We expect that parents teach kids social skills but more and more today kids are coming with variations of each skill. We are finding that many skills are coming from other sources includes relatives, media, and unknowing parents.

This past year I did not take a picture of our class meetings so I have used a picture from Murray White.

When I implemented a regular Friday class meeting we were able to work out many social issues that would not have dissipated as easily if we did not have the standards in place. When I started to have the recess issues that occur each year we had a class meeting. During this meeting kids volunteered their own answers to the issues we had on the playground and between friends. When the student was comfortable enough to stand up and role model the issue and a possible solution I knew that I had created an atmosphere where kids were comfortable enough to get and give help. Many of the issues we have stem from social skills learned from resources that do not agree with other families. When issues like this arise the class meeting is a great place to work out the differences. I am a firm believer that one must communicate with others to work out issues. The class meeting provides a forum for students to learn how powerful words can be and how helpful they can be.