Learning Community Charter School

In the Fall of 2014, LCCS launched a program called Touchstones, an innovative program with a simple premise: Students sit in a circle and discuss a famous piece of writing that addresses a complex ethical theme or issue. Out of thousands of Touchstones teachers nationwide, Shanelle Muse, who facilitates the program in 5^th grade, will be honored Dec. 12 as the Cynthia M. Barry Touchstones Teacher of the Year for 2015.

             “Shanelle was a wonderful choice for this award not only because she uses Touchstones with her students, but also because she applies the program in her work in social justice and counseling and is an exemplar of the inclusive leadership that Touchstones strives to foster in all teachers and their students.”
            -Howard Zeiderman, Cynthia M. Barry Touchstones Teacher of the Year Selection Committee and Touchstones Co-founder & President.

Teachers facilitate the discussion of Touchstones issues, but they do not lead, allowing students to guide the discourse. Previous sessions have tackled the classic French text, Democracy in Action by Alexis de Tocqueville.

              “Touchstones is the type of program that subtly moves mountains in our classroom. Implementing it has allowed the students, I as well, to openly bring our race,  religion,  moral compasses,  socioeconomic status, gender,  family values and personal experiences,  unapologetically into our classroom. 
              To have genuinely open discourse about topics such as revenge, being judgmental,  sacrifice,  forgiveness and friendship builds their cognitive thinking,  socio-behavioral skills and self confidence.  My students have become meaningfully connected as they learn to be active agents in their own education, seek and appreciate diverse perspectives, and share power and responsibility." 
- Shanelle Muse 

Last week we were honored to have visitors from Denmark, from a high school and Aaolborg University in Copenhagen.

The group was motivated to come to the U.S. to learn more about the Touchstones program, which we have used in grades 3, 5 and Middle School since this Fall. This incredible program has a simple premise: Students sit in a circle and discuss a famous piece of writing that addresses a complex ethical theme or issue.

Teachers facilitate the discussion, but do not lead it, allowing students to take the lead. This year, students have tackled issues such as “Does money cause worries,” and “Is revenge ever right?”

The scholars from Denmark wanted to learn about how to address difficult issues, particularly in multicultural settings. They were motivated, in part, because of recent terrorist attacks and how the country, which has long been racially homogenous, is starting to become more diverse.

They chose to visit LCCS because of our involvement with Touchstones as a way to think about important issues, and because of our incredible diversity. 

During their visit to LCCS they visited two Touchstone classes, one that was addressing classism and the other that was analyzing a passage of the classic French text, Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville.

 Here are some of their reflections:

“To see that 5^th graders were having these really major discussions about really large philosophical issues and concepts was interesting to see,” said Iben Jensen.

“We wanted to get an idea of whether this is something we can bring to our classrooms,” said Ulla Hojmark Jensen. “How do you encourage a democratic classroom?”

“We have a lot of challenges in our country, and we don’t really know how to talk about race and diversity. We have such a short history when it comes to diversity,” said Mira Skadegard Thorsen.
“We wanted to see how a diverse community works.”

It’s a tremendous honor that these scholars chose LCCS out of the many schools across the country that participate in Touchstones. Thanks to Ms. Muse, Mr. Coven, Ms. Klaslo, Ms. Wuerthner, and Mr. Diamond - our dedicated teachers who are making this incredible program such a success!