Tom Drummond's Enterprise Talk

It's the start of a new school year, which always brings lots of changes and boots us out of our comfort zones. Many teachers have a whole new class every year and must take plenty of time at the beginning to get to know each new personality, to build relationships, to figure out how the culture of all those personalities together will develop.

In our school, we have a mixed-age program so about half of the children leave for kindergarten each year, and we start the new school year with our class consisting of half returning 4-year-olds and half new 3-year-olds. This also takes a lot of getting used to, relationship building, and relationship adjusting. The "top dogs" of last year are not there to run the place anymore, and the new "big kids" who used to be the little kids must figure out their new role.

This year we also rearranged the whole school, so that none of the areas are in the same place they used to be. This changes the whole flow that the returning kids were familiar with, so in some ways we are all new kids. Nobody remembers where we keep the scissors because they're not where they used to be.

With all this adjusting and learning and relationship building to do, it's easy for teachers to give directions to try to make everything go smoothly. "Go wash your hands." "Get your water bottle." "Put the cap on the marker." These may sound innocuous enough, but when you look at it a different way,

"when a child is told what to do, he or she has only two choices: (a) do as requested — acquiesce, or (b) not do as requested — rebel."

This quote comes from Tom Drummond in his article "Enterprise Talk" which provides teachers with "a handrail to integrity and authenticity."

He goes on to say, "Neither acquiescence nor rebellion is a value I want to teach. They are not on my list of attributes of good character. I want children in my community to take the initiative to act responsibly for the good of themselves and the good of others. If adults constantly tell children what to do, they eliminate the possibility of initiative."

Because we are a democratic school that helps the children create their own "agreements" or rules of how they want to be together, we agree that we don't value either acquiescence or rebellion. A functioning democratic society requires well-informed citizens capable of making their own choices and using critical thinking to question everything. So, we are working on unlearning the old teacher habits we used to have and retrofitting our toolboxes with Tom Drummond's guidelines:

"No Directions, No Questions, No Praise.
This is an admonition to eliminate doing what doesn’t work....I invite you to stop telling other people what to do....I invite you to stop asking questions about what to do....I invite you to stop praising what children do."

Instead, here's what we are trying to replace old language with. All quotes below are from Tom Drummond, the link to the original article is above, below, and here.

Descriptions

"You have a yellow bolt. Four of you are working together. Clouds of pink fill the page. Those are called quads. The pen dried out. It smells sour. Descriptions convey in language what the child can perceive presently—what the child is now seeing, hearing, feeling, touching, smelling."

Narrations

"You brought the stapler. Jenny is folding the scarves. You are filling it up to the very top. Mark is handing out the cups. Carlos joins us. You hung up your coat. Narrations put the child's actions into words as the child is doing it—like a sports announcer delivering play by play coverage of events as they occur. Most narrations start with “You…” or the child’s name."

Subjective-Talk

"I am watching you. I’ll be right back. I have to go get the lunch. I saw you and Yolanda at the store. My cat keeps eating the butter. I enjoy seeing your paintings. I have towels if you need them. Subjective-talk is about your own actions and thoughts that relate to the child's current situation. Most self-talk statements begin with “I…” "

Non-Verbal Recognition

"Wink. Smile. Send a positive message in the way you hold your body, the expression on your face and the noises you make. Wooo! Zowie! Yeah-yeah-YEAH! Communicate your pleasure in valued behavior by facial expressions and body language."

Intrinsically-Phrased Responses

"ENJOYMENT   “It’s fun to do, isn’t it?”

         pleasure ~ delight ~ happiness ~ thrill ~ joy ~ amusement ~ gratification
good feelings ~ savor that inside ~ pride ~ satisfaction

COMPETENCE     “You did it!”

         success ~ mastery ~ have the know-how ~ expertise ~ accomplishment
achievement ~ attainment ~ have the skill ~ a talent ~ knack

CLEVERNESS    “That’s tricky.”

         a new idea ~ unique ~ brainy ~ smart ~ intelligent ~ bright
~ witty ~ sharp ~ ingenious ~ quick ~ original

GROWTH       “You’re sure getting bigger!”

