Progressive education at my school obliterates the idea of a single teacher standing in front of a class of students having them repeat math problems in chorus. A walk through our school on any day reveals teachers working with individual students, small groups of five or six students or larger groups, sometimes as a whole grade of more than 60 students. These educational environments address the diverse learning styles of our students and helps them, at times, focus more on their work, and in other situations, understand their learning in the context of a community. One important and unique way our students learn is in a group much larger than most classrooms: assemblies.
In the same way some concepts and ideas are best taught in small groups, many educational experiences are best experienced during assemblies with peers, students in other grades, faculty, administration and staff. It may seem strange that a less focused, broader experience might have benefits, and sitting with hundreds of students when learning the difference between a noun and a verb may not be the most productive way to learn that concept. At my school, learning in assemblies is never about a singularity of concept or learning a skill to check off in a box. In assemblies the multiplicity, the depth of learning, takes place every week.
When students sit in the auditorium during assemblies, and give energy, time and attention to the people on stage, they express to everyone around them and those on stage that they matter. When a senior leans forward to listen to a 3rd grader describe the ways she is thankful during the Thanksgiving assemblies, that senior is affirming the importance of that 3rd grader’s words. When a JK student looks up in awe at the seniors marching around them during the Big Brothers/Big Sisters assemblies, that Lower School student is telling those seniors, “You are my inspiration.” And when an entire student body waits patiently as one of their own pauses in silence to find the bravery to perform during a talent show, they are saying, “It’s okay, we see you, we’re here for you, and we are proud of you.”
As an audience, when we express to those on stage that we care, that we see and value them, we reinforce the foundation on which we build our sense of community. It is one thing for a single person to tell another that he/she matters. That’s adding a brick to our house. Doing this together in an assembly, showing openly with pride that we support and care about who is on stage, is creating another floor in our house, it’s creating another space and another way people see themselves as valued members of our school community.
Like looking through a window during sunrise, assemblies provide a reflection, a mirror and a view of the outside at the same time. Students see a reflection of themselves but also what’s in the background—the philosophy, values, choices and people who are integral to the development of the learner. At the same time, that window of assemblies is a view of the outside world, beyond the walls of our school, that enriches the way students see themselves as active citizens in our democracy. Like the magic of a window, assemblies is both reflective and transparent, and at just the right angle, students see themselves and the world at the same time: a vision of progressive education, a vision at the core of our school’s experiences, a vision of hope, self-worth, diversity, curiosity, justice, kindness, inclusion and community.
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