It was the end-of-year feedback session, the last day of school. They had pushed their desks into a circle.
“We’ll try having a conversation without raising hands,” Miss Waters said, “which means you will have to concentrate on giving each other a voice. Now, who has something–something you enjoyed, something you didn’t, something you think should stay the same, something that should improve.”
Allan raised his hand, then put it down. “Oops. Sorry. I like that we go outside to run between math and language arts. I think we should do it between all our classes.”
Some of these students nodded. Others grimaced.
“Debates in history. That’s really fun,” Stockton said.
“Do you want to elaborate on that?” Miss Waters said.
“Yeah, like when you ask a question, whether it was right or wrong to do something, things like that, and we have different opinions and we talk about it.”
There was a murmur of agreement. The conversation continued. Almost all the students raised their hands by reflex before talking, and a few of the rule-followers and order-keepers became frustrated as they felt that their most talkative classmates weren’t allowing them a turn.
“Would you like to go back to hands?” Miss Waters asked.
An overwhelming yes.
“Okay, then. Jessica.”
A quiet soul, Jessica, but she knew her mind. “Yeah, I want to talk about the water-fountain. I didn’t like that we weren’t allowed to form lines at the water-fountain.”
A groan erupted from the circle. “Yeah, me too.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That was so annoying.”
Miss Waters grinned. “Raised hands, ya’ll. Let me tell you how that rule came about this year, and maybe we can problem-solve together. Last year, we didn’t have that rule. At bathroom breaks, our class (along with other classes) would line up to get a drink. And almost every day, Mrs. Gregory or I would have to walk out of our classrooms to remind students that school rules prohibit talking in the hallway, because there are other classes working. And it wasn’t just that they were talking, but that negative and unkind conversations were, for some reason, more likely to happen right there. I tried all kinds of ways to solve that issue, including consequences for talkers and conversations about the reasons for the rule. But every day it took a little bit of my energy.
“Now, it’s important for teachers to design systems that don’t use up their energy on the same problems every day, so that we can spend more time being with you lovely people and learning together. So, this year, I decided that our class wouldn’t be allowed to form lines. It worked great for me. Much less energy to maintain. And honestly, I was sure that all of you would start bringing a water-bottle by the end of the first week and just keep it at your desks. I was kind of surprised that by the end of the year some of you still hadn’t. So, there’s my story about it. Why didn’t you want to bring water bottles? What are our barriers? Can we make it better? Jessica? It was your item.”
Jessica lowered her hand. “What about washing our water bottles?”
“We could do that during unpacking time in the morning. Andrea?”
“I just always forgot to bring a new water bottle.”
“Ahh,” said Miss Waters. “So let me ask you this. What if I had put reusable water bottles on your supply list at the beginning of the year? Would you have brought one then?”
A few students nodded.
“And what if I included that in the unpacking routine, that you should all rinse and fill your water bottles first thing in the morning in the bathroom? Jeremy?”
Jeremy had had his hand up for a while. “The bathroom water isn’t cold, so it tastes gross.”
“Hmm. Who agrees?”
A few raised hands.
Jeremy continued. “I just think we should be allowed to form lines at the water fountain. It’s nice to have a break from class sometimes, and the water is cold.”
“But what about the talking issue?”
Jeremy tilted his head. He wasn’t the strongest student, but he took things to heart. “Miss Waters, I think you’re being like that guy with the steel factories.”
“Guy with the steel factories. Anyone remember his name? Jackie?”
“Andrew Carnegie.”
“Right. Okay, Jeremy, tell me the connection.”
Jeremy was a little nervous, but determined. He felt strongly about cold drinking water. “Well, remember how he didn’t believe his workers would use their own money responsibly, so that’s why he kept their salaries low and kept all the money so that he could spend it ‘for their good’? It’s like that.”
Miss Waters tilted her head too. “I think I’m following. But can anyone make that connection a little stronger for me?”
Jessica, the other staunch water-fountain advocate and an all-round logical thinker, raised her hand again and was called on. “You don’t allow lines because you don’t trust us to be responsible enough not to talk, because in the past some students didn’t use that privilege correctly. Andrew Carnegie didn’t pay his workers fair wages because in the past some workers had spent their money unwisely and left their families poor. But it still would have been more right for him to pay his workers a fair wage. Maybe, instead of spending the money on things for them, he should have taught them how to use their own money well. It would have taken him some energy, but it probably would have been the right thing to do.”
Miss Waters smiled. “I see your analogy. I’ll have to ponder that a bit before I advise your teacher next year. But you’ve all broadened my understanding of the issue. Thank you. On that note, I want to take another go at not raising hands today. It’s an important skill. Listen well for each other. Who’s next?”
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CC image courtesy of EddieS on Flickr.