So as our last conversation of the day, I threw out a suggestion I had been thinking about over the weekend to my class:  What do you think would happen if we called our class meetings “family meetings” instead?  Would anything be different?   I didn’t say anything else about my thoughts related to it; I just wanted to hear what they were thinking.

Here’s what they said:

–I think it’s a good idea because in a family meeting you’re supposed to solve problems.  We usually spend alot of our time talking about the problem instead of a solution.  Calling it a family meeting would help us.

—I think family meetings are a good idea because in a family you always have to tell the truth and work together.  You’re supposed to be honest and tell what you’re thinking.  I’m not sure if we’re ready for this yet, though, because alot of people don’t say anything during our meetings.

—How can we have a family meeting if we’re not a family?  None of us are related.  (This led to a discussion–albeit a short one–about the definition of a family.)

I asked one more question and then we tabled the conversation until after Thanksgiving, so give everyone a chance to chew on it: If we want to be more like a family, and work together and care about each other as we do so, would calling our meetings “family meetings” help us do that?  Would it help remind us of our focus as we talk?

What do you think?  Is there a difference between class meetings and family meetings?  Does the name matter?  Add your comment and tell us your thoughts. 🙂