First Graders Embrace Opportunity to Teach U.S. Officials

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Yesterday was a big day in Miss Snyder’s classroom.

Oh, I’m Miss Snyder. 🙂

As you may know if you’ve read my About Me, or know me personally, I am a teacher. I have been teaching for 4 years now and I currently teach first grade. I have 23 first graders in my classroom this year. But yesterday, the number of people in my room nearly doubled.
Why?
Federal officials came to visit my school to observe the PBIS and Restorative Practices we have in place, and my principal chose my room to showcase my students’ community building circle. Representatives from the United States Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General’s Office sat in my room to not only observe, but participate in, my class’ daily circle time, which my first graders simply call: Morning Meeting.

Yup, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sat in my classroom yesterday.

source: Rachael Pacella/Capital Gazette

She, and the other representatives (Beth Williams, Elinore McCance-Katz, and Christopher Krebs), sat in my circle and met my wonderful, enthusiastic, school-loving students. DeVos declined a chair and chose to sit on the rug with me and the kids. All four representatives participated in our community building circle. The class’ superhero of the day chose the morning’s greeting, “hola” and a fist bump, and every child and adult was greeted by the person to their right as we moved around the circle. We read the morning message together, and then I posed our daily “Question of the Day”. DeVos and the others not only listened to my students’ answers, but gave answers of their own as well.

source: Twitter/@BetsyDeVosED

I asked my students to close their eyes and think about a time a classmate was kind to them this week, and how that made them feel. Students then opened their eyes, and put a thumb up if they wanted to share. Students spoke about how classmates cheered them up when they were crying, played with them when no one else would at recess, and so forth. We then spoke about the importance of being a good friend to others. Catch a quick glimpse of our meeting here!

And there was media coverage. Do you know how hard it is to keep 23 six and seven year olds quiet and focused when there is a large group of well-dressed strangers in your room, let alone when a bunch have videocameras?

My class actually did an excellent job! I am so incredibly proud of them. I prepped them ahead of time so that they knew there would be a lot of people standing in our room with cameras, walking around, and taking photos. The students were respectful, friendly, and calm (I, on the other hand, was very nervous!).
You may be asking the same question I did when I first heard about this important- and rare- public school visit.
Why this school?

source: unknown

Well, this was the commission’s first field visit; there will be more. The US representatives began a “commission” in the wake of all this school violence. According to CNN’s article, DeVos explained: “It was part of the Trump administration’s response to the deadly February shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.” They wanted to visit a PBIS school to see and hear what educators are doing on the inside to strengthen relationships, provide leadership, and ultimately create respectful, kind, and caring individuals who have a plethora of healthy coping mechanisms- and therefore, won’t feel the need to act out in an aggressive or dangerous manner towards others. The focus of this field visit was on school climate.

My school implements PBIS very well, and so our school’s name got thrown into the mix. We’re a very large and diverse school, and able to accommodate a large group/meeting. That is basically the long and the short of it. And the students were more than excited to welcome them!
My students hail from every corner of the earth: Egypt, Ghana, Pakistan, Mexico, and more. I was thrilled that Secretary DeVos took the time to come visit our first grade classroom in Anne Arundel County, MD. I was pleased that my amazing students were able to give her a glimpse of life in public education- and show how positive and strong our relationships are with one another. Let’s be honest: my students had no idea who these people were. It didn’t matter. They knew we were hosting guests, and my students welcome anyone and everyone into our circle. They are eager to share their beloved morning routine with others. After all, they are the Super Snyder Students. Every year I strive to foster a safe, healthy, and fun environment for my students- and this year’s group truly embraces one another’s differences and supports each other.
Later in the meeting, I asked the group if they would rather live in Antarctica or Africa- and why. I began, and explained that I’d choose Africa because I enjoy warm weather and I’d like to see the wildlife over there. DeVos also chose Africa, and stated that she “likes people”; Antarctica doesn’t have many of those! As we continued around the circle, most participants chose Africa because of the weather, the animals, the vibrant colors, etc. However, our school principal, Mrs. Blasingame-White, chose Antarctica! She hopes to go on a cruise there one day.

source: Juana Summers/CNN

In a tweet, Secretary DeVos said, “I loved joining the community circle to see how the students are helping build positive, supportive environments that create a safe school climate.” If my class was able to shed some light on the strengths and needs of public schools, change her (or anyone’s!) perspective on education, and possibly influence a future bill or law- that is something huge. And I will take any chance I can get to make a [small] difference in the future of public education in the USA.
After participating in my room’s community building circle, the commission then visited three other first grade classrooms before attending a meeting where they discussed PBIS and school climate. You can watch the video of the meeting that took place at my school during the commission’s first field visit here.

Once the meeting ended, the representatives wanted to take a picture with the four educators they’d observed, the school’s PBIS Lead, and the school principal. I feel as though it was a very successful visit. DeVos tweeted that she came to “see how a public school in Maryland has implemented Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports to improve their school climate. Fostering a supportive culture is an important way to enhance school safety.” Trump essentially wanted his newly-formed commission to explore ways to curb the recurring violence in schools, and I feel that we showed them how PBIS is, without a doubt, part of that puzzle. It is not the answer to all problems by any means.

But, this visit was not a political event and it was not a time to debate gun control. The goal was to discuss school safety: relationships, expectations, and overall climate of public schools. As I said, I am just happy we were able to show her, and the other members of the commission, how hard educators and students work in schools- not only to learn math, reading and science- but also to forge positive, meaningful connections with others and become global, digital citizens and leaders.

When I was 5 years old, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.

21 years later, I still know that I want to be a teacher.

It is the most rewarding profession in the entire world.

This field visit was a positive first step in the right direction. What do you hope the commission learns from its future visits? What changes do you hope to see in public education? Can the U.S. learn something from school systems in other countries?

Comment below! 🙂

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