It’s that time of the year where your curriculum and proposed projects shine, untouched by actual students or the reality of life in school. We start working with our staff tomorrow, starting the community building process and introducing everyone to the Workshop Cool Aid. Oh yeah.

I’m going to begin with an icebreaker/circle activity where the group answers the following questions:
What’s your name,
what’s your grade/Position,
where have you been,
and where are you going.

I’ll make clear that they can answer any way they want, from the most literal — I’ve been to the coffee shop this morning — to the most figurative — I’ve been to the mountaintop. After we’ve gone around once, I’ll ask for a few folks to talk about the role of the Workshop School in one or both.

If one of the primary points of the opening day is to underscore how our place is different, I hope this activity asks participants to think about how they got here. Short trip? Long trip? Bumpy ride? Smooth ride?

Also part of this process is the question of how our place will help students (and staff) think about how this school will help them get where they’re going.

I like these questions so long as I make clear that they can be as high-stakes and low-stakes as people want them to be; anyone can answer and feel like they can answer without feeling vulnerable (the opposite of what was the last great book you read or questions like what was the biggest challenge you face?) Everyone has a chance to participate in the circle.

Variation one: Play Johnny Cash version of Hank Snow song, I’ve been everywhere. People would then make as long a list as they could of where they’ve been.

Variation two: Play JC song and then have folks make a list of all the schools they’ve attended, one after another.

Variation three: Have people make the list of where they’re going in the future, place after place.

Variation four: After each person says where they’re going, the person next to them describes how they’re going to help them get there.

Variation five: Have a map for folks to put a pin on all the places they’ve been. Give them one pin for a place they’d like to go.