         ready for new challenges ~ older now ~ something new
~ more grown-up ~ more independent"

This doesn't mean that there are no limits or boundaries. Young children very much need limits and boundaries to feel safe and in control. For example, we obviously can't let children continue hitting or hurting someone else while we stand there figuring out what to say. We can't let children run out in the street or break toys on purpose. But maybe there are some things we can let go of that seem like traditional musts. Yes, we have a culture of washing hands before eating, but if one child doesn't do it one day, is it the end of the world? Usually we don't stand on the table, but if a child needs to reach to build a taller tower, is it okay? Some schools have an unbendable "up the ladder, down the slide" rule. But what creative play, physical challenges and negotiations are lost without the freedom to try to climb up the slide with a rope?

It takes a long time to unlearn old habits and re-train ourselves, but in the couple of years that I've been working on learning this new way I can tell you it is well worth the effort. Where I used to get into battles with children over picking up their belongings, clean up time, saying sorry, coming when I call, etc., I now have let go of the need to control them so tightly. I can give them information and let them come to a choice of action in their own time. "If you leave your blankie on the floor, someone might step on it or trip on it." If it matters to them, they will pick it up and put it somewhere safe. If it only matters to me that the walkway is clear, then I'm the one that should pick it up. But I'll narrate what I'm doing and why, to act as a model. "I'm going to put away this puzzle that no one is using so that the pieces all stay together." Instead of saying "Wash your hands for snack" I now say, "It's snack time. When you're ready you can wash your hands and get some snack."

This technique is especially crucial in times of conflict and stress, and with those children who need extra support being successful in the classroom. For children who don't read others' body language, you can narrate and describe what you see happening and what you think it means. "Bryce is putting his hands up and saying no. I think he wants to protect his block structure so it stays standing up." For children who have a hard time joining others' play appropriately, you can notice and wonder. "Sophie and Elliot are making a stew. I wonder what else they need for it?" In fact, "I notice" and "I wonder" are miracle words that work in millions of situations.

I wanted to introduce you to Tom Drummond's Enterprise Talk and I ended up talking about a lot of different things, which is good because now I have a long list of ideas for future blog posts. There's so much to think about, reflect on, talk about and share on this journey of early childhood education. Thank you for joining me on the journey!

IDEC 2013 - part 4 - vision and connections

Monday's theme at IDEC 2013 (the International Democratic Education Conference) was "Vision," and Tuesday's theme was "Connections." In two days I filled 17 pages with notes. How can I coherently convey any of it to anyone?

In reality, looking back through my notes, most of what I've written down are just ideas and questions. Then, ideas that lead to more questions. The most amazing thing about being here is that everyone is here to share and learn with and from each other. Everybody wants to hear each other's stories, ask questions, find out who's got experience in the thing they're stuck on, find out who's doing something radically different and amazing. And everybody accepts everyone else at face value. There's no judging, just an understanding that we're each on our own paths, each seeking the next challenge or adventure.

In boiling down the last 48 hours, I think my takeaway so far is to go back to my school and work the way the conference is working. Ask big questions, wait for answers to come. Work collaboratively on problems. Include everyone in the conversation. Trust the kids and trust the process.

Here are some of the big questions from these first two days that I want to bring back to my school. And I'd love to hear my readers' responses as well. Everybody is invited into the conversation! The last two questions are ones that we've been exploring for the past year already.

- How do you define democratic education?

- What does community participation look like?

- How do you balance your vision for your school with the visions/needs/concerns etc. of the school community?

- How can we build connection with each other for the future of democratic education?

- What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of making decisions by consensus vs. majority voting?

- When children make the rules, what do you do about bottom-line safety concerns that the adults aren't willing to negotiate on, i.e. holding hands crossing the street, sitting up while eating, washing hands after using the bathroom?

- When you value not bossing children around or forcing them to do things that they don't want to do in school, how do kids learn responsibility for materials (taking care of them, not breaking them, cleaning up)?

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas and as always, even more questions.

IDEC 2013 - part 3 - place and migration

Today after a short welcome, the conference participants gathered in small "homebase" groups for the first time. We'll be meeting with these same groups daily for check-in and reflection. Each group had a theme. Ours was "place and migration."

We began by reflecting on what place and migration mean to each of us, then shared with a partner and then with the whole group. The discussion ranged from gentrification and forced migrations to changing schools and geese. A young boy in our group, maybe 8 or 9, was very focused on geese. He and his mom and I were talking in the think-pair-share activity, and he didn't have much to say except "Goose." It became kind of a running gag, until our group began planning our presentation for the opening ceremony later tonight.

For "place," we made a collective human sculpture, with each group member taking a pose that represents what place means to them, each one adding their idea to the whole. Next, to represent migration, we made four small groups and each group had a sculptor who would position the rest of the group into a sculpture representing migration. I was in that young boy's group, and he was the sculptor.

At first, I caught myself thinking something vaguely along the lines of "oh no, the kid won't do it right." Then I couldn't believe I had that thought. Me, a progressive educator dedicated to child-centered learning! I mentally noted my reaction and then evicted it from my mind. Then, the boy himself blew me away. He instantly had a vision of what he would sculpt. "Goose," he said. He put us in a V formation and had us flap our arms. I asked if we could rest if our arms got tired and he said if our arms got tired we would change positions: the person at the front of the V would move to the back and someone else would take the lead. While the other groups' sculptors were working out their creations, the five of us stood there flapping slowly, and now and then changing positions while our sculptor stood back and smiled.

Later, back in the dorm room I reflected on what place and migration could mean in the context of our preschool community, and I wrote this:

Everybody in our immediate community - whoever we're working with or sharing space and time with - comes from a different place and has been on a different journey, but they are all here, together, in the present moment. The diversity inherent in these varied histories makes a community strong because each individual can build on the collective knowledge and experience of the group. Everyone has something to contribute and everyone has something to learn. No one's skills, knowledge or experiences are more important than anyone else's; they all contribute in different ways.

I'm looking forward to participating in this week's migration of thought, following different lead geese and sometimes taking the lead myself. Then I get to take part in another great migration of thought: the 2013-2014 school year, with this year's unique group of teachers, children, parents and extended community. Here we go!

the most important song

As a singer/songwriter, I often sing with children in preschool, and sometimes we make up songs together, or change lyrics to songs to include all the different ideas the children suggest.

Sometimes when we're singing at circle time, kids get silly and crazy and make weird noises instead of singing or listening.  Over time I've learned to focus that creative energy into making up new verses, or singing the whole tune only on the word "Meow."  More kids tend to sing along when it's time to sing "Meow" or "Blah" instead of the words.  

But there's one exception.

A long time ago I heard a song called "My Mommy Comes Back" by Hap Palmer.  The chorus stuck in my head:

"My mommy comes back, she always comes back

She always comes back to get me

My mommy comes back, she always comes back

She never would forget me."

I had forgotten that there were verses to the song until I looked it up to link it to this post.  When I started teaching preschool I began singing the chorus to kids who were missing their mommies. Then I started personalizing the song with the child and parent's names.  So for a child named Andrew whose mommy was Jennifer, for example, I would sing:

"Jennifer comes back, she always comes back

She always comes back to get Andrew

Jennifer comes back, she always comes back

She never would forget Andrew."

Always, when singing this song, there is no silliness.  There are no "Blah" or "Moo" sounds.  The child I'm singing to stares into my eyes, and the other children nearby fall absolutely silent, listening.  As soon as the song is over, the chatter begins:  "Now do MY mommy!  My mommy's name is Claire."  "Sing my dad now."  "My daddy's name is Mark."  "Now my Nana."  "Now my Grandpa."  Then everyone listens quietly again as the song is sung, over and over, each child contemplating that most important piece of knowledge in their lives: that a loving adult will always come back to get them. 

Sometimes I sing songs to lighten the mood, to practice phonemic awareness, to play a game, to get to know each other's names, to wait for our friends, to learn a concept, or just for fun.  But "My Mommy Comes Back" is the most important song I've ever sung to kids, and it's an honor every time I do it.

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Here's the link to Hap Palmer's video:

My Mommy Comes Back

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