Leading All Schools in The Middles (4th/5th)

Andrew, Madax, Gus, Jo, and Damaris leading Sports All School

It’s Middles-led All School season and the excitement is palpable in our classroom. Each week, four or five students meet with one of the teachers to plan, prepare, and then lead the All School. There’s no “All School Planning” class in our schedule, so the leaders and teacher gather in stolen minutes throughout the week. For the rest of the class, these times give us a chance to enjoy activities as a smaller group. For the leaders, the planning, postering, and visiting classrooms feel a little like we’re on a secret mission. As a teacher, leading All School is one of my favorite, and most comfort level-stretching, times of the school year. It sometimes feels like putting on a play each week.

Two weeks ago while sledding, on the Thursday before the Middles’ first All School, a student came up to me and said, “Courtney, you look stressed”. I immediately un-hunched my shoulders and explained that I had been thinking about All School. I explained that sometimes All School can require a lot of thinking and energy. She responded with, “Why? It’s not like you’re actually leading it.” At first, this comment surprised me. How could she not see all of the behind-the-scenes work teachers put into making student-led All School’s happen? I didn’t immediately see the beauty in that student’s question. Her question came from years of seeing her fellow Center School students standing up in front of a crowd, speaking into a microphone, being vulnerable, leading activities, and problem-solving in the moment. Students do all of these things every Friday morning with very little teacher support.

As teachers our job is to hold the organization, structure, and time management leading up to All School. The students hold the creativity, fun, and performance side. For me, the stress of the week comes from wanting the students to feel like they are successful and in making it easy for the audience to enjoy themselves. It’s a balancing act of supporting the leader’s fantastic ideas, knowing what is doable, and helping them feel confident in their choices. 

Below, two Middles share about their experiences leading All School. De is new to the Center School this year and just led their first All School. Millie has been attending All Schools since she was little and has been leading All Schools for the past few years.

Courtney: Do you think it's a good idea to have students lead All School?

De: Yeah for sure, because students get to plan stuff and make their own ideas, it makes All Schools fun to have students be the leaders.

Millie: I like it when kids lead All Schools. If there’s a game it’s always really fun because kids know what other kids really want to do. It’s more exciting with all the kids leading, even though it can be more chaotic, it’s still fun.

Courtney: What’s the process for how you choose the All School theme in the Middles? 

Millie: First we all come up with ideas. There aren’t a lot of rules around the ideas you can come up with. They have to be doable and you couldn’t do Dunkin Donuts or Harry Potter cause those are brands but you could do magic or donuts. So we came up with a lot of different themes and we narrowed it down by voting. Then we all voted again for which one we want to lead. And not everyone gets their first choice but you’ll probably get at least your 2nd or 3rd choice. So that’s nice because even if you don’t get the exact one you want, it won’t be one you really don’t like.

Courtney: What happens on the actual week you’re leading All School?

Millie: Well it’s the type of thing where if you aren’t paying attention, you aren’t going to get to do it. So it’s good to pay attention when the teacher is talking about what needs to be done. And you can think about little things in your part to make it match the theme. Like how Meyer used matches for Matching All School to light the Peace Candle, instead of a lighter. I thought that was a cool idea. So everyone gets a part and even if it’s not the one you want, you still get to choose how you do your part. And really all of the parts are fun.

Courtney: Is there any part in particular that you like doing?

Millie: There’s two things I really like. I like leading games and calling on people but I also like doing the peace candle cause it's fun. What’s really fun about the peace candle is finding your quote. It can be hard but you can just look up the theme and quotes, like “donut quotes” and then you can find something. 

Courtney: What was it like to lead your first All School?

De: I think I was really stressed like before the All School and with the planning but once I was up there it was more that sometimes I didn’t know what to do cause it was my first time leading All School. But I don’t really get stage fright, so for me it wasn’t like “oh no all these people are looking at me” more just feeling like what do I do now?

Courtney: How does it feel to lead All Schools?

Millie: I think it’s fun to lead All Schools and it’s a good way to practice getting people’s attention and sometimes learning what it’s like for people when you’re not paying attention. It is always fun to help lead activities and do games.

Courtney: What’s one of your favorite All School themes?

Millie: I love Talent All School cause it’s a way to learn cool things about people that you might not have known before.