Sensational Sylvia

There were several points that Sylvia Allen made in her presentation that made me a believer. I was instantly on board when she said that 90% of classroom management is dissolved when a teacher holds morning meetings. What an incredible concept! Just that one piece of advice alone was worth a million dollars. It works because the students feel safe and successful. It is a place where students can talk things through and teachers can bring things up that may need attention. Morning meetings are successful also for academics. I loved the memorization part of morning meeting. Learning poems helped the student's self esteem realizing they can memorize, just by saying it everyday. The story she told about the boy who was unsuccessful year after year brought tears to my eyes. He was finally successful because Mrs. Allen knew morning meeting was a pivotal time in the day that could not be ignored. Just yesterday, I ran into a teacher I used to work with. Her comment was that she could barely keep her head above water because classes and demands are bigger than ever. I wanted to exclaim with excitement, "Did you have a morning meeting?" This is a must for my future classroom.