Social & Emotional Climate
The Implicit Curriculum
All students engage in a social emotional curriculum in addition to our academic curriculum, which fosters acceptance of and respect for self and others. Educating the whole child means supporting a child in being:
- Responsible for his/her choices in both personal actions and academics
- Respectful of diversity and the contributions of each individual
- Resourceful in solving problems independently, collaboratively and creatively, and
- Responsive, able to listen and respond to others with compassion.
These 4 Rs, or our implicit curriculum, come from the Ho'Ala philosophy of education which emphasizes educating young people to become self-actualized, conscious and responsible human beings. Agreement systems, positive discipline, student listening groups, advisories, student mentoring and parent education are the structures which support our social emotional curriculum. Community service and environmental awareness are also integral elements of our implicit curriculum.
Teachers and staff model the values of responsibility, respect, resourcefulness and responsiveness that we expect our students to develop and empower students to grow academically, creatively and personally.
The REACH School Agreement System
Intention: Help children develop into self- actualized adults who make good choices, not because they fear punishment, but because they are self-aware and possess an understanding of how their actions affect the greater whole.
REACH Student, Day 4, 2011 “It was easier when we just had detention, now you have to think about what you have done.”
The Agreement System is the core structure of the disciplinary code, supported by the REACH mission that encourages students to become more self-aware and learn self-enhancing habits of the implicit curriculum:
* Responsibility * Respect * Resourcefulness
* Responsiveness
The underlying values and implicit messages received by the students through the use of the Agreement System are:
1. Human Beings learn from making mistakes
2. Learning in an environment where mistakes are understood by teachers and parents as valuable learning opportunities removes the fear of making mistakes.
3. Students are more willing to take responsibility for their actions when they are not afraid of punitive responses by teachers, staff and parents.
4. All of us, students, teachers, staff, and parents have the power to make good decisions with practice and reflection.
The Agreement System
A system was designed by the creators of the Ho'Ala School and Linda Inlay of the River School in Napa to help raise awareness of how actions affect self and others. It is called an Agreement System unlike traditional methods like detentions or other procedures that are designed to "make" students behave.
This method engages teachers, students and staff in addressing predetermined agreements on behaviors. The word "agreement" implies a choice in the sense that students have the choice to view behavioral expectations as impositions or as valuable ways to keep them safe physically and emotionally so that they can learn
Components of the Agreement System include:
- Logical non-judgmental consequences that are not punitive in order to remove fear as a motivator and operate as a wake-up call to awareness.
- Logical consequences provide important feedback for students to be able to understand and change behavior - like falling off a bike when learning to ride it
- Structured opportunities for students to reflect on behavior; to notice and feel what is working and what is not
- Teachers and Staff agree to assist students with reminders, focused discussion rather than reactive, emotionally charged responses
- Teachers and staff also reflect on their own feelings, beliefs and behaviors that impact the learning environment.
How it works!
- Teachers and staff remind students of agreements when needed
- Written documentation by students (green slips) encourage reflection and an opportunity to ask for a conference
- Students have the opportunity to determine logical consequences
- Parents receive written notification after 4 and 8 green slips to encourage discussion, not punishment
- For more serious misconduct a Beyond A Green Slip (BAGS) form is completed by the student, and detailed consequences are discussed by the teacher and director and communicated to the parent
- Individual student needs are considered in applying the Agreement system.
- The tally of green slips begins anew each month.
Opportunities for Parents
Parents have the greatest influence over the behavior of their children and encouraging their self-reflection. Recognizing that valuable learning occurs from mistakes is sometimes challenging. Green slips are not “bad” at REACH and the student is not “bad” when requested to complete a green slip. The Agreement method supports the parent in assuming their child is capable of learning to be responsible for him or herself. When parents are partners in the agreement system students have even more opportunities to learn, take responsibility for their actions and demonstrate self-discipline.
Summary
The goal of our disciplinary system is for all of our students to be able to practice self-awareness and build a foundation that can serve them for life.
The Unity Retreat
Building a strong sense of community among the students at The REACH School is a central element of the school philosophy. Accomplishing this is an ongoing process that begins each year with an all school unity retreat.
In early September, the entire student body, teachers and staff, embark of an overnight field trip. The main goals of this trip are to encourage team building, teach collaborative problem solving, and to begin to establish a culture of respect. Before going on the retreat, our facilitator Paula Pardini, spends time in each classroom with pre-event orientation. Once at the camp, students are led through two days of small group activities, guided by Paula and a team of trained parent and high school leaders.
At the core of these activities is a low ropes course. The low ropes elements are close to the ground so the perceived risk is low, but still challenging to complete. Participants walk tightropes, negotiate obstacles, climb walls, and pass teammates through a giant web. Using cables, ropes and wooden beams strung among trees or poles, teams explore risk taking, leadership and communication. The low ropes course adventure highlights problem solving, coaching and collaboration.
Students bunk with their own grade and gender, but group activities are intentionally mixed. In this way, students are given the chance to meet youth from all grades and to get to know those they might not usually spend time with.
The results of these two days are clearly evident by the end of the trip. We see younger children laughing with the “big” eighth graders and older children offering to help the younger ones, new friendships are formed and old ones strengthened. In general, we see a community that has come together, that trusts one another and that feels comfortable as a group.
We do all this because we believe that a strong community is at the core of a strong education. If children feel safe and comfortable, they can then be free to learn and grow.
