Students need to belong — and at Aaron Cohn Middle School, they do
If we were playing soccer, I might be a first round pick.
Dodgeball might find me in the second round. But basketball, well, I’d probably become a free agent with my fingers crossed to be chosen at all. Team picking time at recess was tough when I was growing up. That 30-minute time slot became a daily rite of passage, and I’m sure most of us can identify with the sweaty-palmed anticipation of hearing our name called as a captain’s choice. No one wanted to be chosen last, but everyone wanted to be at least…chosen.
It’s because needing to belong to a team is innate inside us. It’s true in most species of the animal kingdom. Lions have their pride, chickens their brood, dolphins their pod and hyenas their cackles.
Humans, well, we have our teams. Think about how many “teams” we belong to in our lives: our families, our churches, our cliques at work, our sororities, our drinking buddies, our book clubs — the list goes on.
We desire, more than anything, to belong and feel connected. In a world full of so much isolation and hate, now more than ever, our most beloved treasures, our kids, are desperately hungry for the sense of safety and comfort a “team” affords them.
Our schools can become that safe-haven. There are countless creative teachers across our great city who are offering our children fun ways to meet their natural inclinations to belong to a collection of like-minded peers. And Aaron Cohn Middle School is a pioneer leading the charge to create a holistic way for students to feel connected.
When Aaron Cohn’s prolific girls’ soccer coach Karissa Branch visited an Atlanta school that divides its student body into Houses (or teams) as a means of forming powerful connections, she came back with the same passion and energy she uses on the sideline of her city championship team. Her gumption was contagious, and the entire staff has created a really neat House system that pays creative respect to the namesake of the school, the Honorable, Judge Aaron Cohn.
The staff pooled their imaginations to create four Houses, named with the language of law (Latin): House Ignis, House Magnitudo, House Bellator and House Monticola. The school colors of orange, white, black, and gray identify each House, and the teachers created crests, creeds, mottos and values to assist in creating an overall spirit of connection for the student body.
Students are randomly separated into Houses, and instant comradely is born. Students can earn points for their House for academics, athletics, behavior, extracurricular activities, attendance and out of school activities, which stirs up a little friendly competition and further develops the team mentality within the school. The result has been powerful.
The folks at ACMS have caught on to something that has been proven to enhance a child’s engagement in the learning process. They’ve made learning and going to school different and fun. The fine folks at Aaron Cohn have met the natural need of their students, a need we all have. And that’s what the education profession is in the business of nowadays – meeting the needs of kids far beyond academics.
So, my heart smiles, because I bet most of the kids over at ACMS don’t have sweaty palms at team-picking time. They already belong to something greater than themselves, and that’s a cool feeling to have.
This story was originally published July 2, 2018 at 3:30 PM.