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Communication.

We tend to think we do it when we don’t, and communicate things we don’t mean when we do open our mouths. This is probably the single biggest reason why I had a bologna sandwich for lunch today instead of a turkey one, but in the classroom, there’s a great deal more at stake.

It’s not simply the transmission of words from my mouth to their ears—though this is hard enough. When I read back what some student thought I was saying during a lecture, I’m often appalled. How did they get that out of what I was saying to them? ¹

Obviously, this is one more reason that a classroom focused around doing real work (and one where the students do the work—someone once described school “as a place where children go to watch adults work very hard”) is going to be a classroom where the students are learning better. Humans learn best by doing, and simply listening to something is far down the list.

But the impact of poor communication goes far beyond the classroom. I can’t count the number of conversations I’ve had with parents and adults in the district who are distrustful of what goes on in the school. I’ve had at least one adult claim he was scared to actually give his name to me “because I have children in the school and I don’t want teachers taking what I have to say out on them.”²

The problem with that kind of statement is that I don’t know a single educator at MRHS who would ever come close to saying anything to a student about their parent’s position. I don’t know a single educator at MRHS who spoke negatively about those who opposed the contract for truthful, valid reasons—every complaint I heard was when the statements opposing it were blatant lies.

So there’s a gap, there’s a communication hole between what happens in the school and what gets out. And it’s that gap that gets filled with everything we don’t want to see—negativity, fear, and frustration.

MC² is small program with better communication at its heart—and I can’t count the number of times we’ve had communication issues with parents and staff. Education is an incredibly complex endeavor, and even with nightly emails between student, teacher, and parent there are still moments when we’re not communicating well. It’s much, much worse in the regular high school, if only because of sheer size.

The issue is even more acute when tensions mount. Today and Monday we brought the community out to a high ropes course—in a small environment, team building is a necessity, and our kids love it. The reactions, and the results, are more that worth the time:

Still, even in the middle of something like this, even in something so safe and so easy (compared to the kind of emotional and intellectual risk most kids run in the classroom day after day) emotions run high. Twice during the day I needed to soothe the ruffled feathers of young men and women who felt like they were snapped at, who felt like they were unfairly singled out for criticism—and they clearly weren’t.

But we don’t deal with reality when we’re talking about communication. We’re dealing with perception. These students perceived that they were being treated unfairly. Until they were able to reach a point where they could see the positive intention behind the words, they were too angry and hurt to be learning.

So the question is… what structures are in place for communication in both the district, the school, and the classroom? How do we make sure accurate communication is going to the community, within the school, and within the classroom? What can we do to build the checks and opportunities into our daily operations which will make sure we’re really communicating as we want to?

Speaking of communicating—

Sue Oerman, the school board representative for Troy, is looking for community members who would be willing to assist in working to clean up and maintain one of the courtyards at MRHS. They would like to clean up the courtyard—put in some benches and picnic tables. At the side area, there are thoughts to install a new basketball hoop, a bouncing ball wall and then a fence around that area. Finally, there would be some landscaping in the courtyard—nothing major— some plants, etc.

Anyone who is willing to assist—or knows of someone willing to assist—I know Ms. Oerman would love a phone call or email. Her contact info is on the SAU website. This would be a wonderful chance to, with very little effort, make a huge difference in the school.

PS. Two guesses and a cookie for the student who identifies the origin of the title phrase—and what the author was expressed and why.

1 And I love to listen to myself talk, no doubt. But the simple fact of the matter is it would always be better if students were reading the material themselves rather than having an adult break it down for them. The problem is very few students have the skills needed to sit down and do that kind of work without a great deal of training. ↺

2 Of course, this was during the height of the debate about the teacher’s contract, and given the tactics of the Monadnock Taxpayer’s Association it was more than likely one of them—but for the sake of argument, I’m going to pretend I believe it wasn’t. ↺

Gregarious

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