session # 5 - 10 weeks
I J
a iN I S L A N D pR T
M G A R city O ec
Y
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ShIPWrECK
After the second class we transitioned from building the imaginary city to inhabiting an imaginary ISLAND. We did so by staging a shipwreck where the kids were cast ashore to an island where they and a trunk of art supplies were the only survivors! We felt that the island set up provided a more tangible place for them to identify with as theirs facilitating them to self-govern and develop their culture.
Artem begins to build after the shipwreck. All the materials found in the trunk were placed on top of the table.
Materials: cardboard boxes, various types of fabrics, writing utensils, paper, tape, lot's of yarn, wire, scissors, glue sticks, chalk, and some miscellaneous objects.
STORM!
Two major storms hit the island as the lights switched on and off, rain poured out as sound waves from the speakers, and thunder roared with stomps and claps. The inhabitants quickly worked on their shelters for protection. The storms were important provocations that brought lots of excitement and motivated the children to work together.
Visitors
As the sun shinned and dried up all the rain, visitors (the facilitators) arrived on the island and were greeted by a sign made by Artem that read, "Welcome to teamwork island." Intrigued by the new settlement the visitors explored the peaceful place and asked the inhabitants all sorts of questions.
Visitor: What have been your greatest challenges so far?
Artem: Surviving the two storms.
Visitor: And are there any predators?
Gaven: the only predators here are sharks, but (he bursts with joy)
we have freedom!"
(short excerpt from a video transcript of the visit)
Video still of Artem celebrating with fire works made out of rubber bands!
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Gaven rejoicing the freedom on the island.
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The pirate, the old tree, and the oracle
On the second day, three figures appeared for the islanders: a pirate, an old tree, and an oracle. The pirate traded goods with the islanders, the old tree helped by giving advice when needed, and the oracle forecasted the weather. These figures provided a safe point of departure for the facilitators to actively engage with the islanders without being in the traditional teacher role.
Nini trading with the pirate.
The old tree warns the islanders not to trade all their goods with the pirate.
Desmond attentively works on the boat.
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The storms continued to pass by the island.
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Who controls the weather?
Desmond created a weather reader that determined the weather on the island. Before the invention of this device the facilitators were the ones who controlled the weather. When the islanders could do this independently a lot of discussion broke out about who could change the weather and when. This indicated a significant shift towards an island governed more by the children!
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Do we need laws?
Business cards and a Code of Law were made when some on the island where absent. A meeting was called in order to show and explain these to all the participants in the following class.
First General Assembly transcript
15 minute discussion
Participants: Nini (9), Desmond (9), Joana (26), Artem (8), Gaven (7), Martina (24), Marina (31), Michelle (7), Ermina (5)
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Des: And then finally I’ve got mine (he picks up his business card). The signature is in pencil.
Martina: And what does it say? Des: if you look closely… Martina: Oh, Des, and here are your roles. Des: Yes, Inventor and Judge. Some of them have more then one side Martina: uhhmm Artem: (reading a business card) Artist, Potter Marina: Artist, Potter, and I can see Builder Des: then we have this (picking up the code of Laws) I signed my name at the very bottom. Marina: Can I read for Artem and Ermina, and for everyone? Laws: No red balloons, no use of hammers without permission, no tennis balls except in games, no weapons, no swords fights, no hunting other people, don’t mess with the clock and weather reader, don’t insult people, and then it says Des’s name. So, does it say your name because you wrote this? Or… Des: Well… Nini: That’s because he’s the judge and I’m kind of his assistant ( Nini is Des’s sister) Des: Do you like how I added a little swirl on the s” (on his business card) Marina: Yes, I noticed that, that seems to be your trademark in your letter writing Martina: I have a question, how did you come about being the judge? Des: Well… Gavin: Why can’t everyone be a judge? Nini: There where people who seemed to be breaking the rules. They where carrying big sticks and having sword fights with them, and we didn’t like the very much so Desmond said we should write laws so that they wouldn’t do that. Marina: So, it was a series of steps yeah? So something happened, he made laws, and then now we are having an assembly and I heard one voice say: (Marina looks around for someone to complete her phrase) Martina: Can we have more than one judge? Gavin: Yeah, can everyone be the judge of their own? Like, can anyone be the judge only for themselves? Martina: Do you think that is a practical idea? That each person is responsible for their own actions? Why do you think that’s a good idea? Artem: Yes, because it’s not like others actions, its like your own actions, like, whatever you, its not like people control what you think Martina: So, what’s a solution for this? Should we have one judge, a bunch of judges? Gavin: A bunch of judges! Nini: I think that the teachers should be the judges Marina: Do we need a vote assembly? Unanimous no Gavin: Everyone is going to be a judge of their own Marina: What if it gets crazy? (pause) What happens? Do we agree that the laws are good? These rules. Nini: The reason we don’t let people have red balloons is because they were using them as bombs Des: Or, they were popping them Nini: And throwing them at people then they would pop and that wasn’t very nice Marina: Artem, let’s think what you can do too. It doesn’t have to be right now, it can come. Des: The rules on use of the hammer is because hammers are dangerous Nini: And, we were thinking some people may want to use them for a weapon or something and we wanted to make sure that they have permission to use them just as hammers Gavin: So, who do you ask permission if you guys are the judge? How would you ask someone? |
Marina: Who would they ask?
