Class Meetings

This week, I’ve been reading about class meetings in Dan Gartrell’s, The Power of Guidance. It was a great read for me, because it made me feel good about what I’ve been doing, but still gave me ways to improve my methods. Just as I was starting to think I figured this out on my own, I read that the concept of class meetings came from the work of Glasser (1969) who suggested "magic circles." When I first started teaching, we used a Magic Circle curriculum book. Most likely, what I have been doing, I learned from that experience. Turns out I’m really not all that smart, just really old:(
If you haven’t tried class meetings, I urge you to give them a try, not just once, but for several months. You will see a "noticeable difference in the social climate" of the group. Class meetings are great for building a sense of community, teaching social skills, and building leadership. I like using them because it takes a tiny bit of the responsibility for the classroom off the teacher and gives it to the children. If you don't like to give up "control", class meetings will be harder for you, but it is worth the effort.
Not all meetings need to be scheduled but Gatrell suggests that you plan to have two meetings a day. I didn’t plan mine that often. He also says to establish guidelines at the start. These would have to do with listening to and respecting others. While you can pose open ended questions for the group to discuss, I usually had mine right after center time and discussed how to solve problems, both mine and the children's. Cleaning up the room, hurting the feelings of others, sharing, using a soft voice, and safety issues were probably the most frequent topics discussed. We also used them to plan or discuss upcoming events. Towards the end of the year, the children did a great job planning a "Cow Party." during an impromptu meeting. I didn’t even realize that it qualified as an official class meeting until I read the book. Turns out "planning, sharing, evaluating, and celebrating project activities" is another use of a class meeting.
I can see value in using group meetings even if you aren’t in a regular class room. In almost any group setting, you can begin the session by taking a few minutes to explain what is going to happen and talk with the group about what they can do to make it successful. In a multi-age group, you could mention a task that might be hard for some of the children. Children could suggest ways they could help others and how to indicate help was needed. If you need to move to another area of the building, the children could suggest a safe way for the group to move, without disturbing others in the building. If you anticipate a problem, ask the children to help you problem solve before it happens. You will be teaching problem solving skills, empowering the children, and most likely have a good solution for the problem.
If you want to know more, or would like to share your successes with class meetings, please do so in the comment section.