Quakers' Meeting Has Begun

My students were moved by literature (specifically imagery), today. As in, when they were moved to share, they shared; otherwise, they were quiet. It was pretty special, even if they didn't see the religious implications of the activity.

We had a Silent Converation. I tried it first last year with a squirrely bunch, and I was happily surprised with its success, so I'm moving it up in the year this year. Instead of me calling on students and writing their comments on the board, I set up some sort of organizer on the board, and then invite them to walk to the front and write their thoughts silently. This isn't my special lesson, people have been doing this for years.

I think I was first exposed to it during a Critical Friends Group-esque session with my cohort back in my grad school days. (Or at least, it was the first time I paid any attention to it.) Critical Friends is a collection of protocols that are designed to get adults collaborating. I tried to find out more information on it back then with an interest in getting training, but it's a bit proprietary and info was (is) scarce. I do think that it is based on a lot of Quaker teachings. Perhaps it came out of one of the Portland Universities, or maybe I'm making that up. I make up a lot of stuff on this blog; read at your own risk. I did see some Web pages that hinted that a number of Portland-area public schools had established Critical Friends Groups as a way to implement change and boost teacher morale.

So, it isn't all that surprising that while using this protocol, I felt like I was in a Quaker meeting. I introduced the activity, and then I stepped aside. (I generally kick it at the back of the room.) One or two students get up and write, then sit. They look at each other, they look at their papers (I've prefaced this with a freewrite and a pair/share -- I'm not throwing them to the wolves here). They giggle or smirk. They look aside. And then someone gets up to write. Then someone else. A pause. Someone writes. Pause. Pause. Write. The light didn't shine in the window, illuminating their coming-to-the-god-of-imagery moment, but some of them were moved to share their thoughts without my explicit prodding. It's rewarding to stand in the back and quietly watch students get up the nerve to walk to the front and share.

Now, I haven't ever been to a Quaker meeting, but I have seen them on TV (thank you Six Feet Under. I also played the Quaker Meeting game as a child ("No more laughing, no more fun / Quakers' meeting has begun / If you show your teeth or tongue / You will have to pay the forfeit), although I never understood what the "game" was or why it was "funny" or even "fun". I suspect my older siblings might have wanted to keep me quiet during evenings babysitting me, but that's just a suspicion. However, if this is as close as I get to a Quaker meeting, I'll consider myself fulfilled.

I'm not sure how an administrator would see it, because it can seem like a lot of dead space, but I think it's meaningful and powerful. It's kinesthetic. It's quiet. It priviledges the written over the spoken word. It builds community (they take some chances standing up in front of each other ans sharing like that). It's different. And yes, it is religious and I think they need more reverence in their lives: reverence for life, for others, for education, for writing. I'll keep on using the Silent Conversation, and I hope more and more students will will be inspired to share.