Chocolate, problem solving, and personhood…

This week, a 6 year old student brought a large thermos of thick hot chocolate to share with folks at school. There’s time for that here. There’s space in the day for the excitement of unexpected treats - not rewards, but, rather, shared delights.

One of our teens took up the task of helping to problem solve the cup situation. We do have some disposable cups in our storage area for events, but there didn’t seem to be a call to dip into those supplies when we had some small reusable cups in the kitchen. So, everyone who wanted hot chocolate had to agree to wash out their cup after they used it in order to get some. Deal.

The chocolate was thick and delicious - there were very positive reports coming back from the outside where the hot chocolate was shared at the patio table. And sure enough each student of every age brought their cup, heavily coated in the thick Spanish chocolate, to the sink to clean.

The step stool was located and three younger students in particular turned it into a game at the sink, helping each other to remember things like using soap and fully rinsing out the cup. It may have been the first experience of handwashing a dish for some of them as they weren’t quite sure what to do with the cup after washing it and the drain rack appeared to be a novelty.

In another school environment an adult would have likely taken over, handing out disposable cups and maybe even collecting them afterward to dispose of them. The hot chocolate would have been just as tasty to drink, but perhaps not as satisfying in other ways. We feel there needs to be this time and space for problem solving and cooperation. The planning and the follow up aren’t incidental but rather integral to the full experience of being a person. And that’s what we’re practicing here - being a person.

Our Sudbury youth practice personhood in small and large ways that add up to that confidence and competence our graduates consistently report feeling and enjoying in their lives. Sometimes that happens in challenging ways - and sometimes it’s as sweet as thick hot chocolate. ❤️