Mover Monday | A Sudden Display of Vulnerability

Happy Monday, MTDubberz! This week's Mover Monday features three great PeaceMovers and their classroom experiences. Take a snapshot look into three different classrooms spread out across the east coast! Enjoy!   

PeaceMover Paula Olson has a successful Share Out with her third and fourth graders at Center City PCS, Shaw Campus! 

Before the Share Out, my students came to me very nervous to perform in front of their peers and families. A normally seemingly overconfident group, I was taken aback by their sudden display of vulnerability. My students normally take any opportunity in class to "rush their youth" by expressing actualities or opinions beyond their years. This reminded me that indeed they were all still children, going through periods in which they question their self-confidence. It also reminded me why I choose to do this, reinforcing the importance of Move This World and the need to foster this sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem in children while creating opportunities for kids to be kids.  Before the performance began, I was able to speak to my students and encourage them to be confident in themselves. They decided they were able to do their speaking parts, and they ended up performing amazingly. I was really proud of the students and ended the semester on a great note.

PeaceMover Alejandra Paucar reflects on her experiences working with seventh and eighth graders at New World Prep Charter School in New York.

The boys were really killing it today with the dances! We were going over the hub dances and after a while of running those dances, they asked if we could do some free-style dancing. When I put on a favorite song, they all got in a circle and started to take turns dancing. Some of the boys were incredible, and all boys were confident in their abilities. All of them cheered on and laughed with each other, regardless of skill level. It was a really great session. 

PeaceMover Tim Webster finds a way to make an impact on his students' everyday actions. Check out these kindergarteners and first graders of Staten Island Community Charter School applying MTW concepts beyond their MTW sessions!  

Several weeks ago I introduced a "time-out" gesture as a way for one student to stop another from talking to him or her at an inappropriate time.  It is a way of saying, "I'm not ignoring you, but let's talk later." The teacher of this class said the students were using the gesture last week during their state testing.  It's nice to hear that what we do is branching out beyond our sessions.

Mover Monday | Making Music

Hey MTDubberz! Here at Move This World we think on our feet, adjust to unforeseen obstacles, get creative, and make our own music! Today's Mover Monday features an anecdote from PeaceMover, Komal Thakkar. Read about how Komal gracefully overcame the hurdles she faced in the classroom!

The night before my third session, I made sure to have my curriculum printed out and all of my activities planned. I had packed everything I needed and was ready to tackle the day's lessons as soon as I got into my classrooms. Halfway through my first and second grade classroom, my speakers stopped working in the middle our activity. I quickly tried to address the problem, but once I realized my speakers weren't going to cooperate, I unplugged them and hoped my laptop would work. Unfortunately, the sound stopped working on my laptop too. 

While some kids inquired about why the music went out and I lost the attention of others, panic mode kicked in. I still had thirty minutes left, and we were supposed to play freeze dance as a reward if they behaved well. I switched gears to do another activity and get their attention back, all the while trying to figure out what to do. My singing voice isn't exactly American Idol status, so that definitely wasn't an option. I decided to put dance education to good use, after all, this is a movement based program. I asked them how they would like to create their own rhythm, and when they all agreed, I led them in a series of rhythmic exercises. We stomped our feet, snapped our fingers, and clapped our hands to different patterns in order to create various sounds to make music of our own using movement. A technical difficulty turned into a pretty successful session!

Mover Monday | Update from Europe

What's up, MTDubberz! Today's Mover Monday is going to be a little different... it's in German! European PeaceMover, Gisela Zeindlinger, talks about a recent workshop she facilitated. This workshop was her first one with children instead of adults. Below you'll find Gisela's story about her experience. We've also included an English translation underneath the cut. We hope you have an excellent week. Don't forget to Move This World!

Meine Eindrücke vom ersten Workshop waren sehr positiv.

Die Kinder haben mit Begeisterung mitgemacht, ihre Freude an der Bewegung war vom ersten Moment an spürbar. Vor dem Workshop hatte ich leichte Befürchtungen, dass es schwierig werden könnte, ihnen Antworten auf verschiedene Fragen zu entlocken. Da uns die Klassenlehrerin noch vor Sprachbarrieren gewarnt hat, dachte ich es könnten vielleicht Probleme auftreten das Thema „Vielfalt schätzen“ zu kommunizieren. Die Schüler waren aber mit Aufmerksamkeit bei den verschiedenen Übungen dabei und freuten sich etwas beitragen zu können.

Mir wurde klar, wie wichtig es ist, konkrete, für Kinder greifbare Beispiele zu liefern und alles so bildhaft wie möglich zu beschreiben. Dadurch ist es uns, glaube ich, ganz gut gelungen, den Schülern die Botschaft verständlich zu machen.


My impressions of my first workshop were very positive.

The children took part with great enthusiasm and you could see that they were loving the dance from the very beginning. Before the workshop, I was a bit worried that it might be difficult to elicit answers to questions from the kids. The class teacher had told us that there were a number of pupils who spoke very little German, and so I thought it might be pretty difficult to convey our message and explain to them what it means to “appreciate diversity.” However, the pupils were very attentive for all the exercises and were really happy to be able to contribute to the workshop.

This workshop made me realise just how important it is to give children concrete examples and to explain everything as vividly as possible. By doing this during the workshop, I think that we were able to communicate our message to the children very clearly.

