Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008

Developing Soul Strength: Nick's visit to Joan Berland's class (part 4)

Download this episode (10 min)   
Day one of Nick Drummond's 4 day visit to Joan Berland's 3rd grade class (eight-year-olds), January 14, 2008. Part four of a 15 part series originally published on www.enlightennext.org

Joan Berland points out that if you don’t have 50% of the students operating at a level 3 then learning is not happening in the classroom as too many of the behaviors are distracting everyone.

Nick and Joan discuss the new model with five levels that describes development of going from an I to a WE. They discuss that many students didn’t want to be a five because they saw it as being perfection, and that they didn’t want to be perfect as they saw it as being dull and unexciting.

Nick and Joan also discuss the new model “Where are WE right now?” that describes care in a way that eight year old kids can understand (see below). Unless they are riding at the top of the wave at a level five they are not getting the practice they need to keep the wave moving forward and to have an affect on the directionality. Every decision you make and every choice you make is a practice for developing soul strength.

Where are WE right now?

5. We care that the positive choices we make as individuals are strengthening the class.

4. I understand how my behavior affects others and nearly always choose to make positive choices.

3. I can care about making positive choices if the teacher or a positive leader reminds me.

2. I don’t really care about how my choices affect the whole class. I zigzag up and down between positive and negative choices throughout the day.

1. I make negative choices even though I know what positive choices are.

To find out more please contact nick.drummond@nordicintegral.com, http://www.nordicintegral.com

Posted by Nick Drummond at 7:48 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008

Going From I to We: Nick's visit to Joan Berland's class (part 3)

Download this episode (7 min)   
Day one of Nick Drummond's 4 day visit to Joan Berland's 3rd grade class (eight-year-olds), January 14, 2008. Part three of a 15 part series originally published on www.enlightennext.org

Nick and Joan discuss the 1-5 behavioral scale that Joan has been using. This model listed sixty different behaviors. While having worked well until now, they talk about having to redefine each of the five levels in a much simpler way as a result of the change that happened in the class today. “The model has to be about going from an I to a WE.”

Joan introduces a wave metaphor as a way for children to understand what we mean by the WE. The wave symbolizes their growing edge where, only at a level 5, they are constantly riding that wave forward into the future. The wave is used to symbolize the strength of the class. Every child makes a contribution to the strength of the wave and its direction. The strength of the wave is a direct reflection of the level of leadership and care being expressed by each and every child in the class. As more and more people choose to develop and lead at a level 5 then the wave gets stronger and stronger.

Nick and Joan discuss how to recognize and reward the leaders while also building evolutionary tension in the class that will inspire everyone to rise higher, as well as expose and put pressure on those kids that don’t care to not make negative choices even though they know what positive choices are. They discuss the necessity of honoring a natural hierarchy in the class, something that until now has not been recognized and has allowed both teachers and students to hide and not care about the choices they are making and the affect their choices have on the whole.

To find out more please contact nick.drummond@nordicintegral.com, http://www.nordicintegral.com

Posted by Nick Drummond at 7:35 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Monday, Mar 17, 2008

On the Edge of Development: Nick's visit to Joan Berland's class (part 2)

Download this episode (17 min)   
Day one of Nick Drummond's 4 day visit to Joan Berland's 3rd grade class (eight-year-olds), January 14, 2008. Part two of a 15 part series originally published on www.enlightennext.org

Nick Drummond and Joan Berland reflect on the first lesson and day where many structures of what had previously defined engagement in Joan’s classroom were totally shattered. Joan is stunned by just how much changed. "They sat and talked for 45 min. They never talk for that long." Nick and Joan talk about what they noticed, the 1-5 scale, the change that is happening, moral development, new potentials, and the significance of what happened.

To find out more please contact nick.drummond@nordicintegral.com, http://www.nordicintegral.com

Posted by Nick Drummond at 10:40 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Thursday, Mar 13, 2008

Don't Raise Your Hands: Nick's visit to Joan Berland's class (part 1)

Download this episode (33 min)   
Day one of Nick Drummond's 4 day visit to Joan Berland's 3rd grade class (eight-year-olds), January 14, 2008. Part one of a 15 part series originally published on www.enlightennext.org

Nick introduces himself to the children and the model “It’s Your Choice”. The children appreciate that the staircase does not stop and that even when they have reached a five, they would want to keep on developing. The children are presented with two simple choices; to go up or to go down. Nick asks them to look around the group and see what side they are choosing to be on and expressing right now.

The children have heard that Mrs Berland is working with a one to ten scale and want to know what the difference is between a "five" and a "ten" (Joan talks to her students about this scale on day four). Nick asks the children what it would be like if every lesson began with everyone choosing to be at a five. They talk about the difference between zigzagging between good and bad choices and always taking responsibility to be at a five.

Nick asks the children what they would have to do for the group to be at a five right now: “If everyone was listening then we wouldn’t have to raise our hands" says one child.

To find out more please contact nick.drummond@nordicintegral.com, http://www.nordicintegral.com

Posted by Nick Drummond at 3:44 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT