Village Free School Communication Tools
By Kathy Crisp
Our wonderful, messy, experimental school is many things to many people. We are friends, family, coworkers, customers, teachers, students; we are the building and crafting of relationships. And we’re really good at it. There are many ways to communicate - verbally, physically, collaboratively, symbolically, you name it. We have developed many tools, beyond email, to facilitate the building of caring, intentional relationships and over the years these tools have been fine-tuned and continue to evolve through communicating with each other.
Pink Ropes – we use pink ropes to let each other know that someone is actively working on whatever is inside the circle of rope. It is an explicit agreement that what has been surrounded will be respected by others in the community.
Stop Seriously - This phrase has proven useful for communicating when a boundary has been crossed. We use it as a first step in saying what we need from each other to feel taken care of when things get rough.
Mediation – Arguably our most valuable mechanism for communicating, we believe strongly in conflict resolution. We take and give the time that is required to hear each other, speak our piece, and find a way to the other side. This is the work required to be in relationship.
All School Meeting - All School Meeting, or ASM is our main decision making body of the school. We gather to make decisions about the things that matter to the people who attend.
Student Couch – This group of people meets weekly to address the awarenesses brought during Morning Meeting. Awarenesses are issues that may not require a new rule or change in process but need acknowledgment and possibly a cultural shift to address.
Letter B hand signal – This is a simple tool we use to let each other know that we are waiting for people to stop talking, in order to begin a meeting. It can save the facilitator from raising their voice for quiet.
Signs/ Posters – This is possibly the most popular tool used at VFS. Our halls, walls and windows are covered in signs that are telling, asking, selling, and/or persuading. If you want someone to know something, make a sign. The kids’ll read it.
Touch – There is power in touch. We hug each other at VFS. We sit together, we roughhouse, we give piggy back rides. Important communicating happens through touch and we fully embrace that!
As a school, we operate best when we are in communication and relationship together. We try out new things, address current issues, and generally share our values by being in healthy, respectful communication. At any point, with any problem, if we can just talk it out, we can find our way through.