Amazing Morning Meetings September 15, 2010

Reflect on what you learned about creating community in your classroom from our visitor, Sylvia Allan.

I think morning meetings are a great way create community in the classroom. The children get to know each other through greetings, news, and especially sharing. I was impressed that the class got so close that they could share their deepest fears and experiences. I loved the story about Hunter reciting Good Timber by Douglas Malloch. That is a type of atmosphere that I dream about my classroom having-where all the children validate and appreciate each other and their accomplishments. In this way they are truly working as a team. Their successes and triumphs are multiplied. I think it tells what type of relationship Mrs. Allan had with her students that Hunter would come back to share his excitement at graduating from high school. I hope I can have such a close knit classroom community.

I am also impressed that morning meetings help solve the majority of behavior problems and that the students learn to take charge of their own learning. They also learn to help solve behavior problems in the classroom. I think that as students know each other and their teacher they are more likely to respect one another. I also like the fact that morning meetings start the day off with 100% of the children participating and being successful. In this way a the classroom is a positive place to come to every day.