JosieHolford 
I’ve been pondering Seth Godin’s recent column What if you stopped? and applying it to PDS. What if Poughkeepsie Day School went away? Would anyone miss it? Would it matter? Would anyone care? I’ve adapted his questions here. What would happen if we shut the doors tomorrow? (I know what would happen to those of us who work at … Read more
Science teacher Jonathan Heiles sent a link to all of us about the international public campaign to name the surface features of Pluto and Charon. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will fly past Pluto in July and that far off world and its moons for the first time. Together with the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the New … Read more
We had a terrific benefit auction party last night. So many thanks are due to volunteer auction chair Ann Enriquez who put together a terrific crew who worked tirelessly. Many people made this night possible and I am thankful for them all. The gym was transformed into a place of magic and romance, the food … Read more
Here is child psychologist Dr. Megan Koschnick on why Early Childhood Standards of Common Core are Developmentally Inappropriate. This is her presentation from a 2013 conference at the University of Notre Dame entitled “The Changing Role of Education in America: Consequences of the Common Core.” Why do we care if Common Core standards are age inappropriate? … Read more
I always enjoy Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet blog in the Washington Post. She frequently provides a platform for teacher voices and education issues so often drowned out by the drumbeat of test and standardization mania. She had a great piece last week What a Classroom Engaged in Real Learning Looks Like It’s about the work … Read more
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 – … Read more
Edcamp is back at Poughkeepsie Day School this August and we are delighted to be the hosts. Edcamps are just about the best possible professional development for teachers: Just-in-time, self directed, needs-and interests-based. just-in-time sharing and collaboration. And a terrific opportunity to meet other teachers from our area and find out what we share, what … Read more
Have you ever seen a ton of starlings or red-wing blackbirds swooping about in unison as if they were in some kind of mechanically choreographed mass ballet? Of course the correct and archaic collective nouns to use there would be murmuration for the starlings and cloud, flock, grind, or merl for the blackbirds. But whatever – you … Read more
If you’re thinking about Loving Learning and what all that emerging, integrated and experiential curriculum looks like in the real classroom here’s what a fifth grade parent shared on her Facebook page. It is reproduced here with her permission: A glimpse into why we do everything we can (read spend all of our money and … Read more
Tom Little’s lifelong passion for progressive education emerged directly from his experience with its antithesis. I was six years old, and the youngest of six children, when I lost my father to cancer. On the day after his funeral, I raised my hand in class. I held my hand in the air for what seemed … Read more
By chance I discovered this wonderful document Growing Up in Ireland with its photographs of a lush green landscape and quick words. It led me to the website for the national longitudinal study of children. Started in 2007 it is following the progress of almost 20,000 children across Ireland.They appear to asking all the right questions. The idea … Read more
The Hungry Mind The Origins of Curiosity in Childhood That’s the title of Susan Engel’s new book and it’s about the recent standardized testing mania and how it misses the point about what really matters. The key thing is the desire to learn. We are born curious – born with a hunger to learn. The … Read more
Not content with sweeping the international testing stakes Finland is setting about radical school design and reform – again. And given some rather gloomy economic outlooks maybe not a moment too soon. Maybe they know that topping the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) test pile is not the holy grail and that these scores don’t … Read more
I’m not sure when PDS became a member of NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) but it was a long time ago. A few years back they published their short and quite excellent wonderful online A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future. The first section makes the case for schools of the future … Read more
The first day of alleged spring and another day disrupted by the rituals and routines of early dismissal. By mid afternoon the buses had come and gone and all after-school activities and athletic practices cancelled. Students and faculty had wisely left ahead of the icy roads. Luz – our wonderful cleaner – was vacuuming the … Read more