Yesterday after receiving a disconcerting email I became somewhat grouchy in class.
Today, I apologized to the students and told them that my grouchy attitude was due to the fact that someone had made a choice for me without consulting me, someone on a team that I belong to.
I then went on to state that our class is a team, and I essentially serve the team. Hence, I don't want to make decisions without their input. Then, I asked, "What are your needs, wants, and desires related to our classroom learning team."
The children shared a number of needs, one want, and a couple of desires--they were heard, and I was able to respond to a few of the needs right away.
Team is a powerful construct in our culture, one that often maximizes our individual and collective promise and potential.
In your professional working and learning communities, what teams do you belong to? On those teams how do you both nurture and contribute voice and collaboration? How do others on your learning/working teams encourage voice, contribution, and collaboration?
Replacing classrooms and schools with learning teams and communities is a move that holds great promise for our children, profession, and our culture? How are you making this happen in the environment where you learn and work?
