How we Organise Ourselves

Whole School: How We Organise Ourselves

"Inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment."

As part of our multi-age, and year long, Unit of Inquiry embedding participatory democratic processes with the children, our child led committees have researched and inquired into their areas of interest, they have discussed possible actions, and many are ready to bring forward these ideas to the whole school for voting.  

Before any vote can be taken, the ideas are shared, discussed and debated, and perspectives are considered.

Child Led Sustainability Committee

The first group to share their potential action was our Sustainability Committee, who had two potential actions for discussion. The first was a set of signs to alert everyone in our community where the compost is, and where the shared gardens are. This was positively received, and overwhelmingly voted up as a terrific action.

The second caused a little more debate. Should the committee write to Classroom Cuisine to request that Preshil would no longer accept the soy sauce fish containers, that are routinely included with the sushi orders. Instead, it was proposed that each classroom would have a bottle of soy sauce for children to use. 

During our consideration of this idea, there was some concern over portion sizing, as too much soy sauce is definitely too much! A second concern discussed was regarding the cleanliness of a shared soy sauce bottle. Could this be a risk?

With many children sharing their thinking, we decided to vote on the action, and if it were passed, then we would  commit to monitoring the concerns raised to see if these could be managed by our children. Given the opportunity to review this proposed change,  again, this idea was voted up.

It is testament to our children that this difficult process of giving voice to all, open debate and discussion was engaged in with such positivity and acceptance. It is always remarkable, the capacity of our children to respectfully disagree, or offer personal concerns in front of the whole Arlington community. We are courageous indeed. 

Going Forward

In the next weeks, many of our committees will be sharing the initiatives they have been inquiring into to the Whole School for consideration. These committees include: 

• Shared lunches, 
• Hut Alley, 
• Animals and Enclosures
• Gardens and Grounds
• Events and Fundraising
• Situational Art
• Indoor Clubs & Library
• P.E and outdoor games

We look forward to more robust discussions, and to building our identity as a community sharing responsibilities and care for our Arlington.

"What we do as a small society within a school community will shape and influence profoundly the sense of self-in-community that our children will carry into their adult lives."

Courage, 2010