A School's Culture: Through the Eyes of Them

This story is a little non-fiction and a lot fiction. It integrates what I have discovered from talking to my students, what happened to me growing up with moving so frequently, and what I imagine someone would be going through after Harvey. I never had to rebuild after a hurricane, but fires and earthquakes shaped my landscape. Either way, changing schools is hard any way you look at it. School culture impacts these fragile students as soon as they enter the building. As a teacher, I constantly am reminded, with every new face that enters my classroom, that they may put on a brave face, but inside they are vulnerable and scared. I am determined to make connections with every student as soon as I meet them. I want them to feel that what they hear about our school is true, we are a safe, positive place to learn.

Observation and Imagination 

The alarm clock chimes....6:00 am. Just enough time for them to grab a quick shower and bite to eat, before they head out to the bus stop. It feels so normal in a way, getting ready for school, yet so foreign, almost surreal, after what they just went through. They sit, eating a banana, imagining this new school is happy and fun. They are a bit worried, fretting about meeting new people, they often struggle to fit in.

A new living arrangement, new hand me downs, a fresh layer of both anticipation and anxiety. They make their way to a corner, inhabited by the 'regulars', they seem comfortable there. Several different groups have formed, each with a different energy. The bus stop is their first impression of the populace, so far so good, they think, no one has noticed me yet. It is a warm September morning, and the dialogue is centered around, whose house flooded and whose didn't. They are comparing notes.

While some are in conversation, others are new to this arena, like themselves, and are standing alone, hesitant to join the crowd. They, just stand quietly, listening, noticing that these kids have gone through the same thing they have. They braved a hurricane, lost their possessions and are still unsure of their near future, but they know for today, they are attending school.

They have heard good things about this school, but to them it is just hearsay. They won't feel comfortable until they have made it to all their classes, met their teachers and know that they are safe. They are mere observers right now, perched just on the outskirts waiting for eye contact to lure them in. They imagine making a friend today. They miss their usual, normal routine. The familiar faces they are used to.

The Wider View

The building looks huge, as the bus rolls into the back-parking lot. They scan their surroundings, noticing just a few trailers. Their old school had many, almost lining the practice field. It is still dark out; the lights are clouded by a thin layer of fog. For a moment, it feels mysterious and they have the urge to turn and run in the other direction. They don't. They keep walking with the crowd, they still have not been acknowledged. Then as they are funneled through the main doors, a smiling face is greeting students as they enter. Students are hugging one another and several adults that are in the main entrance hall. 

They stop in their tracks. Causing several students to collide behind them. A gentle reach, a friendly repositioning and before them, leaning down, a sympathetic, loving face, eye contact, and kind words. Somehow, they know I am new here, they think. They continue to smile, "Welcome, we are so happy you are here today," this puts them at ease. They feel a connection to this place instantly. They feel relieved and calmer. Now all they must do is find the strength to speak. "Thank you," they say shyly. "Can I help you find your classroom?" "Thank you, that would be cool." The day begins for them, not with an adult leading them down the hallway, but a fellow student. They have just met their first friend.

A Strange New World

That first day is long behind them. It is the week before Thanksgiving. They have made many friends. Their teachers know them by name, make eye contact and most of them are jovial and happy. Some classrooms are boring, but they muddle through. Others are full of life: every student a giant pine, spreading its branches. Creating a forest through the trees. Collectively, sheltering one another and working collaboratively to keep the dense forest alive and thriving. It is these habitats they appreciate. Forests prosper and flourish because of the relationships, the balance, the equilibrium. This harmony is constantly challenged, it needs work to maintain itself, but somehow it progresses, if it is left alone to do so. This school to them, feels like a giant forest, evergreen and ever mindful.

This school where they have found a niche, a personal terrain, is a positive one. There are places where the energy can be negative. There are bullies, but they are recognized, like predators and are dealt with. There is no territory that is perfect. There will always be mean people. Unfriendly people. But, here, the mindful, nice people, far outweigh the negative ones. This is felt everywhere. Especially in the hallways as they are addressed at every doorway and in their classrooms where teachers have expectations and are consistent with their behavior. This creates a familiarity both comforting and secure. 

The most important aspects of a positive school culture, for them, is acceptance, acknowledgement and awareness. All of which permeate these hallways. But, in their eyes, there is room for improvement. A forest can only prevent blight and deforestation, if it never takes its survival for granted. A school’s culture can only blossom and expand if its strength becomes galvanized in continual community and character driven interaction. If doors are open, adults are smiling and networking; with students and each other. There needs to be a symbiosis both endearing and welcoming that takes place. Each member connected in a web of positivity.

Nature's Tapestry: A School's Culture

A school, like nature, is a living, breathing entity. Each part integral to its survival. A cacophony, of noise, focus and ideas, swirling and integrating. The vibration of many thoughts, forming one. A chain reaction of cause and effect. While some are privileged, others hindered. While some flourish, others struggle. This disadvantage can occur, not only by lack of monetary means. But, just as devastatingly, by a disregard of mindful awareness. 

This blight, disregard and disassociation, ravishes the vegetation causing a trophic cascade, a destructiveness seemingly irreversible. A mildew that creeps in often unnoticed. This infestation is silence, seeped in negativity. A contamination of spirit. A scourge not only damaging the flow of energy, but the will to overcome its halting. If we remain quiet when such an affliction occurs, we allow it to devour us from the inside out. We must take a deep look at our culture, every day. We must eliminate the pessimism. Extinguish the annulling, invalidating speech. Once the words are spoken they poison joy and corrupt even the most idealistic of people.

However, with the reintroduction of key stone species' and balancing factors, a healing process can provide a rebirth. Even the smallest of changes can cause a positive domino effect. Remember that first moment when they entered the building? They were put at ease by the genuine, honest words of a fellow student. This needs to occur every day, like a circadian rhythm.

Adults need this same encouragement. If the reticence is replaced by generosity, the spread of negativity will wane. In the immortal words of Phil Collins "You can't hurry love." No matter how long it takes, you must keep trying. It is give and take. It is words and action. It is a flow of energy, like in that thriving forest, where every organism plays a part. You remove a prominent species and collapse is imminent. Heal the habitat and the ecosystem will recover. It all starts with a choice: one to make a difference.

The Next Chapter

The bell rings and as students pack up for the holiday break, they are excited to have a week off. They look around their classroom and remember the first time they entered it, all those months ago. They feel comfortable here. Safe here. The hearsay was right, they smile, they exit the room in a pack of friends. They make their way down the hallway and out to the bus.

The building doesn't feel so big now. They wave goodbye to their friends and make their way to their bus. Several teachers and administrators are gathered nearby. "Have a great Thanksgiving," they say with a joyful smile. "We will see you in a week." They return the gesture with a "You too." and with no anxiety, they happily climb aboard. Knowing when they return, this safe haven will welcome them with open arms.