HALB: Have A Lotta Balloons!
After many years on the job, I can safely say: Balloons make everything better. I’m not talking about birthday parties – I’m talking about teacher development and training.
Teacher Training
One of the core principles of Camp Yagilu is that we make space for the campers to lead the way. We set up a framework for them to work within, and then step back and watch them step up and succeed. Rabbi Adam Englander, Head of School, and Rabbi Yehuda Fogel, Middle School Principal, brought me in to explore that idea with the middle school teachers. I set a goal of helping the teachers find ways to do something similar in a classroom setting.
Before lecturing, though, I wanted to see if we could make it happen ourselves, right there! Thus the balloons. Each group of teachers received straws and a balloon. Using the straws, they had to keep the balloon up in the air. As they quickly discovered, it’s just as fun as it sounds – but a lot more challenging! Slowly, leaders in each group emerged and they coordinated everyone’s efforts, finally resulting in success.
After that experience, everyone was excited to discuss what had prompted leaders to step forward to organize and unite their groups. We then discussed, how can we create similar opportunities to empower our students – every day of the year! Through their own experience, the teachers understood the goal, and its benefits. We then discussed their many suggestions to implement this dynamic in their own classrooms.
Game Time
Then it was time for the students. I challenged the 6th graders with some of my best games. Long story short, we had an AWESOME time. Reverse Relay Race and Silent Geometry were two big hits. In each, students had to work with each other to come up with out-of-the-box solutions for each game. Each time, different students stepped up and lead their peers, encouraging their friends to share solutions. They then worked together to make those suggestions happen. The girls group devised an amazing system to exchange new ideas without even talking!
School is a place to learn things. In HALB that day, both the students and the teachers weren’t just learning ‘book knowledge,’ studying for their next test. They learned and practiced the skills they ALREADY need to work together and succeed in every area of life. In the end of the day, that’s what we at Yagilu – both the camp and our different workshops throughout the year for schools, families, and organizations – look to teach.
