A couple of weeks ago, two students in my room—a boy and a girl, friends who often play as part of the same group—were on the outs. Small conflicts kept erupting. On the advice of one of our parent volunteers, who had just finished a difficult recess with them, I pulled those two students aside…
With the current school year coming to an end, I know that parents are feeling excited and anxious about sending their soon to be kindergarteners off to school in the fall. Are they ready? Do they have the right skills? While many of us focus on the basics of letter and number recognition or reading…
Twice a year, our school does a day-long, intergenerational service day. The first is in October as an alternative to Columbus Day, and the second is in the Spring, on Arbor Day. For the last couple of years, these two service days have roughly mirrored their holiday. In fall, as an alternative to a holiday…
Every month, Chicago Friends School contemplates one of our Quaker values during our reflection time. This month’s Quaker value is simplicity, which is ironic in a time when simplicity, in the form of social distancing and quarantine, is being forced upon us. Simplicity is often one of the hardest values to explain to kids. Why…
I’ve been thinking a lot about trust recently. It’s a quality that suffuses our school, and it makes a difference in so many ways, both big and small. At Chicago Friends School, students move independently around the school. Yesterday, I was watching over the indoor recess, and when my group changed from the gym to…
In January, my classroom had a very nuanced reflection on the difference between equality and equity. We came to a shared understanding that equality means that no one should be treated differently because of who they are, and equity means that “everyone gets what they need to be successful in school and in their community.”…