Simulation

Day 64. 30 days left and counting. Can’t believe how fast this is going, one of my classes ends next week (Giants, which is sad) and the other two end the week after that. It’s crunch time.
This week has been good; Rachel and I had the best class we’ve ever had on Tuesday. It was at Giants (no surprise there). We’d just gone over Habit 6 from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which is synergy, so we wanted to create a situation where they could experience some. This called for my favorite thing in the whole wide world (or one of them): a simulation. We walked into class Tuesday looking somber. We engaged in a little small talk before we started, but we remained reserved. Some of the members were late, but instead of starting I said, “Let’s wait. There’s something important I need to talk with you about, and I want everyone to be here.” When they’d arrived, I started. “I don’t know how to really say this,” I began, “But the administration wants to shut us down. They don’t feel like these classes are beneficial to you as teachers; basically they think you’re wasting you’re time here. They’ve given us one chance. If we can write a mission statement (they’d all had practice writing personal mission statements from Habit 2) for this class that explains the purpose of this class and why it’s beneficial to you I think they’ll let us keep going. But the catch is that Rachel and I can’t help, they want to know what you think, not what we think.” I let that sink in for a minute. They all looked stunned, like I’d slapped them across the face. Robert shook his head and said, “It’s simple; we can do it.” But he looked like he’d just been hit by a truck. Sambuze looked like he was about to cry. Godfrey was the first to recover, he busted out is notebook and started asking specifically what was needed in the mission statement and writing notes, getting organized. That sparked Sambuze out of his daze and he said, “Ok, we need to appoint a secretary.” I was so proud of them. But I wasn’t done. “Everyone take a deep breath. This is a simulation.” Up to that point the tension in the room was palpable. When I said that though, they all smiled and started laughing with relief. But I got back on them, “Take what you felt when you thought this was real, and use it, cause this is real. You have an hour. We’ll be outside. Godfrey, you’re chairman.” They had an hour (an hour and ten minutes actually, they asked for an extension and I decided to give it to them [hint-hint, Mr. Jensen, stop ending simulations early!]), and they did it. There was something of each of them in it, and they’d come together on all of it; not a single word did any of them feel unsure about. They were-and are-all behind it. I wanted so bad to be in there, to experience it with them, but I know my presence would be a distraction; this was something they had do on their own. The debrief was awesome, I wish I had enough time to describe it all to you. Just briefly, they talked about how at first, everyone wanted their own ideas, their own words, basically their own document. But they knew they needed one, so they pulled together, looking at their differences of opinions as opportunities rather than problems, and slowly, steadily, they forged together. They listened; they understood; they thought; they grew. I was so proud of them. The highlight came from Godfrey. “When you put me in charge, I didn’t think I could do it. But I can. I can.”