In the EW, the teachers theorized that it was easier for the children to discuss difficult situations when they occurred to someone else. We introduced ‘persona dolls’ and have incorporated them into the classroom. Their names are Jane, Jill, Hector, and Sylvester. I shrunk images of them down to use as story props in the Communication Center to see if the children had incorporated some of the strategies we’ve discussed when faced with challenging situations.
One strategy is to introduce a daily mantra that has to do with our school community. The children use this word throughout the day and the teachers refer to this word when facilitating their discussions. Today’s word was ‘welcome’.
These strategies also include asking for more information, noticing how our words or actions make the other person feel, and taking on the other person’s perspective. Isla and Archer created a scenario similar to their own experiences. In their story, Archer, via Jane, is listening to headphones and Isla, via Jill, asks to listen too. Archer (Jane) says NO!
