<p class="MsoNormal">Hello,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you for all of the suggestions and ideas for the Open
Space with 42 third graders in 1 hour and 10 minutes. It was a huge success and
I am looking forward to integrating regular OS's into next year's schedule.
(I've started with the children and hopefully we'll get to move up to the staff
and the parents too!)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The theme was <b style="">What
can we do to make our school a better place? What can we do to make our world a
better place?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, the children took to it so easily. We had 2, 20
minute sessions in which they generated 18 topics such as <i style="">New Rules for the Playground, How we should be nice and kind to each
other, Learning from history's mistakes, Children's Voting Rights, Try to help
the environment! Not polluting any more!, and Not excluding people from
anything</i>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We ended with a once around reflection circle in which
everyone had a chance to share. Here are some of their comments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span>What I liked in my group was that there were no
debates. We were all united. There were differences about how it is, but we
were all united.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span>We decided to start a fund to save the
rainforest. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span>Our group went well. Kids voting rights. It was
a good opportunity for discussion. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span>In history's biggest mistakes, it started as
being silly with just girls there. Then the boys came in and made it better. In
the second session I bonded with someone I didn't know that well. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span>Everyone agreed with saving the rainforest. It
wasn't silly. We were serious. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span>I think we talked about an important issue: not
excluding. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One little touch that I think helped a lot with this age
group was to provide a basket of objects that hosts could choose to use for a
talking stick. I saw a few kids struggling with everyone talking at once and
then one of them running to grab a talking stick. I also provided a generic
form for them to use for note taking.<br>
<br>
Aside from the opportunity for their voices to be heard, to connect with one
another around things that matter to them, and to experience themselves self-organizing,
I greatly appreciated that students who have a tendency to wander and not
participate in assigned topics (students that can often be labeled as
challenges) that at the OS they actually had names and roles for their ways of
being, butterflies and bumble bees. I loved that they were doing what they were
'supposed to be doing' by wandering around and trying to figure out where they
belong and where they want to participate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks again for all of the support.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Warmly,<br>
Ashley</p>
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