If you’re reading this online then you are engaged in social media. You are consuming. I’ve been thinking about education and social media not so much as an option but as an opportunity and an obligation – something we owe ourselves as learners and something we owe our students as teachers. We all know that we live an era of…
It’s a miserable life. Nasty, brutish and short. And childhood means school and that means drudgery. And the sooner kids experience that the better off they will be. It’s the real world folks. Better get used to it now. And sorry, no recess – you have to prepare for the test. And hurry up – no time to be wasted…
At a recent conference a speaker suggested that choosing a school was akin to choosing a cell phone* – as soon as you’ve made the decision another brand seems to offer appealing options and you worry: Did I make the right choice? So – to cut through the confusion when it comes to school it’s helpful to ask: What matters…
Question: What do you need to be creative and succeed in the future? Point number one: We want less formality in schools and more creativity in the classroom Here’s an interesting story from the UK: students from schools all over the country met at the Tate Modern to plan and design a manifesto for creativity. The kick-off for this 18…
It’s the 21st century. So what happens when we shut children down and disconnect them from wonder, creativity, curiosity and natural love of learning? The disengagement that is epidemic in high school starts much earlier. And if we actually believe in that cliche about the importance of lifetime learning then it must take joyful root in school. And when it…
We added Cross Country to the athletic choices this fall and the team is off and running and doing very well. Clearly we have some outstanding and enthusiastic runners in both middle and high school. The first meet was the Oakwood Friends invitational – the season opener for the Hudson Valley Athletic League. Here are some of the photographs of…
A school in a giant submarine with waterproof maps of the underwater world. Private helicopters to fly children to France for their French lessons. Voice-activated pencils. Rocket launch pads to take pupils on trips to distant planets to study the solar system. Canteen robots instead of dinner ladies. Clean toilets, swimming pools, a jug of water in every classroom, enough…
The best parts about the Harry Potter books are all the reminders of the traditional British school story and a childhood spent haunting the children’s library. Hogwarts – like Greyfriars, St. Jim’s, Linley Court, St. Clare’s, Malory Towers and all the rest – is a direct descendant of the early Victorian Rugby School of Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Each school has…
The one thing about which all educators are in agreement is that yesterday’s education no longer suffices for today. The rate of technological change and the development of new information is so great that educators scarcely know what to make of it all, let alone how to get it taught; next week’s scientific discovery can make last week’s textbook obsolete.…
Would you rather have supper in a castle, breakfast in a balloon, or tea on the river? John Burningham We do best, and engage most readily in, that which we experience as freely chosen. Margaret Donalson At PDS we build in options for students wherever we can. Making constructive choices and managing timewell are important skills for learning and life,…