with those who are most like them.  It is part of what they do in order to define themsel...