Kanyo’s Class Rules…

Kanyo’s Class Rules… I believe in you… I trust you… I know you can handle this … I will listen to you… I care about you… You are important! …but you still have to pay what you owe.

Social-Academic Rank • 5% • 90% • 5% • The best students ever… • The average students… • The worst students ever…

Your Opinion Matters! What do you think about the 5%, 90%, 5% concept? Have you been in classrooms were this has happened? Have your teachers treated these percentage-students with different social-academic ranks (teacher’s pet, per se)? Is this simply myth? Do teachers ever cut the bottom percentage loose and expect them to fail? Does society at large do the same type of thing? Who may benefits from this? What are your thoughts, questions, comments, concerns, experiences?

Curling

The Tough Burdens… Rape Molestation Physical Abuse Emotional Abuse Questions of Sexuality Addiction Being Ostracized Suicide

Uncomfortable! Uncomfortable! Uncomfortable!

Let‘s remember… A simple exercise… Standing still and looking… Writing… (These have been tailored for this audience. Different classes will need different events.)

Reflect… If you felt uncomfortable at any point during those drills, tell us what it felt like. What was going through your head? Your heart? Were you looking for an escape? If you didn’t feel uncomfortable, what would you imagine some of the people in this room who were uncomfortable felt like – or, is there a time in your educational history that you’ve experienced and can share the feeling?

Removing the tools… Conditions of Learning The most reluctant writer in any classroom has still learned the immense task of learning how to communicate: as an infant … with no texts, curriculums, lesson plans, standardized tests, or content expectations. They learned because our brains are made to learn and adapt.

Removing their tools… • The non-verbals: • Paralanguage • Kinesics • Haptics • Proxemics • Appearance • The verbals: • Pitch • Volume • Rate • Resonators

The recap… • Reluctant Writers • Social-Academic Rank • Burden • Remembered Uncomfortable • Conditions of Learning • Removal of Common Communicative Tools

What now? • An opportunity to: • Collaborate • Think • Discuss • Share • …And change. In your groups, brainstorm what teachers and students can do to battle this issue of the burden, discomfort, and reluctance. How can we break the cycle? After brainstorming, write a collaborative response aimed at making people understand and care about the burden reluctant writers may feel…

Kanyo’s Class Rules…