Real Learning is not Easy
Sometimes the most difficult moments are the most important.
Against momentary feelings of nihilism and victimhood in his community, a Middle School learner prepared a speech with a striking first line to his peers: “This isn’t a problem with one or two people. This is a problem with all of us.” 🎤
Over the course of a couple days, he had observed a shift. Pride in work and place turned to pride in distraction. Their old contract went unenforced and their library was closed due to a lack of cleaning. New group identifies formed between the new and the old members, both with their own stories of validation. 😐
New learners advocated for different onboarding, taking their case all the way to the school’s Supreme Court. 🧑⚖️
Without judgement, the elementary classroom supported them in a way they could: to help clean. They had been through a journey similar and knew it needed to happen. 🧹
The speech was the catalyst to new and needed change. They reopened their founding document, changing it from behaviour terms to rights. They adjusted their rules of communication and employed an official opposition to hold their leaders accountable. 📜
Old and new learners alike were part of the building of this community. 🧱
