To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right,
to the left, to the left, to the left, to the left,
now kick, now kick, now kick, now kick,
now walk it by yourself . . ..”
The music started jammin’; the dancers in their pastel tutus started groovin’; kids started clappin'. No, this was not last month’s middle school dance, rather it was seventh-grade science class on Friday at 9:50 AM, rooms five and six. The dancers involved, while directed by the seventh graders, were actually Lego Mindstorm robots. The routines, expertly choreographed and programmed, were the culmination of a week’s worth or teamwork. While programming is a valued skill that involves logical sequencing, problem solving, and some discreet knowledge about the language involved, the real value of last week’s “dance off” was in the work and lessons learned about collaboration and communication.
to the left, to the left, to the left, to the left,
now kick, now kick, now kick, now kick,
now walk it by yourself . . ..”
The music started jammin’; the dancers in their pastel tutus started groovin’; kids started clappin'. No, this was not last month’s middle school dance, rather it was seventh-grade science class on Friday at 9:50 AM, rooms five and six. The dancers involved, while directed by the seventh graders, were actually Lego Mindstorm robots. The routines, expertly choreographed and programmed, were the culmination of a week’s worth or teamwork. While programming is a valued skill that involves logical sequencing, problem solving, and some discreet knowledge about the language involved, the real value of last week’s “dance off” was in the work and lessons learned about collaboration and communication.
About a week ago, I was touring the mother of a fifth-grade boy who was interested in how the middle school had changed in the short time that had passed since her daughter, a current ninth grader, first entered Stephens Hall. We spent some time in my office talking about educational theory and then moved down the hall to see what was happening. I love to give tours because it is a chance for me to show off what we do and who we are, something that is sometimes difficult to describe with words or numbers. We entered Mr. McManus’s room at the end of the hall and found Meghan and Anna Kate standing in front of their seventh-grade classmates. While the following is paraphrased, it is pretty close to what we heard:
Okay, everyone be quiet. We've got to get rid of the chaos, so we decided to give everybody jobs. If you don’t like your job, it doesn’t matter ‘cause you can switch. We think Sydney should be leader.
As this was going on, Mr. McManus was sitting off to the side pretending to be disinterested. The mom and I looked at each other, and I got a big smile on my face.
Now I wasn’t in the classroom the previous day, but from what the girls told me, it was pretty ugly: people talking, no one listening, raised voices, frustration, nothing getting done -- sounds a little like Congress. Mr. McManus, being a wise, experienced sage, let the situation play out. He trusted the process and didn’t jump in to fix things. This empowered the girls to take matters into their own hands and work it out. Some girls became programmers, some costume designers, some DJ’s, some choreographers, and one a leader. Some girls changed jobs as it became apparent that more work was needed in different areas. They worked together. They solved their own problems.
Now I wasn’t in the classroom the previous day, but from what the girls told me, it was pretty ugly: people talking, no one listening, raised voices, frustration, nothing getting done -- sounds a little like Congress. Mr. McManus, being a wise, experienced sage, let the situation play out. He trusted the process and didn’t jump in to fix things. This empowered the girls to take matters into their own hands and work it out. Some girls became programmers, some costume designers, some DJ’s, some choreographers, and one a leader. Some girls changed jobs as it became apparent that more work was needed in different areas. They worked together. They solved their own problems.
I spent a few minutes talking to Anna Kate and Meghan who had stood in front of their peers to attempt to make order out of chaos, and asked them what I thought was going to be a tough question: “Why didn’t appoint yourselves leaders?” They didn’t miss a beat and said that they chose Sydney because she is really good at being a leader. They said that she listens well and can organize things. Nice!
The three other seventh-grade core groups also struggled through the process of how to get a large group to work together to reach a goal. Some were not particularly pleased with the outcome; however, if each groups' performance didn't come off perfectly, they all persevered and brought something worthwhile to the dance floor. So, as Cupid says, ". . . do your dance, do your dance."
