by Sara Viveiros, Middle School Language & Literature and Learning Support Teacher at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington Rhode Island
Like many other middle school teachers, I work with students at a time in their lives when emotions are high, conflicts are frequent, drama is plentiful and leadership skills are lacking. Adolescence isn’t for the faint of heart. The transition from elementary to middle school is a difficult one, particularly following years of online learning due to Covid. Many of our students spent some of their formative years socializing entirely behind a computer screen.
I began last year concerned about my 8th grade students in particular. I worried that they were not prepared to enter high school with all of its added complexities. They would be going into bigger classes with (likely) bigger problems.
I had attended the gcLi Leadership Lab in the summer of ‘23, and I proposed an idea to school leaders: a Leadership Workshop for the 8th grade. It was a brave endeavor.
When we first began students were guarded. It was evident to me that even though many of them had spent the last several years together, they weren’t ready for a class like this. They were unwilling to be vulnerable in front of their peers. For those unfamiliar with preteens, vulnerability and expressing feelings isn’t exactly cool. They wanted to impress one another and were always trying to get a laugh. This frequently led to disruptive behaviors. Our first lesson was derailed several times, and I worked hard to bring us back to the topic at hand. I was met with the dreaded question, “Is this mandatory?” more than once.
We persisted.
We set Thursday mornings as our designated time together. We began by establishing our community norms. We collectively decided what guidelines we wanted to operate under. The students collaborated and formulated a list. We collectively decided how we wanted to demonstrate respect towards others, our space, and the work. Our norms were put up on our classroom wall and referenced frequently. We made it through Step 1.
As our weeks together went on our time was spent interviewing one another, talking with one another, and learning about one another beyond our favorite colors. We examined case studies and role played scenarios. We talked about managing uncomfortable and unfair social situations. We practiced disagreeing respectfully and listening to understand instead of just waiting to speak. We worked on being mindful not to interrupt one another. We took note of Tuckman’s stages of development (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning) and considered ways that we could work together more effectively in the future. We talked about the benefits of diversity and acknowledged the various leadership qualities that we each brought to the space. We spent a significant amount of our time together reflecting. Students each had their own journal and used it to write about their experiences, their own feelings, what they were grateful for, what they appreciated about the workshop and what they wished would be different.
Perhaps the most impactful part of our Leadership Workshop were the Open Sessions. After weeks of reinforcing our community norms, establishing meaningful relationships, and engaging in important discussions students decided that they were ready and willing to share what was on their hearts.
I shared the guidelines for Open Sessions and emphasized that the situations or events shared in writing could be public or entirely anonymous. I emphasized the importance of maintaining a safe space and reminded students that what was shared during Open Session was intended for our group only.
Students began to write about the joys and sorrows within their own lives. Some shared the conflicts they were experiencing with friends or family, others wrote about their stressors with school or sports, some shared their aspirations. Some students still remained guarded and asked me not to share what they had written.
To those who did share we offered wisdom, compassion and asked clarifying questions. Students were entirely present during these sessions and were eager to support their peers. We moved from a space that was guarded with high tensions, to one that was trusting and safe. Those that didn’t want to share were still able to watch and experience this shift in our group dynamic.
I watched as my 8th graders went from looking for a leader to follow, to becoming leaders themselves. I was hopeful that they would take what they learned from the Leadership Workshop and apply it to other areas of their lives.
They did.
Two weeks ago, I transitioned from working with the 8th Grade, to working with the 7th. I explained that the class was no longer a requirement, and that they were now free to use their advisory period to join other clubs and groups. I thought that they would be excited. I was waiting for the “yes!” after my announcement, but it didn’t come.
On Thursday, during our regular meeting time, I had a few students come to my classroom with a request. “Can we work on asking for a change in cell-phone policy with you?” I told them that they were welcome to discuss it with me and I would be happy to hear what they were hoping to present to the school leaders. The students asked if they could tell the rest of the students that the space was still available for Leadership Workshop.
“Sure,” I said.
A couple of minutes later, they were all back in my classroom. Not one or two students, but the entire 8th Grade. They were collaborating, drafting an email, really listening to one another, encouraging others’ ideas. I also noticed that their guards were down. They were less preoccupied with appearing a certain way, and instead, they were enjoying just being with each other. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. Were these really the same kids that I taught back in September?
I hated being the bearer of bad news, but I interjected to remind them that although they were working hard on a presentation to the Assistant Director of the Middle School, their request for extra time on their cell phones (during lunch and breaks) might ultimately still be denied.
They responded without any frustration. They acknowledged that their plan might not work out as they had hoped, and they had the tools to deal with the disappointment. I was amazed. They were demonstrating so many leadership qualities. Not only had these students learned how to work together towards making a change, they knew how they were going to manage their reactions if the final decision wasn’t the one they wanted.
As they were walking out of my room and thanking me for my time, I realized that I no longer had the same worries about them entering high school. I know that something resonated with them during that workshop.
The gcLi Leadership Lab and its strategies really work.
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Sara Viveiros is a Middle School Language & Literature and Learning Support Teacher at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, Rhode Island. Prior to moving to the United States, Sara taught elementary school in Alberta, Canada. Sara graduated from the gcLi Leadership Lab in June 2023 and was a recipient of the gcLi Leadership Grant. She recently completed her Master’s Degree in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.