Every week when they arrive at Science Adventure School, students are responsible for deciding which good traits, qualities, and behaviors that they would like to uphold during the week. This list becomes what we call a Full Value Contract, or FVC. The students write these expectations on a blank white bandana, then sign their name and agree to uphold the FVC.
One week, I decided to have my students vote on who they thought did a good job at showing some of the traits on the Full Value Contract. The student with the most votes got to hold onto the FVC bandana for a while, before passing it to another deserving student. In this particular group, there was a boy, Corey, who didn’t really speak much—maybe one to three words at a time. His teacher and friends said that he was like this at school all the time. At the end of the second day, this quiet boy was chosen to hold the FVC. The person who chose him explained why they picked him, and the whole group cheered and clapped and all talked about how great he was. “You deserve it, Corey!” His smile was so big.
I could really see that this moment helped Corey get out of his shell, and I think it really made his week. From then on out, he spoke in longer sentences and would talk to me and other staff more, as well. I saw him come to the program very reserved and not really talking to anyone, but by the end I could tell that he made some friends and was stepping outside of his comfort zone in a really great way.
Written by Ashley Shannon, SAS Guide