Combining two classes into one “super class” (soon to be dubbed ‘the community’), came with many organizational hurdles. A natural solution seemed to be to meet in the morning, together, as a community. Matt and Nicky would have a list of “discussion items” and reminders that we would talk about each day. This discussion was teacher-led in every aspect - we held the power… we created the list of content to be shared, we stood at the front of the room and shared it, we asked everyone to be quiet, listen carefully, and write down important items in their agendas. One morning, a particularly vocal student named Leon, was chatting with his friend Larry during our “morning meeting”. Out of frustration and as a last resort, Matt turned to him and said “Leon, do you want to do this, because I would much rather be chatting with Larry about my weekend too?” to which he replied, “uhhh… okay!” Calling Matt’s bluff, Leon walked to the front of the room, sat down at the computer, and started sharing the content with his classmates. Although it started as a joke, the room fell silent and the engagement level increased dramatically as Leon moved through the items.

We were flabbergasted… The shift in power from “teacher” to “facilitator” was immediately evident. If students could run the morning meeting, what else could they do without us dictating over them? From that day forward, a student has run our “Morning Meeting”... every… single… day. Not only that, but the morning meeting has evolved from a “list” accessible to only teachers, to a Google Slide deck accessible by every member of our community, where every voice can be heard, every thought or idea can be shared, and every ridiculous YouTube video can be compiled. HELLO, student agency!