Mover Monday | A Lasting Impact

Happy Monday, MTDubberz! We hope you had a great weekend and hopefully it's warm where you are! Today's Mover Monday comes from Amanda D'Annucci, U.S. Program Director. Her story is an inspiring anecdote about the lasting impact of MTW. Check it out:

Yesterday I walked into a room filled with 60 students at The Renaissance Charter School in Queens, NY. I was there to facilitate an introductory workshop for Move This World. I stepped in front of the group and said, "If you can hear my voice clap once." They all immediately clapped and were silent as if they knew what was coming next.

I then asked, "Has anyone heard about Move This World before?"

All but three students raised their hands. I said, "Ok, great! Can anyone tell me what Move This World does?" Their responses took my breath away.

One student in particular said, "Move This World taught me that instead of getting angry and hitting someone, to walk away and drink a glass of water. Miss Kim taught me that."

As she said, "drink a glass of water," she lifted up her arm and pretended to gulp. The other students in the room followed her lead. She had participated in two semesters of our program the year prior. She hadn't taken a workshop, a class, or been directly exposed to the organization since then, and yet she still remembered the anger management strategies we taught her along with the movements that correlated with them.

Personally, I have facilitated and observed thousands of students participating in Move This World programming. Yesterday's workshop made me further realize that no matter if we work with students for one hour or their entire academic career, we are making a difference. We Move This World.

Every person we meet impacts our lives, whether it's large or small. What was the last thing you did that you didn't realize had a lasting impact on someone? When's the last time someone made an impact in your life (with or without realizing it)?

Mover Monday | Expressions of Empathy

Happy Monday, MTDubberz! We hope your weekend was amazing! Today's Mover Monday features another three stories from PeaceMovers' experiences in the classroom. Today's stories all feature moments of empathy and compassion from kids to one another and to their PeaceMover. These moments go to show you that empathy can be shown in even the smallest moments. Enjoy!

Mairead Dougherty (December 6, 2012, Halstead Academy): I asked the class what an agreement was and they all had great answers. One little boy's answer was, "An agreement is when you're dancing and your friend wants to do a jump and you want to do a turn, so you agree to combine them and do a jumping turn."

Denasha Bullock (January 29, 2013, Smothers Elementary w/ Literacy Lab): One student could not think of a dance move to lead us in a little exercise I did to keep them moving. The other students immediately tried to help her and make her feel comfortable. It was really wonderful to see.

Kate DiGerolamo (December 19, 2012, PS 87): Working with kids has always left me with alternating feelings of fulfillment and insecurity. Knowing that you are doing something that may positively change a child's life is incredibly rewarding, but not knowing if you are actually doing that doesn't always come easy. Working for Move This World has brought with it the same mix of satisfaction and anxiety for me. I want to think that my students are loving the program and benefitting from it as much as I do, but there are times when I'm not sure. Thankfully, there have been lots of little moments where I have been sure, and those are the moments that keep me going. One small moment in particular had a big impact for me during my first semester as a PeaceMover.

I was standing in the hallway with a line of kids waiting to go into the gym for their ShareOut, a show for their parents and friends to see what the kids learned in our sessions. It was a pretty hectic time and I was feeling a little bit nervous and stressed out as this was my first ShareOut, too. I was talking to two little girls at the end of the line and asking them how they felt. They told me they were excited and happy, and I admitted to them that I was feeling a little bit nervous. Then I looked at them and said, "Do you have any ideas about how I could calm down?" I wasn't really sure what kind of answer I was going to get. We had gone over all of the strategies for managing emotions in our classes, but I wasn't sure how well they would be able to remember them and apply them to real situations. One girl said, "Take three deep breaths!" Immediately the other said, "No, no, it's FIVE deep breaths!" They discussed this, settled on five deep breaths, and then took five deep breaths with me to help me calm down. I was so touched not only by the fact that they remembered one of the strategies, but also that they were so excited to help me, and so pleased when I thanked them and assured them that their strategy helped. And you know what? Taking those deep breaths really did make me feel better.

Mover Monday | Stories from the Classroom

Happy Monday, MTDubberz! We hope you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to a wonderful week. Today we have PeaceMover stories directly from the classroom, showing the empathy and change-making abilities of children. 

Paula Olson (January 16, 2013, Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy): We discussed the recent tragic shootings in our nation and spoke openly about our feelings. Most students expressed great sadness and fear about these events. We paused for a moment of silent reflection. One student expressed his feelings, saying he was "over it." This student was also disruptive during silent reflection. Another student was quick to retort, "We can never be 'over it,'" and that this comment was rude and insensitive. The rest of the group agreed. I was very proud of her and the other students for being brave enough to voice their fear and sadness. I was thankful that this expression of vulnerability was shown.

Lauren Dizon (January 16, 2013, IS 302): One student surprisingly took charge of the classroom during his turn to teach a beat. He separated the group in two and designated each group a certain move. He had both groups perform their beats to the song "We Will Rock You." He then started singing the song while his classmates supported him with the beat! It was amazing to see one of the students take charge of the class and see his peers respect him and follow his directions.

Chrissy Ziccarelli (January 9, 2013, CentroNia): I'd been warned that one student in particular had a very bad temper and I shouldn't correct him or even use his name in a negative tone, but I was also told he loved dancing. From the minute the music came on, he was moving and off in his own little world. He was not disruptive and was very eager to show off a move to his classmates at any time there was an opportunity. He was a great reminder that kids (and people) express themselves in different ways, and the more modes of expression you have, the more equipped you are to appropriately and safely communicate with others.

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to Move This World!