Creating Community in the Classroom: Sylvia Allan

Wow! What an awesome and inspiring person to have come visit us. I learned many things the day that Sylvia Allan came to visit our class and teach us about morning meetings and classroom communities. Some of the key points I pulled out of Sylvia's visit were that when students engage in a morning meeting they become 100% affective through out their school day. Morning meetings also help solve 90% of behavior problems. These two points about morning meeting made me realize just how important it is to give students the opportunity to build a community in their classroom. By allowing the students to hold and conduct the morning meeting it empowers them, builds their self esteem, their relationships with their peers and on top of everything promote all curriculum standards, literacy, oral language, critical thinking etc.

Some other points and things I want to remember from Sylvia's visit was the way she handled crying. "Would you like to share why you are crying or is it something that you would like to keep private and the rest of the class will focus on something else while you take a moment." This was so great to hear. What an empowering moment for a student caught in a vulnerable moment. This give the opportunity to acknowledge their feelings, let the class know that it's ok to have a moment of emotion, and promote express. I also love the statement Sylvia made about worksheets, they are to be used as assessments and never as a teaching tool! Absolutely, and if teachers would remember that then students would have a better learning experience.