Two journalers, one journal page. How exciting is that?
I'm thrilled to share a new set of journal pages created in collaboration with Derek Tellier, a dedicated 5th and 6th grade teacher, journaler, thinker about the world today and young people's experience of it, and a huge supporter of his students' learning and growth.
We began our journal project with the understanding that recognizing good things about ourselves and our efforts doesn't always come easily or naturally. It takes time, effort, patience, and courage to reflect on our abilities and accomplishments and to share them with the people around us.
So why not make it a team effort? Why not create a journal experience that encourages positive exchanges of observations between journalers on the things they do and make?
The result is a set of pages made for swapping.
It begins very much like previous journal adventures, with a set of prompts inviting you to write about one thing you do well or know how to make.
Here's the twist:
After you describe your process for doing or making your thing, you hand your page to a second journaler who is invited to add their reflections before passing the page back to you for some final thoughts.
Derek's students have been enthusiastic participants every step of the way. They worked through early versions of these pages, providing feedback on their experiences and suggestions for improvement.
Here's what they've said along the way:
Filling this out made me realize how many things I don't realize.
I found it a bit challenging, cause when we look at ourselves, it's hard to tell what you're good at. This made us really look at what we have done, and how we do it. I like this because it makes us more aware of who we are.
I thought it was kind of cool because at first I didn't know what I was good at, so I wrote the first thing that came to mind and how other people thought on how I did that made it easier to understand that I'm better at doing that thing than I thought I was.
They're already asking when we'll have more journal pages ready for them!
Derek’s classroom
Derek Tellier
We won't be running out of ideas for new pages anytime soon! This project has opened the door to other exciting avenues of exploration around meaningful feedback, the impact of words, and asking constructive questions.
For now though, these pages still feel very much like works in progress. We'd love for you to try them with your class, discussion group, or meeting participants. They work with groups of any size, but all it really takes is two or more journalers to get the ball rolling.
If you don't have a group in mind, invite your best friend, colleague, parent, or child to write with you. I've journaled both pages with my 14-year-old daughter and we ended up having fascinating discussions about the things we love to do and make.
And please let us know how it goes!
We'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback and suggestions on making these pages the best they can be. Send us a note or leave a quick comment below anytime.
You'll find both pages all ready for download right here.*
We hope they’ll spark delightful insights and fantastic conversations!
*This page is offered in two sizes: letter and A4.