Students (and teachers) are surrounded by noise. They go from one activity-filled day to another, with classes, sports practice, homework, constant stimulation through various media – television, radio, computers, telephones, mobile telephones (of all the infernal devices), etc. Most of the students are with the same group of chatty kids all day long, in every single class, plus lunch! They get tired of their classmates' (and teachers') constant chatter, and they need some peace and quiet.
We burn kids out on structure. The schedule dictates that, at a certain time of day, they do a certain thing. At another time, the schedule dictates another thing. The Peace and Quiet Club would let students use all-too-rare quiet time to read for pleasure, write creatively, draw, work puzzles, think or pray, as they choose. No computers or other electronics; recharge by unplugging.
Because the students can use the time for a variety of thoughtful activities without distraction, what they learn depends upon what interests they choose to pursue. They choose the books they want to read, the stories/poems/letters they write, the pictures they draw, etc. Such self-directed, creative, quiet time lets students pursue their own passions without dictation from an authority figure - an opportunity all-too-rare in schools.
"Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together."
- Thomas Carlyle, writer, philosopher, historian, mathematician, teacher, translator
"True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
- Sir William Penn, Founder of Pennsylvania
Do you need a place free of noise and distraction, where you can read, write, draw, think or pray? Join the Peace and Quiet Club. Come in peace.
Meeting Days - Thursday
Sponsor: Mr. De Graaf