Philosophy of Education; Research Skills; 21st Century Skills
So Montaigne would have loved Sugata Mitra. Sugata Mitra discusses minimally-invasive education. On this day we debated how we judge what makes a teacher qualified to teach his/her subject matter: in domestic independent schools, in religious-based schools, in IB and International schools. We tried to connect what about education is timeless with the idea of “teaching wisdom.”
Heads Of School Against Gun Violence
The dawning of a new era? Maybe. Feeling the need to do something? Then do it. Our children are depending on us to keep them safe.
Newtown Music Project
Children from Newtown, CT sing with one of my favorite singers.
Believe in the healing power of music!
I love this story for many different reasons, but mostly because it really does spell out what parents need to discuss with children about technology and each individual family’s core values. Adapt it as you will for your family, but it has no nonsense, common sense ideas.
See what you think!
Resources for parents and teachers:
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe5e10797365047b7711&m=fe641570716701787713&ls=fdfc1271756606747c107275&l=fe9b15727764027f72&s=fe1f1d73716d077f731078&jb=ffce15&ju=fe2211727c600c78741679&r=0
First trimester is over, and report cards have been sent home electronically. Honor Roll certificates are being prepared. Accomplishment is being acknowledged. Effort is being rewarded. Goals are being set. This is the life of schools. And yes, there is massive use of the passive voice in those first five sentences.
But do not let that use of the passive voice confuse you. Our goal at TPS is for students to be ACTIVE in their own education. As we work with our students, from the youngest to the oldest, we are creating opportunities for metacognition:
• What’s going well?
• What do I need to keep doing?
• What do I need to stop doing?
• What do I need to start doing?
• How do I learn best?
• Am I a visual learner?
• Am I an auditory learner?
• Am I a kinesthetic learner?
• Do my systems works for me?
• Do I know how to ask for help?
• What is my responsibility in my own education?
As an Upper School advisor, I have watched students assess their various successes and challenges as they sit with their parents in fall conferences to articulate a plan of action for the various aspects of their school life—academic, athletic and artistic—that need refining or a different approach. As an observer, I have watched fourth graders grapple with a new math concept, sixth graders listen attentively as their teacher reviews the terminology associated with citizenship in Ancient Greece, and kindergarteners try and tell time the analog way. Our goal is to have students become the active agents of their own education.
So how do TPS students develop such metacognition? They don’t take a course in it, nor do they read about it for homework. Put simply, it happens in a context. Children wait their turn, say “please” and “thank you,” and offer assistance to a peer or a teacher when needed. Such interactions are key. As our students integrate technology into their education in the upper end of Primary School and in Middle and Upper Schools, the facility they gain with technology will never be at the expense of human interaction. Our “digital” life can, at some times, enhance our “analog” life, but it can never replace it.
I grew up listening to cassette tapes. I became a master at fast forward and rewind, knowing I was both abusing the tape itself and wasting batteries. It’s interesting to think that our children and students have no idea what it means to wait for a favorite song to play on the radio. They have playlists and can pick the exact song they want at the exact moment they want it, bringing “instant gratification” to a whole new level. As they come into school and cannot have what they want exactly when they want it, we must remember that their waiting is a good thing. It is good practice to wait, reflect, delay and even sometimes, not have a turn at all. This skill—dealing with “delayed gratification”—will be essential for them as they move through their lives. By doing so, they are learning how to be part of something larger than themselves.
Digital or Analog? It is not an either/or proposition. Our students need both. We should be happy that a TPS education gives them opportunities to customize and have what they want when they want it…and even greater opportunities for delayed gratification.
I have worked at four schools in my 24 years in independent schools and I have never been part of such a lovely, community-building event as this weekend’s holiday decorating party. Parents, veteran and brand new, faculty and staff listened to holiday music and set about turning the campus into a winter wonderland for the month of December. What a treat! Thanks to our amazing parent volunteers for making merry and turning Blairhame into a magical place for our students.
After a Fall fraught with storms and the associated losses (much closer to home than we are used to), this past week has been a time for family and friends and gratitude. I am so grateful for all the TPS grandparents and special friends who graced our campus last week for a joyful Grandparents’ Day. Morning breakfast and welcome remarks in the Middle School gym were followed by activities in every grade level in the classrooms and finally a spectacular Grandparents Day Concert in the Primary Gym. From Glee to prekindergarten and Kindergarten singers, all the way up to our Middle and Upper School combined choruses, the voices of children were a wonderful reminder of all that is right and good and fun at Tuxedo Park School. Yes, we take our academics and character building seriously and yes, we are competitive about Green and Gold and our Athletic teams, but we are also grateful for family and song, and this event was a great opportunity to reinforce those messages.
As we leave behind Thanksgiving and enter the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season, I hope that all of our hearts will remain filled with gratitude, for each other, for the gift of this community and of this school. My challenge to all the adults in the community is to carry that spirit of gratitude all the way to our December 20 dismissal for the holidays. As our students sang last week, our words must match our actions: “Children will listen.”
I have been sheepishly using the term “personalize” for our unique educational experience. This piece in Forbes illuminates the question and ties in nicely with our faculty summer reading about creativity and a new educational vision.
Head's Up, Kathleen McNamara 