Reading Response #3

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

It was really quite a treat being able to hear how Sylvia talk about morning meetings and the impact they have had with her career in teaching and now being a principal. I love how her morning meeting is centered around having students be responsible and take charge for their own lives and education, the teacher is merely someone there to help mediate and guide the students. The part that really stuck out was when she said "morning meeting is the only half and hour that 100% of students are 100% successful." It is so necessary for them to feel success, its what drives and motivates them not only through school but life in general. I especially loved the part about storms and the classification of them. I bet the kids feel so empowered when they can go home and teach their parents to classify their storm. It really seems like a great means for students to really assess which events are worth being upset over and which are "light cloud cover".