A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Circle Of Courage

White Hat

(Information and Reports- Facts and Figures)

There are four aspects to the Circle of Courage- Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity

It is based on Native American child-rearing practices

The Circle of Courage aims to build up positive self esteem and behaviour and resiliency strategies in children.

Students will use the Habits of Minds of Thinking Interdependently, Finding Humour, and Striving For accuracy within the Unit.

Each multiple intelligence will be reached in the action plan.

Belonging and Generosity are the focus' of the unit.

Red Hat

(Intuition, opinion & emotion, feelings)

Children will respond really well to this because it relates to them, and also because it's talking ABOUT them. Using the two quarters of the circle of courage is a positive step because it means that children can see how they link and inter-relate. I think that it's important to talk about all the aspects of the circle of courage in the action plan- not just the focus one.

Yellow Hat

(Praise, positive aspects, why it will work)

The Circle of Courage makes kids aware of positive parts of themselves- generosity, accomplishment, belonging and independence. Using and being aware of these parts makes the kids feel good and work harder. Family, school, peers, and community are pivotal in fostering positive development in a child (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). The Circle of Courage does just that, when these things are in place children can learn to their fullest potential.

In the action plan, one of the most positive parts is how it builds into the rest of the year's plans- this is not something that the kids will do and then not think about again. The action plan and Circle of Courage really establish the students well for the rest of the year and for the rest of their lives (this is a Prep Unit)

Black Hat

(Criticism, judgement, negative aspects)

For some students the Circle of Courage could be a bit 'airy fairy'. All of the areas are very personal and for a competitive child this may not afford enough stimulation in the classroom. As the Circle of Courage tries to promote personal growth and learning as opposed to group competition or obvious comparisons between students, it is not entirely appropriate to foster a child's competitive streak.

Perhaps with older children the Circle of Courage could be seen as a little bit corny- it is therefore very important that it is introduced carefully. Consideration must also be taken when implementing this to not offend either Native Americans, or people of other races or religions. It is fairly reserved though, and this shouldn't be a major problem- just a consideration.

A negative part of the action plan is that it is very 'emotional' and not very rough and tough- some boys might get sick of it all. To combat this there will be time for play that doesn't revolve around the friendship theme- just encourages it.

Green Hat

(Alternatives, new approaches & 'everything goes', idea generation & provocations)

To implement this in a Prep classroom it may be beneficial to focus on one particular area for a whole term- instead of covering it all at the start and then just hone in one different aspects throughout the year.

When doing this with older children (middle school age) I would get kids to do a much deeper reflection on themselves. By tweaking the Circle of Courage stuff right you could use it to look at issues of attitude, peer pressure, self esteem, depression etc.

In a classroom you could either use the Circle of Courage as a basis for your whole Unit- or you could use it as an underlying part of the curriculum for the year.

With the unit it would be great to go round through the community and visit all the areas that we can belong to (sports clubs, gymnastics clubs etc). It would also be a nice idea to bring all of the students siblings in and share with the class about our families. More work on families and belonging to families would have been great as well.

Blue Hat

("Big Picture," "Conductor hat," "Meta hat," "thinking about thinking", overall process)

The process of thinking through was challenging- it was sometimes hard to fit the circle of courage ideas and the friendship ideas into one. Some weeks were focused on just one aspect of the circle of courage instead of two because other aspects were covered. I think that this is okay, and that even though I tried to change it around to accommodate them more, it was fine to have them individually and not focus on them all the time.

My thinking process and exploration for this task has been documented a bit at http://87purpleelephants.com/teachingtalia. My learning process and considerations for the students has been shaped by a few teachers and people I know. Mostly Rowena Mattiske, but also Chris Cook, and Fiona Towler. Thank- you to everyone who listened to my ideas and critiqued me. Thank you for the ideas and experiences in classrooms which have inspired me and my thinking for this assignment, and my life as a teacher.