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…
I spent the first period of this day with our middle school students and teachers, talking through yesterday’s deeply unsettling events at the US Capitol. At noon, I sat with Renata and a group of 2nd – 4th-grade students who wished to discuss it. Both sessions started with student questions. A younger student asked why President Trump doesn’t understand…
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…