First Day

I have about 20 students in my class, an interesting mix that's bound to shift a bit as schedules get finalized (there were a few no-shows today also).

The Knot activity was fun (I was skeptical for some reason, thought it might be too touchy-feeling for these cool kids). We ended up doing it as a fishbowl activity, a quick adaptation since one student in the class uses a wheelchair and is not able to hold hands with partners (mobility issue with her arms). Half the class was on the inside of the circle and the outside circle gave advise and feedback, making the debrief even better.

The group was extremely respectful throughout, seeming to be very much on board. It's an interesting mix: definitely some quieter ones, including a student who contributed the idea that "it's okay to be shy" onto our brainstorm of Class Agreements. The list is definitely subject to revision, and I'm ready to challenge her in her shyness (despite this comment, every single one of them gave great introductions on the first try, very little corrections or re-does required). It reminded me, though, of how I want to incorporate the Four Directions of Leadership activity into this unit somehow, and soon--like next week. Ideas of where this might best fit?

I managed to 'get through' everything on the plan for this first day--though I held off on saying much about course specifics, particularly Portfolio.

The community leader profiles are interesting, but I'm interested in collecting some more to have more options. The list of leadership traits on chart paper is underway and it's a great idea.

I improvised a Rapid Fire session in the last 5 minutes of class and they responded really well to it--it was all just questions about names. Very helpful to have had that practice with everyone last Friday!!!