We got to meet the people of Mr’s B’s classroom today! Shelley and Lori started with a refresher on LEAD values. What was amazing is that they remembered almost all the LEAD values of LISTEN, EMPATHIZE, ACT, and Drive. They called out EMPATHIZE most enthusiastically. That has been my experience too- that though it is the hardest word- and the esoteric concept- it is something that kids really connect with. I wonder if there is something in our digital communication society that leaves youth hungry for connection and understanding. Or maybe it is a real human drive that we don’t always have time for.
We also introduced the theme for the 2 weeks of workshops as of Racism. We met the principal Mr. Weber. Myself (Tina), Deidre and Roy were there on the screen too. So all of the artists who were there introduced themselves and their areas of expertise. Lori and Shelley then showed pictures of the other artists who weren’t there and described the medium they will be working with.
Then we turned it over to the kid. They introduced themselves and their superpowers- which were so creative and fun. We had everything from speaking to fish to being bendy to turning invisible.
We laid out some of the Norms and Expectations for the next 2 weeks such as:
- Everyone Participates
- There will be LEADership Challenge Roles- certain kids will be responsible for tasks like:
- Room Arranger
- Word Wall Updater
- Timekeeper
- Ticket Master
- Random Acts of Smartness
- To bring the attention in the classroom- The workshop leader will raise their hand and say “LEAD ARTS”- the students are to stop what they are doing and look at the screen and repeat “LEAD ARTS”
- Part of the reflection at the end of each session will be a sticky note- “Ticket Out” with a question, feeling, comment about the session:
Then the kids had a chance to ask us questions, and they were mostly organizational- like how long would each session last, many times a day, how many days. The answer is 1 1/2 hours every morning from 9- 10:30 for 2 weeks- starting this Monday, (Jan 25, 2021.)
To close we gave them The Challenge to think about Fairness. What gives them that feeling of “ITS NOT FAIR!”? A few brave souls spoke up already, and we are well on our way to delving into our topic of Racism- what separates us and what connects us. The rest are to ruminate on that and report back Monday to start our first workshop with Roy on videography and photography. Can’t wait to get started!