It Really Does Take A Village (or A Community)
The kids high-five Catherine Stine on their way in, say hello, grab their notebooks, sit down, and get to work.
Silently.
All of them.
I’m gonna be honest: I’ve never seen anything like it. Granted, her class at Animo Leadership in Lennox is small, only 18 students. But still, at least outwardly, these appear to be normal teenagers, all of whom have walked in, rolled up their metaphorical sleeves and gotten down to business.
I mean, I’ve heard about situations like this. I know I was always supposed to make this happen. But in truth, there were always stragglers, doodlers, chatters, whisperers. Even in the most compliant classes, there were one or two daydreamers. Not here. Every single student is completely engaged in the work.
I’m on a roll. A couple of days ago, I was at Harvard-Westlake, where I watched Jeremy Michaelson lead the most engaged class I’d ever seen, a vivacious group of 15 kids calling out enthusiastic answers to every question. But Harvard-Westlake, you could argue, has perhaps the most privileged population in Los Angeles, an overwhelmingly white, upper-middle class group of students who have enjoyed every advantage. Here at Animo
