A caring community has been a must do for me every year. I have been co-creating our learning space and working hard at helping students self advocate and be an active learner in our space for several years. This year, creating our caring classroom changed in an unexpected and beautiful way.
At the beginning of the year, one of my students had a special job to sweep the school after lunch, a sort of reset. This student, advocated for frequent breaks with a preferred person, who happened to be our school custodian. Another student followed suit, eager for breaks, connection and the ability to help. Graciously, our custodian obliged. And then, a shift occurred. Our custodian started checking in on how these students were doing in class. He would sit in on lessons, encouraging students to read to him, complete writing and math work. With this shift, our custodian, who is important to our school, also became an important member in our classroom. Other students saw that advocating for what we need is more than taking a deep breath or a break out of the room but also, getting help in the room from ANY adult in the school.
This shift reminded me of the importance of treating everyone as an expert. It reminded me that when we say we are a collaborative, community that everyone is in that community. This gentle, beautiful reminder leaves me grateful for our custodian; his help, the awesome role model he is, and grateful that he has become such an important part of our team this year.