According to a recent article in Nice News, starting each class with a brief conversation has produced amazing results at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Atlanta. The strategy is to build relationships with and among students before opening a textbook. “One of the first things we did was change our entire instructional framework,” Principal Kimberly Sewell told CBS News Atlanta. “Every class, every day, our teachers start with connection before content. For 30 seconds, we ask students something simple, like their favorite pizza topping or what makes them happy.” Since adopting the approach two years ago, discipline referrals have dropped by about 50%, attendance has increased, and more students are choosing to resolve conflicts through conversation instead of physical altercations.
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