OS with kids

Lisa Heft lisaheft at openingspace.net
Sun Sep 5 12:11:02 PDT 2004


Hi, Ms. Funda -

You asked:
< I am asking just for curiosity. Has anyone ever tried OS with kids or
with under 14 years old students?>

In my experience it is (as others have said) the adults who can
sometimes be the trickiest part - and a lot of pre-work with the
organizer and the adults 'in charge' can help that.  In one event my
coordinator found some great workshops to offer to teachers at the same
time as the Open Space was happening - to give the teachers something
else to do / somewhere else to go.  And also we made it very clear that
I was in charge of the room and if they saw anything they should come to
me...and so on.

Plus also as Glory says the issue of - can the young people leave when
'it's over' for them - or are they trapped in the room until it's
over...in one occasion I experienced, the kids who were tired could not
leave until the entire Open Space was over and that was so frustrating.

And as with adults - but also kids can be so physically active - I find
that hydration (making sure participants have enough water) is an
important thing. (and maybe good for that poor kid who ate too many
biscuits and soda, Thomas - the poor thing!)

And kids even more than adults will enjoy also using the paper and
markers for drawing pictures, which I also post on the "breaking news"
wall and put into the Book of Proceedings, if you're creating one of
those.  After all, it is documentation of the energy in the room.

And if the kids are young enough so that writing notes would be a burden
or difficulty for them, maybe you either can not need notes, or have a
young person in each group draw a big picture on a flipchart in each
discussion area which is a graphic documentation of the discussion, or
(if there are enough adult helpers) there could be an adult notestaker
in each discussion area *IF* this would not feel oppressive to the
freeness of conversation for the kids and *IF* it is clear that the
notes-taking adults are NOT to guide the conversation - I let the
'scribes' know (in the very rare instances when scribes are used) they
can speak up only to ask for clarification for their own note-taking
("can you repeat that last thing you said, please?") but not for guiding
the conversation in any way (I explain to them the power dynamics they
hold and how important it is to give the power to the participants
instead for this particular situation).  And maybe after the event the
teachers (or parents, or community workers - if this is not a
school-based situation) can a week or two after the event read some of
the proceedings back with the kids in discussion circles if they want to
follow some of those ideas that arose in the Open Space - if they are
working with kids who cannot read.

But the most challenging thing I have had happen is that - in a rare
occasion or two - adults in charge felt it looked like uncontrolled
chaos, and felt that some kids were not 'working' (because they were
going off and having conversations in twos and threes and in some groups
there was laughing or movement or play even though the issue was a
serious issue) and they wanted to stop the process.  (Do not worry -
they did not, after all...) So again, the pre-work with people in charge
and those who work with them is essential, in my estimation - really
underline what it will look like (it will look a little random
sometimes) and how it is all 'the work' and so on...

Oh yes, and kids tend to rush into the center of the circle to post
topics immediately, no waiting.  Like fish to water (Glory), ducks to
water (Eddie)...

...like bees to pollen (I just made that one up)...

Take care, Lisa

________________________________

L i s a   H e f t
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
O p e n i n g  S p a c e
2325 Oregon
Berkeley, California
94705-1106   USA
+01 510 548-8449
lisaheft at openingspace.net
www.openingspace.net

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