Middle school students learn to build community by doing the little things
As the spring semester begins to unfold, middle school students continue to learn about character formation and social growth through the “doing the little things” (DTLT) initiative. Some of the DTLT lessons from the fall are beginning to bear fruit, and now Joseph Antonio, middle school principal, is challenging students to expand and deepen their repertoire of “little things.”
For example, during a recent DTLT assembly:
- Antonio opened the gathering by sharing the story of the “little things” David was doing before being called to battle Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17, David is shuttling cheese and bread back and forth from the fields to the battle lines.
- Samantha Hendrickson, middle school STEM teacher, shared how students “doing the little things” have impacted her during her first two years at Wesleyan.
- Videos from the “McDaxley Brothers” offered advice on how middle school students can appropriately enter and exit conversations with adults.
Antonio set the stage for the assembly by explaining how David’s obedience in the “little things” built habits that prepared him to defeat Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. As the youngest of eight sons, David’s role in battle was to tend sheep and bring bread and cheese to the older men in battle; however, because of his curious questions, experience protecting sheep, and faith in God, David’s “little things” led to a big opportunity to defeat Goliath. Antonio explained that while the “little things” might seem insignificant or even cheesy, these habits are helping to build men and women of character.
After Antonio’s opener, Hendrickson followed up on one of the earlier DTLT lessons on asking responsive questions in conversation. She shared how in her first year at Wesleyan, she was impressed by the number of students and faculty that asked her how she was doing. According to Hendrickson, the differentiator, though, is that so many students and faculty followed up with specific questions about how she’s doing. For example, Hendrickson had shared with some students that her daughter was learning to crawl, and a few weeks later, the same students asked for an update on how the crawling was going. The follow-up showed the unity that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12: 25 “that its parts [of the body] should have equal concern for each other” because students showed concern for Hendrickson and also demonstrated the J.O.Y. motto.
To close the assembly, students watched two videos from the “McDaxley Brothers,” played by Candler Baxley, middle school social science teacher, and Chad McDaniel, director of development. The first video offered instruction about how middle school students can avoid interrupting an adult conversation by hovering an appropriate distance away from the adults and catching one of the adult’s eyes. Because our faculty love to engage with students, they will know to invite the student into the conversation as soon as they can. Similarly, the second video shared tips for how to know when a conversation is over to avoid awkwardly lingering for too long.
The goal of the DTLT assemblies is to help students understand the why, what, and how of various expectations as they mature physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
