The sages said: “I have learned much wisdom from my teacher, more from my colleagues and the most from my students (BT Ta’anit 7a)
Through the years, I have learned much by observing the teachers in my building. I learned about the value of starting the religious school class with a morning circle, from an avocational teacher, a professional rocket scientist. Wendy began each morning with her students sitting in a circle, and encouraged each student to share – something from the week, a thought on their minds. At the beginning of the year, circle time took less than 10 minutes. Towards the end of the year the students were spending 30 minutes sharing.
As the director, at first I was torn – this was eating into Hebrew learning. But what I witnessed was almost like a miracle. At first students shared about their recent sports’ conquests, and vacations. But slowly students began sharing their more personal stories; one child shared about his parent’s divorce, another about his father’s recently diagnosed brain tumor, an uncle that was killed in a car accident, a mom’s recovery from breast cancer, bullying (in the neighborhood).
Yes, this class was perhaps unusual that of the 17 students, almost everyone had experienced a challenging family situation, but is it any different than your class? How would you know unless you provide the opportunity for sharing in a warm, welcoming and spiritually connected community?
How do you get started? Opening Circle (also known as Morning Circle)– If you are familiar with Responsive Classroom© try a few of the morning meeting techniques in your religious school classroom.
Bring your class together in a circle (on the floor or in chairs) and use this time to let each student share something about their week. Help others practice being good listeners while a classmate is sharing. When done, end with a prayer (one class I know always said the sh’ma) or a group cheer, and back to their seats. Consider making this a regular way to start your time together.
Here are some other ideas for Circle time greetings:
More morning meeting greetings
Next – Name Games – because so often our students don’t know the names of their classmates!
