There was an issue to be solved and a solution to present even before word of the problem hit Cheryl’s ears. The Owls, the eldest students at ROCS, did not like sitting on the wooden stools during class time. They all preferred the more comfortable wooden backed chairs. The problem: there were not enough of these chairs, which resulted in daily conflict amongst the Owls. The solution: ask Cheryl (School Manager) to buy more wooden backed chairs.

Cheryl’s response was very pragmatic. “No, they are too expensive. But, I will buy you more stools for the room and then…no more conflict.”

The Owls declined; they really wanted the chairs. Hence, a process proceeded (and continues) that included a Student Community Meeting, Monday afternoon, during lunchtime.

From the outside, this meeting may not seem like anything awe-inspiring. In fact, one student, when told I was writing this, commented that, “It probably won’t be a very interesting story.” Who would want to read about a student meeting entailing the purchasing of chairs? But often times, that’s just it. We don’t realize quite how special what we’re doing is, until we see it from someone else’s perspective.

Cheryl mentioned that these student meetings aren’t very different from the ROCS board meetings. Sure, they tend to get more off topic, but the purpose and the process is the same. They have gathered together to discuss issues in their community and they will use a democratic process to take action.

This was the second of these “chair” meetings. The first had taken place on Friday with the 2-day students. Prior to Friday’s meeting, the Owls had dutifully prepared. They had already picked out replacement chairs. These were red plastic ones, that individually, costs less than the wooden ones, but on the whole would still be expensive because …to avoid conflict… all the wooden seats would need to be replaced.

“But what if we buy them and don’t like them?”

The company was called to confirm the shipping costs of returning the chairs and relayed back to the Owls: $84. The Owls were okay with that. Now it was just a matter of coming up with the funds: a whooping $702.

There were the sounds of astonished children at the mention of this number to Monday’s group. Even for many adults, the idea of spending $700 dollars is nothing to take lightly.  It was said that the student body has a budget of $900 dollars to use this year – whether to purchase playground equipment, donate to a cause, use for a field trip, etc. Not being previously aware that a budget existed solely to be used at the student’s discretion was a whole other fact for some to consider.

But wait. As with any good story, there are always twists and turns. In this case, they are called “updates.”

“A couple of updates,” began Cheryl in front of the student body sitting quietly munching apples and opening thermoses. “Number 1, there were only 8 [wooden backed] chairs, right? in Anne’s room?  So we needed to buy 6 more because we have to have 14 chairs. Turns out there were two in Kali’s room.” She writes these numbers on a giant steno pad stuck to the wall.

Everything is written out, explained, depicted so that nothing is lost and the conversation can be easily followed.  Later, ideas dictated by the students are also written on these pads of paper. Seeing them written, knowing they are heard, will help the students understand their ideas are important.

The second update, since they only need 4 chairs now to complete the wooden backed set, Brian, the Director of Administration at First UU, had some ideas. Cheryl had discussed the issue with him, as the chairs and the classrooms were all the property of the church and being rented by ROCS. As Cheryl pointed out to the group, it’s important to talk to those also sharing the space when making a decision. Brian came to the meeting and gave his proposals.

“All stools, what do you think about that?”

A resounding “Noooo.” Not to mention, (but they mentioned it) that such an option had already been covered.

“Alright, alright. One of thoughts I had was that the chairs that are in there, Cheryl told me that they’re comfortable for you; that you like them you just don’t have enough of them, is that right?

“Yeah!”

“And I thought, well, it’d be nice if the chairs matched. What if we just bought some new chairs for y’all and shared the cost?”

The amount of info shared and needing considered at this point was substantial. Some students had only heard of the chair debacle today, while others, specifically the Owls, had spent a considerable amount of time on it already. They had researched new chairs, figured out costs, and even made presentations, such as the one below, depicting ways they could earn the money.  It was obvious that splitting the cost with the church was the way to go. But how the students were going to pay for their part of the cost ( now around $450) was still up for discussion. A vote took place.

The voting process looked like this: Eyes covered or closed, a hand raised if voting yes, and kept down if voting no. The choices: Do you use the full amount from the student budget to buy the chairs? Do you fundraise the whole amount and use none of the budget? Or do you do a combination and take some from the budget and fundraise the rest?

One of the things that impressed me most was how every one had an open ear, and many, a raised hand. All the students were there, immersed in a process that is vital to any successful community. Some might not have seen the importance of it, but others took it quite seriously. Some were very eager to share their ideas and opinions, while others just listened.

Similar to Friday’s vote, most wanted to take some money from the budget, and fundraise the rest. From there, Cheryl spent the remainder of the meeting writing down the flow of ideas pouring from the group about how they could fundraise the money. Magic and Robot Technology were eventually crossed off the list, but they still got written down.

I don’t know what the outcome of this meeting will be. Narrowing down the exact money ratio and which fundraising ideas to use will be done later as a vote on paper. And then of course, they still have to do the actual work of making the money to buy the chairs.

However, I do know this: The student’s accomplished a great deal at this meeting. They have witnessed and been part of a process that will serve them well now and in the future.  They will know someday (if they don’t know already), the power of collaboration, the strength of community, and the value of democracy.

-Celeste Irving, ROCS parent