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…
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.”…
On November 18th and 19th, I went to Quaker retreat center, Pendle Hill for a retreat and training for “Educators New to Quakerism”. Thirty-three adults that work in various capacities at Quaker schools gathered together to learn the basics of Quakerism and to collaborate with one another. I’d like to share two things that I…