Jolie Drury, Elementary II co-teacher along with co-teacher Kathleen Finucane are embarking on their tenth year together guiding our EII students, our 9 to 12 year-olds. Below, Jolie describes a powerful process that led to a unique and poignant culminating work. Check it out. ~ Suzanne Lawson, Assistant Head of School

At the beginning of each school year, our Elementary II class engages in a process of deciding upon "rules" or "guidelines" that will govern the way students utilize materials, treat each other, and devote themselves to their learning. This is an important piece of our Practical Life curriculum. As guides, we present the idea in a unique way each year to keep it fresh for the students in our three-year cycle. During our planning sessions over the summer, Kathleen and I decided to emphasize the Bridgeview Mission Statement, to recite it with the students in the first few weeks, and to use it as inspiration for writing our own mission for the class. In mid-September, we gave a homework assignment that asked four questions:

• How should we show respect for each other?

• How should we show respect for items in our classroom?

• How should we show respect for ourselves when learning new things?

• What can you do to make our class the best learning environment for yourself and your peers?

The students wrote very thoughtful responses that we would use to move forward. But before we did any further work, I invited Suzanne, our Assistant Head of School, to come speak with the class and share her experience nine years ago creating the Bridgeview Mission statement with a committee of teachers and board members. She had been to a workshop and gave us some materials to help guide our process. She explained the difference between a Mission Statement and a Core Values document. A mission statement is pithy and to the point - "At Bridgeview Montessori we learn to dig deep." We realized we weren’t ready for a mission statement until we established our core values, so we got back to work.

I used the students’ responses to the question “What can you do…?” as a model for how to take notes and make categories from the ideas. Then three small committees each took the responses for one of the questions regarding respect. Another day, we formed new groups to review the notecards and turn the ideas into complete sentences with strong vocabulary and clear messages. They came back to the whole group to share their sentences aloud. One sixth year student volunteered to type the sentences into one document. The next day, it was photocopied and given to everyone to edit and revise as an assignment during the work cycle. Some students crossed out phrases they thought were repetitive and added new words here and there. They drew arrows to reorganize sentences or put numbers next to the paragraphs. I read carefully through their work and created a new draft. 

In our final session, we read the draft silently and then aloud in unison. Students shared their observations about changes they noticed and the messages they understood from each section. We agreed that it felt more like a poem than an essay and started calling the sections stanzas. There was general consensus that the ideas were strong but the order still wasn’t right. One student recommended switching two of the stanzas and others spoke up in agreement. When we reread it aloud in the new order, we were all smiles. Hard work had paid off.

Mission (Working Draft*)

In EII, you are safe. 

Core Values (Final Draft)

We strive for a peaceful environment adapted for learning.

Try your best when you're learning by focusing on your work.

Believe in and be kind to yourself; it’s okay if you need help.

Just love yourself the way you are.

We use our materials carefully and for their intended purpose. 

Pick up items and put them back where they belong. 

Keep the materials clean,

so our classroom looks nice.

We encourage others. 

Let people be independent, 

and help others only when they need help. 

Be kind, no matter the circumstance, and listen, 

because everyone has a voice.

*Interestingly, the Mission Statement is still a work in progress. The class has not reached a consensus and generally feel that in EII, they are more than simply safe. If you have any ideas for a short, pithy EII Mission Statement, leave them in the comments below. Thanks!