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Wondrous Wednesday 22: Trust and Staff Elections

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Summary

Staff elections yesterday - all staff voted back. Wonder of entrusting students with power of choice. Children have valuable contributions to governance - novel idea. They understand what's relevant to them. Not just following along but creating, contributing to community. Election means students agree to staff presence and everything they do. Students govern school literally - looking out for one another, voicing right/wrong according to rules. Trusting community made up largely of children functioning well is pure wonder.

Transcript

0:00 welcome to ANI in the air wondrous Wednesday where I talk about something
0:04 wondrous so yesterday was staff elections and well all the staff got
0:12 voted back just wondrous but you know I just thought you know yesterday I talked
0:18 about the staff there is a phone on the chair oh well and so I thought you know
0:29 today I was just going to talk a little bit about the wonder of entrusting
0:33 students with the power of choice and trust it's well it's wondrous it's a
0:42 little bit crossing the lines between Tuesday and Wednesday but you know
0:46 whatever we're getting to the end of the season people the final season of in the
0:51 air so we'll go a little crazy on formatting a little bit so anyway
0:56 wondrous what is actually wondrous about it well you know the the idea that you
1:06 know children have something very valuable to contribute to the governing
1:11 of a community is actually something I think pretty novel and it's a pretty
1:18 wondrous thing that they actually do that they that they do have
1:21 understanding of what's going on things that are relevant to them it often gets
1:26 obscured because obviously they're not ready to do the things that aren't
1:32 relevant to them you know like actually working a job although of course
1:37 children have worked jobs in the past and if fortunately stop that but you
1:46 know the idea that they're not just simply following along they're actually
1:52 creating that they're making something that this is you know they are living
1:57 their life and they are contributing to one another and the community and and
2:01 informally they are completely creating the environment they find themselves in
2:05 with others and formally they do participate sometimes a little
2:11 begrudgingly you know many of them are probably like why do we have to vote on
2:14 this can't the staff to stay here and not really appreciating what it is that
2:20 you know having that election means that they actually do get to vote I think the
2:25 older ones probably do appreciate it and understand it I think no one feels it's
2:31 like essential to having good governance of the school by the staff that's not
2:35 the point if that was a concern you get new staff but it is a way of saying you
2:44 know we agree to you being here and having the voice that you do in this
2:49 community and it's important because you know staff being adults can actually do
2:54 quite a bit of just presence power if you will and so it's saying from the
3:02 students that in this one instance we are being asked whether your presence is
3:07 okay with us and therefore everything you do is okay with us and it's amazing
3:13 that I think they really do think about it many of them and really like you know
3:17 they learned that so it's a wondrous thing a wondrous event it's wondrous to
3:25 be able to trust children you know my speech yesterday and the answers to my
3:34 questions yesterday was all about trust and it really is something wondrous that
3:39 this community trusts itself not everybody not all the time but you know
3:44 fundamentally we trust one another you know that the students govern the school
3:52 quite literally they are looking out for one another they are voicing what is
3:57 right and what is wrong according to our rules we have this framework and when
4:01 they question it you know this is what we are you know relying on is is our
4:14 formal structures to get the decisions of the community so that we can all
4:22 continue trusting one another it's it's really quite wondrous so that is my
4:31 wondrous Wednesday just the wonder of really having a trusting community made
4:37 up largely of children functioning and you know really working out and doing
4:44 great things for everybody that is to me pure wonder and amazing all right well
4:53 that is my wondrous Wednesday have a good one and I will see you when I see
4:56 you