Last week in Ms. Castro's ACHS Y.E.S.S classroom we experienced a fun and challenging week and discovered more about ourselves and about each other.
We brainstormed and discussed the different aspects of community. All of these topics were very vital to the creation of culture within the classroom due to our goal of creating trust within the room. This trust allows the students to freely give thoughts and opinions without a fear of judgement- my class is their safe space.
As a class we broke out into groups and worked together to define the different types of communities that can exist, the challenges that go along with being a part of a community, what is/is not a community, why we need community, and how we create community.
The kids worked in groups with people who they had not previously interacted with before so it was interesting to see the social dynamic shift and assess whether they were comfortable working together and giving equal input- Turns out, they totally were! It was a great way to measure how comfort ability was being built in the room.
After the community lesson we moved onto the lesson belonging to the Coat of Arms project. Students who had been in the YESS classroom last year had completed the "Coat of Arms" lesson and this year I revamped the lesson to fit their high school interests by making the project centered around designing their own tattoo! The lesson was catered to every level of artistic skill and also kept the core values belonging to the building of identity that the Coat of Arms revealed.
Example:
They expressed their passions, material/non material prized possessions, educational goals, personal characteristic attributes, and a quote they live by. Labor day put us behind a day in lessons but that did not stop us! The kids have been working diligently on their designs by learning how to make the components of themselves merge into one creative and dynamic image that represents the core of their being.
Their projects are due when they walk in the door next class and I can't wait to share with you all the explosions of creativity and uniqueness that they came up with!
Later this week we will begin pairing mentors and mentees- stay tuned for the details of our next culture building lesson in Y.E.S.S!
Until next Monday,
Ms. Castro
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