Follow up meeting with the Barron staff who participated in the summer training

November 5, 2001 from 3:45-4:45pm at the Middle School IMC

I asked the teachers to sit in a circle and respond to the first question: What is working? Here are the responses I received:

K-1 Teachers- “Little kids want to respond all at once, all the time, throughout the day. When we sit in the circle they become amazing listeners with their attention on the person with the talking piece.”

2^nd Grade Teacher-“I find myself much more in control, they solve their problems either inside the circle or outside the circle.”

Elementary Teacher- “This reduces the tattling and I find that the kids in the class want to help others in conflict. I had a situation where the teasing of one little girl brought her to tears. When the kids who reported the problem did so I was confused. Then I realized that they were unhappy with classmates that were teasing another classmate. When the circle happened the kids who did the teasing were wide eyed and shocked that their behavior had affected this little girl so much. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to make things right and resolve the issue.”

4^th Grade Teacher- “We call our circles Community. We have dealt with issues ranging from major nose picking problems to grabbing the ball on the playground. It has been wonderful. We also do a game where the kids can roll the ball to one of their classmates and the classmate has to say what the other has shared in the circle. This has been extremely helpful in having everyone listen very hard to each other because they can be called on it at any moment.”

Middle School Principal- “We have only had 1 student referred to suspension for the year. At this time we usually have 15-20. In the years I have worked here I have never seen such a powerful process.”

Middle School Teacher-“ I have never known my homeroom kids at this depth by this time in the year.”

Middle School Teacher- “When Greg asked us to let him know how it was going so he could share with the Middle School in Rice Lake I asked my kids. One 6^th grader said, “I know I can talk here when I don’t get the chance to talk with my parents.”

6^th Grade Teacher- “At the beginning, when we started, there were a lot of walls. No one was willing to share anything of any significance. Some kids didn’t want to say anything. Now there are more acceptances and sharing and anything can be talked about. They have built up a trust level like I have never seen. There are a few kids with the potential for detentions and behavioral problems. We have been able to circumvent these problems and create solutions. The process has had a powerful effect on all of the kids.”

Teacher- I saw a kid in the hall the other day talking to his friends and saying he wished he could just get a point for the problems he caused. Going to the circle is hard work for them.

K-1 Teacher- “We call our circle pond talk and we pass a frog. The listening skills are being developed in this class. The circle is loved by all including the teachers.”

5^th Grade Teacher- “We circle every morning with my class. I know them better than I ever have known my kids. The tattling is reduced to almost nothing and I don’t have kids pulling me aside to share every little thing that is going on with them. They save it for the circle when they have the attention of everyone.”

Support Staff (Playground Supervisor for the Middle School)- “If there is something to solve on the playground I can notify the teacher and they will handle the issues during circle time. The play ground has undergone a huge change. There are far less issues to deal with.”

6^th Grade Teacher- “There is a huge potential for behavior problems with this group. It is a VERY NEEDY group. I have only two kids with points at all and they were insignificant issues. Another amazing thing happened that I attribute to the community building in our class. When we talked about reward parties (which include all children) one group decided that they would love to rake someone’s grandmother’s yard instead of going to the Roller Rink. When I questioned this they were adamant that this would be a fun time and they really wanted to do this. WOW!!”

7^th Grade Girls Basketball Coach- “ I use this process to circle with the traveling basketball team. You can’t believe how wonderful this works with 7^th GRADE GIRLS!!! We always start with compliments, for example: I like the way you hustled yesterday. The compliments are sincere not contrived. We deal with all the issues that come up.”

6^th Grade Teacher- “They LOVE to circle. One 6^th grade boy was being bullied by a seventh grader. He brought to the circle for the others to come up with solutions. This has not been a problem since. One boy declared that he no longer will be doing his homework. The teacher brought it to the circle. The other students shared how this will affect them. If you don’t do your homework then you will be disrupting us when we are trying to get our work done. There were various responses along this line. There have been no problems with homework from this boy. He hasn’t missed a single assignment.”

3^rd Grade Teacher- “This process is wonderful. We share feelings and don’t fix it but share and brainstorm solutions. We are working on elaborating who they are for each other. I circle ½ hour every morning. The process builds community and has opportunities for all to identify when we are being overly needy- Undue Attention, being the boss-Misguided Power, to get even-Revenge, to give up and be left alone-Assumed Inadequacy. They are very in tune to these things and are wonderful at picking out their behaviors”

7^th Grade Teacher- “I have seen some amazing things shared. Every Monday we share about what we did over the weekend and every Friday we share what we are going to do over the weekend. That the kids get to share what is going on with them has increased the level of empathy for each other. One child said during a Monday share My mom went to jail on Friday night and I haven’t seen her since. One child said during a Friday share Starting tonight, I have to go to my grandmother’s house because my mom and dad aren’t getting along. The fact that we are all in what is going on in each others lives really works.”

3^rd Grade Teacher- “I had a substitute teacher last week and the agenda items list that the kids make up was two inches thick the next day that I returned. They had some issues with the way this teacher taught the class and we are now talking about all of them. This situation has been a great learning opportunity for everyone. We have the opportunity to talk and that works.”

The circling hasn’t gone without some problems. The problems aren’t insurmountable but the teachers were able to create some solutions to the difficulties they have been experiencing by expressing what isn’t working and having their fellow teachers brainstorm on possible solutions.

The kids are not being good listeners. The kids are not listening when others have the talking piece. One teacher gave the suggestion that they play a game where the kids can roll the ball to anyone in the circle and they have to repeat what that person said. She has been using this game with great success. Another teacher suggested that the process takes time to learn and being patient with the kids is a real key to success. By middle school, kids have some pretty ingrained and learned behavior. One or even two weeks of circles aren’t going to be perfect right out of the gate. To remark on the positives and admire the kids for the progress they do make is key. To talk about important issues that hold their attention is important.
Too much circling the first few weeks of school. The comment was made that the daughter of one of the teachers came home from school and was saying that the circles were too much. They did circles in Math and Science and English and Homeroom…. A comment well appreciated by the staff and they also agreed that in the process of getting things up and running they went overboard the first week, but that that has since been corrected.
There are other activities and announcements that are eating into circle time. They haven’t had the opportunity to circle for quite a few days and are worried about the continuity. First of all I saw the Middle School Principal writing in his notebook regarding this issue. The fact that the Middle School Principal is so involved in making this process work has been a major key to the success of the program. He has been empowering the process all along and removes the barriers. He also attended the training and every follow up session. So this issue has landed in the right person’s hands and I am confident that he will be making every effort to have the process work. Also, another teacher commented on this issue, as his kids went two weeks without the circling, and he thought his kids would be out of the swing as well. He stated that it was not the case. The kids picked it up right away again and even dove in to deeper issues after being away. He attributed it to the consistency at the beginning. Also kids are resilient and can make the adjustment.
Not all of the teachers are on board with the process. Some teachers have felt they had no choice about it. Some teachers haven’t been trained. This issue will be an ongoing issue, as the process has to be voluntary by the teachers. It also takes time to get to everyone. Some teachers weren’t aware that some teachers weren’t on board and they looked forward to talking to them. “We simply haven’t had the opportunity to talk with all of the teachers on what they need.” “I think that the patience of everyone is key to having the program be successful.” “ Not everyone is going to be on board right away and this has to be OK” “Some people will need to see it work and others will need to be trained.” “The teaching staff as a community needs to be in communication and allow for different paces to be set by different people.” “Like I tell my kids in our circle time, remember we are here to help each other.”