Leadership
The new year in leadership began with a visit from alumnus, Karianna Crowder, currently enrolled in her first year of grad school at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Karianna spoke with and answered questions about her time at Orchard, her transition to Aptos Jr. High, and the positive, lasting impact of being an Orchard graduate.
Over the next few weeks, the class focused on procedures and aspects of the class meeting from giving and receiving compliments, to respecting differences, to finding solutions to various problems.
It can feel awkward giving and receiving compliments. The students began by taking a moment to reflect on and then write about a time when someone said something that made them feel good about themselves and about something they would like to thank someone else for. Many of the students shared their responses with the rest of the class. We are having class meetings every Friday and each meeting begins with some form of appreciation. One week they could give a compliment, ask for a compliment, or pass. Another time, we had the option to give a compliment or make a request of someone in the group. Recently, we either gave a compliment or stated something for which we were grateful. The more we share our gratitude with one another, the more appreciation we will feel.
We explored the idea of respecting differences and how no two people look at a thing or situation in quite the same way. To highlight this, we did the “It’s a Jungle Out There” activity. Students were asked, “Which animal would you choose to be for one day, a lion, a chameleon, an eagle, or a turtle?” They went into their chosen animal groups and recorded on chart paper their reasons for wanting to be a particular animal and reasons for not wanting to be the other ones. Each group presented their choice and the other groups shared why they wouldn’t want to be that animal. Nobody was right or wrong – it was a good way to highlight our individual differences.
Logical consequences vs solutions – both sound appropriate. However, when the students did an activity listing consequences and solutions for a problem, it became very apparent that the solution list felt more positive and less punitive. The class is ready to figure solutions for problems, following the solution guidelines: related, respectful, reasonable, and helpful.
It’s nice to see the fifth/sixth graders becoming more comfortable using “I Messages” vs blaming and judgement, and sharing compliments that are more about the person than about what they are wearing or how they look.
