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Sunday, June 26, 2011
An "Aha!" moment
I'm sitting here relaxing and unwinding, reflecting after presenting at an exhilarating week long workshop for Responsive Classroom in Oakland, CA. It is truly amazing to watch a group of 27 educators hailing from from Zimbabwe to California, coming together to form a community of learners. It is akin to watching the students at the end of the school year reminiscing about their first few weeks of the school year.
Every afternoon during the workshop, we gathered in a closing circle to reflect on the learning that occurred that day. On Thursday, this group of educators synthesized their newly acquired RC knowledge by reading and responding to scenarios that paralleled their experiences in their own classrooms. These were not easy. In fact, as I checked in at each table group I heard them state repeatedly, "This is hard." However, their hard work paid off as they began to grasp the strategies and put them into action.
During the closing circle, I asked them to reflect on their day. They looked tired, spent - very evidently exhausted. One of the participants shared, "One of the things I recognized today was that even though this was hard work, I stuck with it because I am so invested in really learning and applying Responsive Classroom strategies in my classroom. This was an "Aha moment" as I think about how that applies to our students. We must make learning meaningful for them so that will continue to stick with a task, even when it is difficult."
Every afternoon during the workshop, we gathered in a closing circle to reflect on the learning that occurred that day. On Thursday, this group of educators synthesized their newly acquired RC knowledge by reading and responding to scenarios that paralleled their experiences in their own classrooms. These were not easy. In fact, as I checked in at each table group I heard them state repeatedly, "This is hard." However, their hard work paid off as they began to grasp the strategies and put them into action.
During the closing circle, I asked them to reflect on their day. They looked tired, spent - very evidently exhausted. One of the participants shared, "One of the things I recognized today was that even though this was hard work, I stuck with it because I am so invested in really learning and applying Responsive Classroom strategies in my classroom. This was an "Aha moment" as I think about how that applies to our students. We must make learning meaningful for them so that will continue to stick with a task, even when it is difficult."
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