Day 27: Courageous Conversations Build Community

Thank you to Elaine Vodarek and Neil Kearns, Grade 7/8 teachers from Couchiching Heights, for inviting me (along with colleagues Marci Duncan and Marie Swift) into your classrooms.  The brave and robust conversations that I had the privilege to observe, listen in on and contribute to were very mature for 12 and 13 year old students, and pushed my own learning. Before we get there, let me rewind and take you back in time...

Both of these teachers have been extremely focused on creating a safe, collaborative learning culture so far this year.  This became evident merely minutes after spending time in each classroom. Elaine shared with us how she, from Day 1, has concentrated on the idea of learning to learn, and that ultimately students need to own and take control of their own learning while contributing to other's in order for deep learning to happen. On the first day she asked her students to think about and answer these two simple questions:

•  "What’s important to learn in life?"

• "What’s important to learn in school?"  

After noticing responses for the two questions were disconnected, she challenged the Grade 7/8's to think about why their answers were different. Should they be, or could they be meshed together as one list? After sending students home to ask their parents the same questions- a Padlet activity the following day helped students uncover common themes that they all found important- to learn in life, at school, at home, with friends..... simply - to LEARN.

Well, now let's fast forward 26 days.  Elaine sits among her students on the carpet to read a children's picture book by Lane Smith called The Big Elephant in the Room.

Students share in partners what they think the title of the book means, and eventually come together as a whole group to discuss. They talk about the idea of metaphors, idioms, expressions, and their interpretations of the title. One student, Genevieve, sums it up by adding, "Basically the title is a metaphor for something no one really wants to talk about. It's awkward." The perfect lead in to the task (Don't you love when that happens!?)

Task: Think about conversations that you (doesn’t need to be you personally, but others in general) don’t want to talk about - you avoid because it is uncomfortable/awkward.

I initially thought of where these conversations could go, how silly and off track they could get. But because of the culture of trust that has already been established, students began discussing and jotting down their ideas onto whiteboards - higher level ideas- including racism, stereotypes, LGBTQQIP2SAA, mental health issues, sex ed....to name a few.  The voices in the room were reflective, thoughtful and curious.  I thought it was not only brave for the students to begin to identify the topics and issues that they find difficult to discuss, but for their teacher to invite those opinions - going into unknown territory!  She took a risk by encouraging courageous conversations; something that I think will only continue to strengthen that community of learners.

Next door in Neil Kearn's Grade 7/8 class, discussions about digital citizenship, on-line safety/privacy and cyber bullying have all been hot topics in the past couple of weeks. Through collaboration with his colleague Jeff Munn, Neil and Jeff sent home a note to parents to inform them of the topics they have been exploring, along with a description of a CNN documentary they were planning to show and discuss with the class (contains explicit language), entitled #BeingThirteen: Inside the Secret Lives of Teens.  In the documentary, 200 Grade 8 students from the United States allow their social media feeds to be analyzed over six months by experts.  Some of the findings were shocking to the Couchiching students,  (ie., some students in the study had followers or "friends" that they had absolutely no clue who they were and thought might have fake identities, but felt "the more followers, the merrier"). Other findings from the documentary did not surprise the students in Neil's class in the slightest (ie., most students involved in the study checked their phones a minimum of a 100 times a day). The class discussed an idea that surfaced in the movie, suggesting that many teens act differently and create a different identity online than they do in person.  They were shocked to see how parents on the movie reacted in such a relaxed manner when they were exposed to their children's social media identities and behaviors for the first time.  Most Couchiching students believed that the parents should have been more upset and reacted differently. Neil and Jeff asked the class how many of them would feel comfortable inviting their parents/guardians to be their friends on social media. Almost every single hand in the class flung into the air. 

How a teacher relates to his/her students, and how students relate to one another is by far one of the most important ingredients that either encourages open, authentic and safe learning, or discourages learning from happening.  Thanks for letting me witness and reflect out loud on some of the awesome ways you are building that learning culture in your classrooms.  And to think you are only 26 days in!!!  Can't wait to come back!