Meeting on Citizenship an inspiration
The meeting on citizenship held at the Sullivan School on Monday, Nov. 15, was a bit of a departure for the CPC. Instead of focusing on a problem, we were able to highlight some great citizenship-building programs that are in place across the city. First of all, State Senator Steve Panagiotakos spoke about what it takes to be a good citizen: helping others, speaking out against injustice, trying hard in school and honoring veterans. (He added voting as a key responsibility for older citizens).
Using the topic of "Citizenship" as a springboard, representatives from four different schools talked about how they try to build better citizenship skills in their schools. Working from the premise that a good citizen must feel sense of personal responsibility as well a wider sense of belonging to a community, the schools use such techniques as "Morning Meetings", "All-School Meetings", "Citizen of the Month" awards and other activities to help students become more motivated and take responsibility for their own behavior.
We also heard about "Making Meaning," a program which is being used in all K-6 classrooms this year. "Making Meaning" seeks to incorporate social skills into the read aloud portion of the balanced literacy program. Children learn right away what is expected of them during the read aloud and there are opportunities to discuss the rules, set goals and reflect on progress. It makes sense. Instead of ignoring the fact that all children don't bring the same social skills to school with them, "Making Meaning" helps teachers deal with the problems in a constructive fashion.
It was great to have students and administrators from the MacAvinnue, the Murkland, the McAuliffe and, of course, our host school, the Sullivan at our meeting to explain and illustrate what they are doing to promote citizenship for students. We also had the pleasure of hearing the UML Strings program perform before our meeting. They played four selections and did a great job. It was all part of an inspiring, positive evening. If you weren't able to attend, tune into Lowell Educational Television (LET), Channel 22, for a rebroadcast.
Using the topic of "Citizenship" as a springboard, representatives from four different schools talked about how they try to build better citizenship skills in their schools. Working from the premise that a good citizen must feel sense of personal responsibility as well a wider sense of belonging to a community, the schools use such techniques as "Morning Meetings", "All-School Meetings", "Citizen of the Month" awards and other activities to help students become more motivated and take responsibility for their own behavior.
We also heard about "Making Meaning," a program which is being used in all K-6 classrooms this year. "Making Meaning" seeks to incorporate social skills into the read aloud portion of the balanced literacy program. Children learn right away what is expected of them during the read aloud and there are opportunities to discuss the rules, set goals and reflect on progress. It makes sense. Instead of ignoring the fact that all children don't bring the same social skills to school with them, "Making Meaning" helps teachers deal with the problems in a constructive fashion.
It was great to have students and administrators from the MacAvinnue, the Murkland, the McAuliffe and, of course, our host school, the Sullivan at our meeting to explain and illustrate what they are doing to promote citizenship for students. We also had the pleasure of hearing the UML Strings program perform before our meeting. They played four selections and did a great job. It was all part of an inspiring, positive evening. If you weren't able to attend, tune into Lowell Educational Television (LET), Channel 22, for a rebroadcast.
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