And that’s just the professional part of your lives. Are you getting the support you need to be your full human self at the end of the day?<\/p>\n
Now, if advisories are good for students…<\/h4>\n
Could they work for adults, too? I wondered.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to some in-service planning. I met with the principals of two local schools, one in Concord and one in Gilman — both in Vermont — and started re-designing in-service along the lines of what we know works about advisories. Both principals spoke about wanting to make sure they take care of their teachers well.<\/p>\n
Adult socio-emotional learning (SEL) was number two on both their lists, right after students.<\/p>\n
Beginning our advisory for educators… by coming full circle.<\/h4>\n
After some socially distant re-connecting and welcoming the day, we started with a Circle of Power and Reciprocity<\/a>. The core components here are:<\/p>\n Slight modifications were necessary. Normally we would stand in a circle, close to each other, passing a talking piece from person to person. No-go for this year.<\/p>\n But luckily Zoom did its job.<\/p>\n The power of the circle is we all can see each other and connect as a community. Given that some folks were in their classrooms, and some at home, being “together” was a powerful opening.<\/p>\n The circle can also balance the power in the room. When sharing you can only talk when you have the talking piece. Similarly, folks can also pass if they choose to. It also let’s give folks some predictability. They know where they are in the list so they can prepare their response.<\/p>\n Today’s Tune<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Music can represent a theme or create a certain vibe.<\/a> In this case, it was just a few quiet moments for educators to sit with their thoughts and settle into the day.<\/p>\n Today’s Share<\/strong>:<\/p>\n In the chat: What are you most looking forward to? <\/span>And w<\/span>hat are you most concerned about?<\/span><\/p>\n The intent here was to allow folks to be heard (and vulnerable). They control the conversation and take it in the direction they need.<\/p>\n Today’s Activity:<\/strong><\/p>\n Pecha Kucha.<\/p>\n For the purpose of getting to know one another, we\u2019ll just create one slide each, filled with images and text that illustrate who we are.<\/span><\/p>\n With building community in mind this is a great activity for welcome new folks. For more activities check out 14 Socially Distant Advisory Activities<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Advisory](\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/slide-1-cpr.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
A quick rundown:<\/h3>\n
\nWhat lies ahead, I have no way of knowing<\/em>
\nBut under my feet, baby, grass is growing<\/em>
\nIt’s time to move on, it’s time to get going<\/em><\/div>\n