The Importance of Community (SOLSC22)

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Join us in the Slice of Life story challenge. Every day for the month of March, bloggers all over the globe are writing their slices and sharing them on the Two Writing Teachers blog.

The last few weeks have been a little crazy in my classroom. The nicer weather, the approaching Spring Break, and some crazy schedules and different activities have really messed with our routines. I also have a class composition at this point of the school year of almost exactly 2 boys to 1 girl. This makes our class noisy and active and boisterous.

In the last weeks, this has meant that I have had to dig deep for the extra well of patience that I seem to be able to find when I need it. I have had to send students back to their desks to put heads down and calm their bodies and minds before we continued with the lessons. I have had to lecture about being safe and making sure that people are not getting hurt in our classroom when they are supposed to be working on math activities. I have had to send everyone back to their desks to work instead of being able to choose their spots.

We even had a problem solving class meeting about their behavior. Students were honest and reflective in the meeting, but soon went back to their wayward ways.

But the biggest mistake I made in the last week was to skip our sharing in the morning meeting. I told students that we were not sharing because I could not trust that they would be respectful listeners when their classmates were sharing (which was absolutely true). I could not even get through one sentence without being interrupted and that let me know that they would not do the listening that was needed. But we all missed the chance to share. I was asked multiple times by multiple kids when we were going to get to share again. I unfairly put us on a punishment that didn’t fit. I silenced their voices instead of giving them a chance and letting them prove that they could listen, at least to a few students at a time.

Then, yesterday, we started out crazy again. So, I talked to students and reminded them of our class norms. I took the time to talk to them about why I am worried about our behaviors. We talked about how it is my job to make sure they learn as much as they can and how their behaviors have lately stood in the way of that happening. I told them about how we are already 2/3 of the way through our school year and we have so much more work to do so that they can reach their best level by the end of the year. I told them that we only had 180 days together so we had to make it count. One of my students replied, “Wait, it’s only 180 days of school? But I thought it was more because it’s like 10 months.” I think this number clicked with this particular student.

Then, we shared. Students were more ready to listen and did their utmost to make sure they were being respectful of one another. Almost everyone shared. We usually have at least a few who pass when we go around the circle, but this time only one passed. We had long stories to share because we had pent up details from last week. But, the energy shifted and I realized that I had inadvertently changed our climate when I stopped the conversation.

This morning I made sure that we got right back to our routine of a morning meeting complete with a sharing circle. We reminded each other about our class norms. We remembered that we are all in this together and our behavior affects the learning of everyone in the room. And we proceeded to have a wonderful day full of learning.

How very important that community is to all of us in our classroom. I am so glad I listened to the voices of my students clamoring for their chances to share. They reminded me that it is in the craziness that we really need to take time to build our communities and listen to our stories.

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Author: Andrea

I am an instructional technology coach in a middle school in Milwaukee, WI. I have been teaching for over 20 years in many grade levels ranging from first through eighth grade. I am a lifelong book nerd.

4 thoughts on “The Importance of Community (SOLSC22)”

  1. Your slice reminded me of my own classroom. If I don’t give them each a chance to talk throughout Reading or Writing Workshop, we have unrest. It’s amazing how that little bit of conversation is all that some need.

  2. I love the sense of community you’ve built in your classroom. Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing your experiences!

  3. Our school is embarking on a PBIS journey to change the “climate and culture” of our building. Morning meetings have been suggested but the “how” of them is so far out of a lot of teacher’s wheelhouse, they are unsure of how to proceed when the pressure of getting work done is weighing them down. Your post shows how important those connections are to creating community. Thank you for sharing.

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