“We have spent a lot of time on this topic. Are we ready to vote or should we table for the next meeting?”
A reasonable request made by someone clearly intent on respecting others’ time and staying true to an agenda, delivered in the thoughtful tone of a leader. This is something one would expect to hear in a corporate leadership meeting or in the halls of our democracy. In actuality, this came from a 32-person community meeting composed of seven to eleven year old learners and led by two peers.
This first session of the year, Discovery Studio has been singularly focused on one goal, to build the team. To that end guides have facilitated opportunities for the learners to get to know their space, peers, and expectations for self-directed learning. As a new Guide at The Village School, I’ve similarly been discovering what to expect. Before the year started, I read blog posts and heard stories of the difference between TVS learners and students I may have had before. I was particularly enchanted by the tales of studios where every learner is a guide in their own right, sharing wisdom with peers and taking an active role in the creation of their community. How mystifying to see for myself the truth of these tales.
There is a special kind of joy as an educator in being in partnership with your learners and at times feeling redundant. More than once when I have noticed a learner who may need support and thought to offer aid, another learner has beat me there. When I move to alert learners to the time and direct them to what is next on a schedule a learner is doing the very same thing before the words leave my mouth. Moments when I look around a community meeting, consider encouraging the learners leading the discussion to bring everyone’s attention back together, and one of them does it instead with the grace of a seasoned executive. All I can think is, that’s The Village School difference.
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