Who Are We?

What a week!

I don't know if it was all the mold in the air or the number of deep discussions we had over the course of three days, but by Thursday afternoon, I was sure ready to take a nap! I bet some of your kids were as well. Let's see if I can hit the highlights of this full-to-bursting string of days.

• Who Are We? For Tuesday's launch, I put this sentence up on the whiteboard: "We are a community of _________ who _______________." The kids had lots of suggestions on this one, but the general consensus from their input was this: "We are a community of peaceful, godly heroes who love learning." I reminded them that they were chosen for this school because we believed this about them and saw that spark in them of the love of learning. This set the tone for the rest of the week. Do heroes who love learning say "What do I have to do?" or do they ask "What do I get to learn?" 
• Passionately Curious. We discussed this quote, which tied directly into the above conversation about love of learning. 

During the week, when we noticed an example of passionate curiosity, I pointed it out. (Grandmother Johntz, for example, inspired us with her passionate curiosity about pottery!)

• Neville Longbottom's Shining Moment. During Diplomacy, we watched two clips from the first Harry Potter movie wherein one seemingly weak character stands up to his friends to try and prevent them from breaking school rules and costing their House valuable points. Neville is later celebrated for his courage, which Dumbledore (the headmaster) points out as being even more impressive than standing up to one's enemies. We talked about the difference between standing up for what is right and true, even if it causes conflict, versus choosing to die on the hill of opinion. The existence of God is worth respectfully fighting for. Integrity in the use of school property is worth a courageous stand. A preference for popcorn over potato chips, or the beach over the mountains, is not. :-)

• Loving Truth. After Writer's Workshop, one child asked why we needed to learn to parse and diagram sentences. I gently reminded her of the discussion from Point #1 by asking "Who are we?" But then I asked the kids who created us ("God!") and how ("in His image!"). So if we're made in God's image, aren't we designed to love truth? Does this mean just the truth that God is God, or does it include every bit of truth, including that two plus two equals four, and the subject of "Cyrus bakes chocolate cakes" is "Cyrus," the verb is "bakes," the direct object is "cakes," and "chocolate" is the adjective modifying "cakes?" And if the latter is so, isn't it enjoyable to discover truth, because we're acting according to our design? (I'm sure she was so glad she asked.)

• Glass Half Full. I shared this clip from the TED Radio Hour with the kids in Wednesday's launch, and I could see their eyes grow wide at the thought of living in the conditions this woman described. We live such comfortable lives! Her parting thought about gratitude and its connection to optimism led to another round (we do this now and again) of "What are you grateful for today?" I love that their hearts are so full of gratitude for their very many blessings!

Three Strikes

We had a very enlightening closing discussion on Wednesday, when I showed the kids a time-lapse video from two thirty-minute segments of the morning. Although Core Skills is meant to be quiet and focused, most of them saw that they moved in, out of, and around the living room. They talked to each other. They attempted to break Milam's concentration as he put the finishing touches on his arduously attained Spelling badge. They discussed the painted griffin over the fireplace and bounced a ball. They juggled flaming torches. (OK, just kidding on that last one.)

Many of the kids who were quite sure they hadn't been distracting or distracted that morning reconsidered their assessment upon watching the video. Don't we all struggle with self-awareness? Thanks, Nest Camera.

In all fairness, the video worked its magic. Next day, at their request I showed them video from the same half-hour segments from Thursday morning. They were all proud of their improvement!

That said, we have taken a vote and implemented a three-strikes system in Elementary School to help us take our level of freedom more seriously (it's a level of freedom that even the MS'ers don't share at this point, so should we able to abuse it?). The deal is that any kind of distracting behavior -- wandering around, talking to people about non-urgent matters, online chatting with each other, sharing music, or receiving a warning for any other reason -- results in a strike. If you earn three strikes, you lose the privilege of working in the living room, lounge, or rented outdoor space, and instead work at your desk in the classroom until you show you can handle a higher level of freedom.

They unanimously felt that this system would be more fair than everyone losing the freedom to choose their work space. And I prefer this option to becoming the Stereotypical Grumpy Librarian. (They assured me they know exactly what stereotypes are, thanks to Dude Perfect. All right, then.)

Onward and upward, into the new week!