It's a brisk autumn morning in the rolling hills of upstate New York. A superintendent of a small, rural school in the Allegheny region of New York has invited me to “drop by for a visit.” Nearing my destination, I check my instructions: drive to the village square; pass the corner diner; follow the school signs; park by the green door; arrive by 8:30. Struggling with my briefcase and the paraphernalia that a consultant usually carries, I notice mothers with babies, an old-timer in carpenter's overalls, a man in a dark blue uniform, and a lady carrying a box of books. Voting day, I wonder?
Two bright-eyed 3rd graders escort me into the gym. The carpenter and I share a wooden bench, and I soon learn he has already made his morning rounds delivering meals to shut-ins. I think I am in the wrong place and start to gather my things, when I see the superintendent at the gym door, greeting children and teachers as they file in. He catches my eye, flashes a smile, and waves. When the children are settled, the superintendent announces “Welcome to the Morning Program.”
Pioneer Days
I feel a sense of warmth and nostalgia, and I wonder if the Morning Program in this little school will be anything like the wonderful programs I had observed in British schools a few years ago.
Andy, a 1st grader, wriggles between us on the bench. While we recite the Pledge of Allegiance together, Ramona, another 1st grader, puts her hand in mine. We sing a few patriotic songs, while Hazel, a lunchroom attendant, vigorously plays the piano.
The superintendent says he has “a big word for the day”—the word is “achievement.” Students help define the word by describing recent school achievements: “I learned all my lines for our class play,” and “I read two junior classics last week.” The superintendent reminds students that wherever he sees them—on the playground, in the lunchroom, in the corridors—he might ask them what the word of the day is and what it means.
A teacher reminds us the entire school is preparing to celebrate Pioneer Days next week. She introduces the local historical museum director who describes pioneer log cabins. The director shows scale models of log cabins and, with slides and pictures, explains the process of cutting, skidding, and drying logs. I am completely captivated. The children, kindergartners through 5th graders, attentively watch as the director and a few of the students construct a small-scale log cabin. Two men seated near me talk in low tones about long-ago days when they hauled logs from the woods with teams of horses. When the museum director overhears their comments, she asks the men to share their stories.
More activities follow. Then, as the program winds down, the school librarian holds up two new books on log cabins, which will be on a display table with one of the museum models. A parent tells us tomorrow's program will be about pioneer foods, and the superintendent thanks the “big people” for coming—mostly he calls them by name. I'm a little misty-eyed as I watch the teachers shepherd the children back to their home classrooms.
The superintendent walks over, extends his hand, and asks, “Well, how did you like our Morning Program?” Like it? I'm sorting through a flood of memories of my experiences studying Oxfordshire infant and primary schools. And I'm nearly speechless at discovering an American school that virtually duplicates the Morning Programs I had observed in the British schools.
As the superintendent and I visit over coffee in his office, I learn that he instituted the Morning Program after hearing a fellow New York superintendent, who had studied British models of schooling, sing its praises. “The Morning Program is everything I hoped it would be,” he says. “It's the happiest part of my job.”
The British Programs
- Timepieces. Daily lessons included making and using sundials, simple clock repair, how clocks work, poems and rhymes about clocks, and the history of clocks. The school's entry was transformed into a clock museum and became a learning center. Presenters included a clocksmith and clock collector.
- Wildflowers. Lessons included sowing a wildflower garden, identifying rare wild plants, studying medicinal and edible plants, learning botanical and common names for local plants, and arranging a bouquet. Presenters included a botany professor, village florist, and herbalist.
- Holiday at the Seaside. Lessons included planning a family vacation, packing a travel bag, identification of saltwater flora and fauna, safety by the sea, and keeping a journal. Presenters included a travel agent, oceanographer, and travel writer.
- Play Etiquette. Lessons included choosing teams, resolving disputes, changing rules, selecting games, and inventing new games. Presenters included a physical education teacher, school counselor, senior students, and parents.
Characteristics of the Morning Program
- A school committee—with help from the entire staff—plans the Morning Program. The committee, composed of teachers and parents, organizes a master calendar for the school year, selects program dates, chooses themes and topics related to the curriculum, and notifies teachers regarding their assignments. In schools I observed, each teacher was assigned responsibility for planning and coordinating the morning program agenda about once a month.
- Parents and community residents have standing invitations to attend Morning Programs. Schedules are posted in the schools and are advertised in school newsletters and local newspapers.
- Students play a part in making the Morning Programs work. They alternate, by classroom, greeting visitors, writing thank-you notes, setting up and putting away chairs and equipment, and leading some activities, such as pledges and songs.
- Teachers, parents, and students are encouraged to share their skills, talents, and interests in Morning Programs. For example, a head-mistress in an infant school, who was also a local expert on cultivating roses, demonstrated planting and tending a rose garden. (School children helped design and plant a school flower garden.) A physical education teacher invented and taught a new team game to adults and children on an outdoor playing green. And a sculptor in the community demonstrated using marble and alabaster in his work.
- Teachers help parents and community residents plan presentations that involve all students and hold their interest. Teachers help, for example, with organizing lessons, questioning techniques, and using media equipment.
- Morning Programs may be one-time lessons or a series of lessons on a topic. For example, a one-time program taught children how to phone for help in an emergency. During a series of lessons, children learned about several foreign currencies.
- Morning Programs usually involve students as active learners. For example, children may sketch along with an artist, assist a pet groomer, or classify specimens with a geologist.
- The purpose of the Morning Program is clearly learning, not entertainment. Topics are derived from the curriculum and are developed so all students and adults learn. Back in their classrooms, teachers reinforce the lessons through additional studies, examples, and discussions.
All in all, the Morning Program is rather easy to implement and manage. In fact, once the system is under way, it becomes a natural part of the instructional program. The programs are cost-effective—a lot of learning takes place for the small sums needed for supplies. The programs are site-based—designed and managed by school building personnel who know the students, curriculum, and local resources.
But, other than the administrative ease and efficiency, there are more reasons to consider adopting a Morning Program. Perhaps the feelings associated with the program mean as much as the facts. In the programs I observed, parents and community residents—the watercolor artists, auto mechanics, gardeners, doll collectors, chemists, and others—are welcomed and valued in the schools. They are given real roles in curriculum and instruction—as planners, teachers, and participants. The culture of the school focuses on learning; the climate of the school is wholesome and cooperative. And the school becomes a community of learners of all ages.