Gavin: Yeah Marina: That’s a good question right Artem (he nods back in agreement) Des: I’m also bring out permission slips Martina: What were you going to say Artem? Artem: I was wondering about… why tennis balls in games? Nini: Well, because there where people who were throwing them Des: Tennis balls are hard and they could be dangerous Marina: If somebody makes a permission slip for a game purposes, what that be allowed? I’m asking the community right now. Des: I think that would work Marina: Artem, do you have a reason why you asking about the tennis balls? Do you want to use them? Artem: No, I was curious Marina: Because we did miss something. I missed that they were dangerous. Nini: Desmond thinks that almost everything is dangerous Des: Nooo Artem: Cars are dangerous Nini: He did not want sharp pencil points. I told him that was ridiculous Joana: So, what happens when the judge does something ridiculous? Let’s say Des says he is the judge right, and then what happens, what happens Gavin? Gavin: What happens if the judge breaks the law? Joana: What happens? Marina: That’s a good question. Artem: You’ll go to jail Joana: But, who says the judge will go to jail if he is the judge? Artem: (smiling) His self Nini: By the way the jail is just at the bottom of the steps (she’s points towards the door) Martina: So there is a jail now? I wasn’t here for that Nini: You’ll only stay there for a few minutes and then we let you out Martina: Who puts someone in jail? Nini: We don’t know. If someone breaks rules you have to go to jail. Gavin: What happens if everyone breaks the rules at the same time? How do you get them in jail? (giggles) Artem: Everyone goes to jail and then waits and then nobody is in town. (everyone begins talking over each other) Gavin: What happens if you two (pointing at Nini and Des) break the law? Nini: If we break the law the rest of you would have to tell us to go to jail Marina: Oh, a jury Marina: So, maybe we are all part of the jury Des: The only law that seems a bit weird is no “red balloons.” Joana: Now that there are no red balloons in the space that is why I think Des is saying that it's weird Nini: There were red balloons last week Joana: There was a party here Des: Since the law is written in pen we can’t remove that… Martina: Are there any laws you think should be added to this list? Nini, Gavin, or Artem, or Michael? Des: we would need to add another page Joana: Or laws that need to be removed like the red balloons, maybe that’s a bit silly Artem: Yeah Gavin: I think we should do, um, every ones their judge, of their own Martina: So everyone writes their own laws? Gavin: Yeah, because everyone can’t read each others minds, they don’t have special powers |
Nini: I have an objection. What if some peoples laws are not as good as other peoples laws? What if someone has the wrong laws and the other has the right laws?
Des: If everyone has laws it gets confusing Nini: Because someone might tell a person to obey their laws and they have to go to jail when the persons laws says that they didn’t have to go Joana: Yeah, that’s a wonderful point. Gavin, Artem, what do you have to say to that? Gavin: Umm, I don’t know Martina: What if there are contradictory laws? Like someone says throwing balloons is okay and the other person says its not. Nini: If someone throws a balloon then we don’t know who goes to jail, or what happens. Des: Yeah, so, there should only be one code of law Martina: Okay, so since we have established the one set of laws, maybe we can discuss each law and see if we Nini: We can make more of them, I’ll get another card to write them down Joana: I think they should be bigger Gavin: I think we don’t need laws Martina: You don’t need laws? Artem: Yeah, me too! Marina: What if things get unsafe? What if things just get too confusing? Do you ever think there are certain points that we should have some laws? Joana: But, I think maybe, what I would suggest, to be with them on not having laws, maybe there is another form of governance. Maybe we can come up with, like, a code of conduct that is not necessarily laws or rules. Gavin: Maybe we can have a government vote Nini: We can vote on what laws to have and what laws to not, and people can think up their own laws if they think that there is something that is not being covered. We vote, if you want the law you raise your hand, if you don’t want the law you keep it down Gavin: Maybe we need to vote for the judge Joana: We are such a small group of people, what if we all know what the laws are, in our minds, and in that way we trust each other because we are talking about them right now. Marina: Did you hear what he said? Martina: The reason you made the laws… Nini: The reason we made the laws was because before people weren’t obeying any law. They were just dong their thing. Marina: I wasn’t here, was there a vote Gavin: (answers before she can finish) No Marina: Was there a vote on a common judge? What no? Gavin: There was no vote Des: We just decided, is the truth Martina: And, do you think that is fair? That only two people decide? Gavin: (who has walked over to the hammer and is using it) look I have the hammer Joana: Look, Gavin’s using the hammer Nini: Get the wooden one, it’s better Des: I think it’s a bit more safe. Now where’s that clear tape? Marina: Interesting While the kids disperse in the room Joana continues to discuss with Marina and Martina Joana: I was thinking of a school that has no laws, but is based upon trust, and you focus on core values rather than laws. Maybe, we can try to introduce this idea next assembly. |
Activities on the Island
A consensus was not reached whether the island should have laws or not. Two islanders strongly felt that they where necessary while two other islanders did not. Despite this disagreement, activity on the island continued to flourish. The islanders drew a pool using blue chalk for them to swim and have fun competitions, they experimented with inventions such as the telephone, they made maps and landscape paintings of the island, a print shop was set up, the suns energy was used to cook, they learnt how to sew, and worked with clay to make beautiful pottery, they came up with new games to play, and collaborated on a book that recounts the story on the island.
Some participants did leave the island during class and worked on other projects such as Artem's and Gaven's stop motion animations or Gaven's paper chandelier heart for his mother. The island was theirs, and they could stay or leave.
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Nini and Ermina collaborated on the book. Nini wrote all the text and Ermina did the illustrations.
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