Rock, Paper, Scissors

In a homeroom today I saw an incredible thing, totally engaged students. The community building activity was team rock, paper, scissors. Two different classes were pitted against one another. Potentially this could lead to some serious competition that is not entirely healthy, and also a lack of engagement and participation. Both can be scary. However, Tyler addressed this right away: “Remember last Friday, some of you didn’t play and lots of people were disappointed. Play at your own level. Even if that’s walking, play at your own level.” This took the unfriendly competition out of it, the potential lack of engagement, and the student fear that maybe they can’t play well enough. Everyone played. Tyler held everyone responsible for the same things, and placed all students at the same level regardless of skill. It was a great debriefing right off the bat, and worked well as an authentic opportunity and performance for all.