Our ISTE Librarian PLN Network is currently reading, You Got This by Cornelius Minor. I am listening to it on audio which, I will be honest, is kind of infuriating. I am a highlight and post-it note kind of girl. There are more than a few golden nuggets that I am unable to capture.
One idea which really resonated with me is that of a “class meeting”. This is because my primary use of a class meeting is when I am exasperated with my students: when I need to reel us in because of behaviour or language. I usually start it with, “We need to talk.” Minor uses class meetings very differently. He gives the example of having a class meeting for kids to help him with a dilemma he is having with his sister or a friend. As kids give him advice, he listens intently for what is important to his students, for how they resolve conflict, for what they value and then is able to draw on that information later. He has class meetings on the way to the gymnasium or as the class is transitioning. He says,
A class meeting does not have to be a big production. As our schedules get packed with more and more stuff, they shouldn’t be. Instead, we can work them into other structures, transitions, or even content. These class meetings exist for the explicit purpose of maintaining community. Kids want to be powerful, and these meetings function as a site where that power can live and grow in a democratic way.
Minor also speaks a great deal about the importance of listening: informal listening in particular. He suggests that informal listening will allow you as a teacher to ‘make active and longstanding adjustments to my classroom community, to my actual teaching, and to how the department, grade, or school operates?” (Minor 17). Together, class meetings and informal listening will help kids gain confidence in using their voices.
It made me think about all of the little moments that can become opportunities for kids to talk, to identify strategies or worries, and to see that adults struggle with problem solving as well. It’s also a great way to get feedback and help you develop stronger relationships.
Check out the #ISTELibChat hashtag for a discussion around, You Got This on March 12th.