Right now, during this Omicron surge, the question of whether schools should be in person or remote is in the news and in public debate. With the infection rate going ever higher, we have been forced to close classrooms for the first time in the pandemic. Today, the Waves are back in school, after finishing…
A date, a salutation, at least five sentences, a picture they’d like, a closing, and your name. It’s good to ask at least one question so they have something to respond to. These were the parameters of a buddy letter, as a few complaining middle schoolers explained to me. What were they complaining about? Not…
Today in the face of off-and-on rain, I gave the Rockets, our middle school class, a choice of indoor recess or chancing an outdoor recess where rain might fall. They chose indoor recess, and we left behind the normal class-level set of recess sports equipment and trooped up to the gym, where a set of…
Twenty-first-century education can not be about simply filling kids’ heads with knowledge, but rather it is about teaching them the skills and attitudes that they need to become learners. Today, through our digital connections, more information and knowledge than ever is at our fingertips. Just to read through everything on Wikipedia would take a lifetime. …
Often, when I am leading Community Meeting I ask about relationships among the different Quaker Values. For example, I might ask, “What is the relationship between Equality and Community.” When we had Meeting for Community to kick off today’s service day, we sat outside in a nearby park, surrounded by the community we had planned…
I was at the ISACS (Independent Schools Association of the Central States) Head’s conference last week. At that annual gathering, heads of schools from 18 states from Ohio to Arkansas to North Dakota gather to learn from experts, share and connect, and talk to peers from across the country. During the conference, one session touched…