When Rep. Mike Bishop visited Light of the World Academy in Pinckney last week, it was much more than your run-of-the-mill visit by a politician.
He didn’t just read a book to some kindergartners or explain to some middle-school kids how a bill becomes a law. He wasn’t just there to smile for pictures and admire the pretty artwork in the hallways.
Just like the students, Congressman Bishop was there to learn.
Bishop had made a promise to visit Light of the World Academy following an extraordinary meeting he had in March in Washington, D.C., with a group of middle-school students from the school.
The meeting took place on March 14, the same day the student protests and walkouts were taking place around the country, including on the lawn of Bishop’s place of business, the U.S. Capitol.
Bishop was beyond impressed when he heard the students start to talk about their Montessori charter school’s unique approach to social and emotional education. He heard of how Light of the World Academy puts just as much emphasis on a child’s social and emotional learning as they do on their math and science learning.
You can’t learn if you don’t feel loved and safe at school, and if you feel loved and safe at school, you’re going to be a lot less likely to lash out violently at some point in your life.
In a nutshell, when Bishop heard all this – and when he heard directly from the students how well it works – he figured he was on to something. He knew this could be one more piece to the puzzle.
“Do you know what you all just did? You just came in here with a solution,” he said to the students that day in Washington. “My wheels are spinning right now.”
So the Congressman made a promise to visit Light of the World Academy real soon to find out more. He wanted to see for himself how this school managed to weave social and emotional education in to everything they do.
On April 23, he made good on the promise. He came to Pinckney to get a first-hand look at Light of the World Academy, and it was a remarkable visit. They had an hour blocked out on the Congressman’s schedule for the visit, but he ended up staying much longer.
Every time Bishop’s staff tried to remind him that it was time to leave, the Congressman informed the staff that he wasn’t ready to go yet. He wanted to learn more.
He toured a kindergarten class and a grades 3-4 class, observing how they integrate social and emotional education at each level. Then he went to the middle-school wing and reunited with some of the students he had met in D.C.
They all sat down in a circle – just like they do in every Montessori classroom – and Congressman Bishop became one of the students. He did a little bit of talking, but he mostly did a lot of listening.
He was there to learn.
The students who had been at Light of the World Academy (a K-8 school) for their entire academic career explained how they’ve been learning social and emotional education since the beginning. The students who were new to the school explained how it was different here.
“School should be a place where you aren’t afraid – where you can be yourself,” one student said. “In the past few schools I’ve been in, it was every man for himself. You were on your own. At this school, we talk through our problems and don’t move on until it’s solved.”
Another student talked about how Light of the World Academy brings out the best in her.
“There are creative kids everywhere, in every school,” she said. “I think the adults and people in charge of this school make the effort to bring it out of the kids.”
One of the teachers talked about how the students themselves are empowered to solve problems that pop up.
“When we have a problem, we take it to the kids,” she said. “We ask them, ‘How can you help us solve the problem?’ ”
Bishop sat and listened and took it all in, and offered up his take.
“What I’m seeing here is a real civility,” he said. “I’m surrounded by people everywhere that aren’t civil. I’m fascinated by all of you, and what I’m seeing and hearing is beyond words.”
And with that, Bishop’s staff told him that it was really time to go, so he thanked the students for what they’d given him.
“You’ve given me so much to think about,” he said. “This is inspirational.”
So the question becomes: What now?
Bishop was clearly moved and inspired by what he heard in Washington and what he saw in Pinckney. Now he’s trying to figure out what to do with it all. What can the federal government do to help promote the social and emotional education that our students need – the kind of education they’re getting at Light of the World Academy?
That’s the next step, and everyone is of the belief that this wasn’t just a feel-good school visit. Mike Bishop, the students, the school staff, everyone – they’re all working to make sure that something real and tangible comes out of all this.
So at Bishop’s request, the staff at Light of the World Academy is putting together some practical suggestions of what can be done. Such things as allowing federal Title dollars to be used to train teachers in this kind of education. Ideas like that.
If anything tangible comes out of this – if just one piece of federal policy is changed as a result of Mike Bishop’s visit to Light of the World Academy – these students will know that they were a part of something that made our country just a little bit better.
And how wonderful would that be?
