Sharing circles help kids become friendlier and engage with curriculum
I love this simple idea. It teaches compassion, public speaking, and listening. It can also build self-esteem, a sense of community in the classroom, and more meaningful engagement with the curriculum:
It’s story time at Amelia Earhart Continuation School, a place where high school students who have ditched class, flunked out or otherwise fallen behind in their academic credits come to catch up.
…[S]tudents in Nancy Stringer’s English class sit in a circle. As they pass around a “talking piece” — a black rubber rat named Scar — they share stories of elementary and middle school.
I stabbed a kid. I broke my hand. I got my first kiss. I got straight A’s. I was scared of ghosts because a janitor committed suicide.
It may seem simple, but the North Hollywood students say that sharing stories in this way — a practice known as “council” — has made a huge difference in their lives. Through stories, they say, they have come to know and trust one another, building strong bonds that have helped them stay in school.
“Here, everyone cares about each other,” said Jessica Beristain, a 17-year-old sophomore who added that she used to ditch her classes constantly to escape “screaming teachers” and hostile students at her previous school. “Now school is fun.”
…Joe Provisor, who helped launch the program in the district in 2006, said research shows that strong school relationships are critical for a student’s success. But those bonds are harder to forge in today’s educational climate, he said, where academic pressures have crowded out time for social and emotional development.
“This is bringing humanity back to the schools,” said Provisor…
Stringer has used council for literature, asking students to say which character they most identified with in the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Another teacher, Ron Narita, has used it for his Earth science class — asking everyone to tell a story about an earthquake, volcano or other geologic event.
“It helps them respond to curriculum in a more open way,” Narita said…
Zianne Hinojas, 6, said she has learned to be respectful and “don’t disturb others when they’re talking.” She said she would like to bring the practice home to her three brothers, who grab her toys.
Back at Amelia Earhart, once-perennial ditcher Jamie Cruz, 17, said that she has befriended classmates she never would have acknowledged before. The friendships have drawn her back to school. And that, in turn, has helped her discover a passion for writing.
“We share a bond now, and that’s made school a place I want to be,” she said.
Posted by James on Monday, November 29, 2010