World Cafe and Kids
I haven’t written in quite a while, but not for lack of ideas. As a matter of fact I have so many things about which to write that I have been feeling overwhelmed, and have
procrastinated getting back into the saddle. Well, I’m back and have decided to reenter the blogging world by revisiting one of my earlier blogs. I wrote earlier in the school year about the trials and tribulations of trying to get 6th graders to run their own discussions about pieces of literature. Since that time I have made great progress and have had a terrific learning experience of my own.
Back in November I wrote about how difficult it is to get kids to engage in open-ended discussion without the teacher always being involved. Solutions ranged from putting a bag over my head (thank you students for that thoughtful suggestion) to hiding under my desk. The latter worked quite well, because let’s face it, out of sight equals out of mind, especially with 11 and 12 year olds. Unfortunately there were many problems inherent in that solution. The first one I encountered was the cramped conditions. Did I really want to spend the bulk of a class period folded up like a contortionist? The fact that my arms and legs would fall asleep was bad enough, but trying to unfold myself was painful and embarrassing as my joints would creak loudly, and I usually required the aid of a student or two to make it to my feet once again. Now, while I don’t really have a problem with my age or students knowing it, I do have a problem with showing physical weakness. For some of my students, respect comes only because they know I take kickboxing classes. They figure I can hold my own in any situation, so I’m not worth crossing. I would sure hate to destroy that illusion. Then there is the problem of explaining to my principal and visiting dignitaries why I see fit to conduct my classes from what can only appear to be a cowering position. Imagine walking past a room of 26 kids and seeing the teacher curled into a tight ball, rocking back and forth under a desk while the kids are doing their thing. Never mind that they are having a good discussion of pertinent topics. The casual observer could only assume that the teacher has totally lost it and is having some sort of mental breakdown under the desk. After all, many people are of the notion that middle school teachers must be in a delicate mental state as it is, or they wouldn’t be teaching in a middle school.
So, with that in mind, what to do. Well, as any modern individual would do, I resorted to Google. I had heard about something called the World Café and decided to investigate it. In short, the World Café turns out to be a worldwide activity that involves putting people into café settings with a hot topic and letting them chew on it. I read through the entire web site many times, downloaded other informational materials, and just basically immersed myself into this concept for a whole weekend. Nowhere did I really see anyone using it with young kids, but I thought “what the heck?” so I gave it a go. First I had to go out and find my café materials; tablecloths, centerpieces, snack bowls, cups, snacks, paper and markers. Once all of the items were collected I set about working this into my class. Instead of talking specifically about a piece of literature I decided to open up the discussion to topics within the literature. I also decided to keep it special and run only one café per month. The next step was to set up the rotation for each class. The idea is to have small groups at each table, discuss the subject for a short period of time and then rotate to another table. This process is repeated until students have had a chance to converse with all of the other class members. A table-sized piece of butcher paper is on each table as are markers. As the kids talk they write or draw their thoughts on the paper as a record of the discussion. Wholesome crackers and pretzels are provided as snacks at each table. Water is provided as refreshment.
I thought that this was so simple and would be great fun for the kids. For the most part that assessment was correct, but as I ran the first World Café with my students in March, I discovered things I never imagined. As I was setting up the tables in our open area before school, I had the kids totally engaged in trying to figure out what I was preparing to do. Word traveled quickly that I was up to something big, and all the kids came to get a peek. My first hour students were more than eager to be my guinea pigs. They dove right into discussing how literature mirrors our world, but were a bit too fixated on the snacks and jumping up to get more water from the water fountain. I think they drank more in that hour than they usually do in a day. I was not overly thrilled with the way the café went, but it was a step forward. Next class I got smarter and decided to serve the water myself, so no one had to get up to get it. I dropped my own persona and took on that of Chantal, the owner of the café who speaks with a bad French accent. Doing that one thing seemed to change the whole tenor of the café. The kids in the next class accepted me in my new role without batting an eyelash, and spent time asking how I knew Mrs. Wadman and how I started the café. I was only a few minutes into this class when I returned to my room for my journal and a pen.
What was unfolding before my eyes was remarkable and quite the ah-ha moment for me. Actually, make that ah-ha moments! My most compelling discovery was who really got into this and who didn’t. I have one very large class with a lot of very ‘active’ kids in it. I was really afraid that they wouldn’t be able to handle the open atmosphere of the café, and figured my smaller, better-behaved classes would do well. Au contraire! This ‘wild’ class was finally in their element. These kids got so into it that some of the discussions were still going on heatedly as the class dispersed at the end of the period. My so called well behaved classes on the other hand, sat and very politely would chat for a minute or two and then would stare at each other, waiting for further directions. As Chantal, I found it necessary to breeze past the tables giving a prompt here and there to get them going again. But as soon as the prompt was given I moved on to other tables in order to get them running the conversation. By the end of class they were doing better, but not at all as enthusiastic and probing as my ‘wild’ class. At this point, it came as no surprise to me that my other ‘active’ students sprinkled in these well behaved classes were the ones who really benefited from this format, and found it frustrating, as I did, that the others would not fully engage. My next ah-ha came from eavesdropping on the conversations. This age group is so fascinating. Some kids had some really great thoughts and would explore them fully. Others would have great thoughts, but could only see the surface. One of the more interesting of these was a conversation about how the Harry Potter books were great because Harry was so much like the kids reading the books. One young lady agreed that there are similarities such as his being a student, but the fact that he is a wizard made it impossible for him to be at all like regular kids. She could only see Harry as a wizard, not as a child with the same thoughts, feelings and expectations as any kid that age in the real world would have. I realized in that moment, we as parents and teachers need to spend more time on skills related to thinking and analyzing with our kids and students. Higher-level thinking is definitely a learned ability and must be practiced.
What thrills me about the café is the learning that takes place. The kids are finally talking to each other, at least to a degree. When I read all of the table papers from the first two cafes, I was shocked to see just how thoughtful many of the children were. Some of their thoughts were very mature. The second café dealt with bias. This was a new concept to the students, none of whom had heard the word. Once it was introduced they were able to connect it to their world and really get into the discussion. The most amazing understanding the kids came to about bias, with no prompting from me, is that it isn’t something we’re born with. It is something we learn, and we probably learn most of our biases from our families. The conclusion: we must understand all different points of view and develop our own thoughts and beliefs no matter what our families or anyone else tells us. Wow!
Well, I’ve tossed the paper bag and I’m happy to say that my principal needn’t worry about finding me curled up under my desk. Chantal’s café is open for business and she and the kids would love to have others join in. Any takers?
