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Article of Interest - School Climate

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Bridges4Kids LogoStudents' First Lesson: Getting Along in Peace
by Connie Langland, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 28, 2003
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At Penn Valley Elementary School in Levittown, lessons don't begin until students finish their morning meeting - where they learn to make eye contact, greet one another by name, and often discover something interesting about a classmate.

In Diane Cirafesi's classroom at Caley Elementary in King of Prussia, Montgomery County, the school week ends with what Cirafesi calls "pillow talk" - a time to discuss such fourth-grade issues as hurt feelings, being left out, and name-calling.

Forty minutes a week in Cirafesi's classroom, 20 minutes a day at Penn Valley, students are getting lessons in getting along.

In increasing numbers, teachers around the region are setting aside time, in days crowded with math and reading, to help their students get to know one another, talk over differences, and foster friendships - all designed to promote learning and reduce bullying.

The meeting concept is not new - Quaker and other progressive schools conduct classroom or schoolwide meetings to discuss issues, convey values and promote harmony.

But this approach is finding a place in public schools nationwide as educators redouble efforts to curb school violence.

"Kids still do not feel safe in their schools - and parents are demanding that bullying and other issues be addressed, rather than saying, 'That's just the way kids are,' " said Grace Taylor, research director for the Safe Communities-Safe Schools initiative, established at the University of Colorado after the 1999 Columbine High School rampage.

Taylor said classroom meetings spur "kids to take ownership of the environment in the classroom."

"It's getting kids to say, 'We want a classroom where everyone can feel safe and we can focus on learning rather than behavior,' " she said.

The meetings work well in elementary and middle schools but have proved difficult to schedule in high schools, where students may only have homeroom together.

The approach used by Penn Valley, in the Pennsbury district in Bucks County, is drawn from a program called The Responsive Classroom developed in the early 1980s by the Northeast Foundation for Children in Greenfield, Mass., and is in place in hundreds of schools across the country.

Roxann Kriete, the foundation's executive director, says the cumulative effect of the morning meeting can be "quite powerful," and said she knew of a child inclined to bullying who announced that he hated morning meeting. The reason? He was getting to know his classmates, and to like them, which made picking fights with them less satisfying.

Lessons in civility

P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Civility Project at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says such classroom efforts become lessons in civility.

Both anonymity - not knowing other students, and not being known - and stressful relations interfere with learning, Forni said. "If you keep incivility down, keep stress down, then already you are on the way to good academic results."

At Penn Valley, students get this message every day from their principal, Karen Casto: "Do your best, and take care of each other."

The school has adopted the morning meeting in every classroom, and each meeting begins the same way: with students greeting one another individually by name.

In the third-grade classroom of teacher Janice Portland on a recent morning, the greeting included a gently tossed ball - to ensure eye contact.

Jeff Lane was first. From his spot in the circle, Jeff made eye contact with Connor McQuiston, then said clearly and firmly, "Good morning, Connor," with a toss of the ball.

Connor caught the ball and responded, "Good morning, Jeff."

Then Connor looked directly at Nicole Rogers. "Good morning, Nicole."

"Good morning, Connor," said Nicole, catching the ball.

And so it went, around the circle, until every child had been greeted.

The exercise has twin purposes - to make every child feel welcome and to give the students practice in the essential niceties of social interaction.

Feeling included

There was more to do at this meeting: Portland asked that each student think of one way to help someone feel included.

The answers flew nonstop:

"Be nice to them."

"Treat them the way you want to be treated."

"Work together."

The meeting had five or six elements to it, each taking just a few minutes, including a zany song that had the students slapping knees and shoulders, and giggling at their own silliness.

Then, the meeting ended, and it was time for classes.

Casto, the principal, says the every-morning meeting clears the way for learning.

"Children get to know each other," she said. "They begin to build a sense of community, a sense of identity as a class." Done well, the time spent in morning meeting can be what teachers describe as "a soft landing for kids" into the rest of school day.

At Chatsworth Elementary School in Woodland Township, Burlington County, the morning meeting is used by teacher Monica Lee. Students greet one another individually and using eye contact, and they play a group game such as "hot potato."

"We want children to start the day with a smile and to know that somebody cares that they are here today," Lee said.

In Philadelphia, classroom meetings have been established in 12 elementary and middle schools that have adopted the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, developed in the 1980s at the University of Bergen in Norway and set up in the city in collaboration with the local chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

"Students address such issues as friendship, trust and respect, as well as bullying," said Ericka Jackson, a program trainer.

Teachers say they like the discussions that develop at meetings because children learn to respond to one another in conversation and to find ways to articulate their feelings and to be assertive.

They're learning, says Cirafesi, the fourth-grade teacher at Caley in the Upper Merion district, how to "use their words" to make their feelings known and to resolve conflicts.

Cirafesi developed her Friday afternoon meetings on her own, but her principal, Dennis Barcaro, has urged other teachers at the school to develop similar sessions as part of a schoolwide initiative, Community of Caring.

At a recent pillow-talk session, it was Samantha Garrison's turn to make a complaint - without naming names - and then absorb her classmates' advice.

"Somebody," Samantha said, "is calling people names because she is mad about something."

Samantha had taken a seat in what the children call "the chair." Her classmates lounged on the floor around her, some resting their heads on small pillows brought from home.

Hands shot up, and Samantha called on Scott Wilson.

"You could stay in from recess and try to talk about why she is mad," Scott suggested.

Next, Samantha called on Meghan Friskey.

"Maybe invite her to play with you," Meghan offered.

Cirafesi, their teacher, says the sessions resolve conflicts and give children ideas for handling awkward situations. Talking over issues and learning about one other's concerns can have a dramatic effect on the overall atmosphere, she said.

Her students agree.

"When problems happen, there are many ways of solving them," Scott said.

"... A lot of ways to fix things," Michaela Kiczula added.

And Brigid Cunnion said she has absorbed the advice of classmates just by listening. She and a friend had argued, Brigid said, but then they talked through their differences.

"Basically, we became friends again."

    

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