Some days are like that – busy. Last Friday for example which – in addition to all the usual activity – also included a middle school science symposium, a high school Art Show, a Poetry Reading and a play. In fact – the whole week was like that – delightfully packed with events, performances, games, … Read more
I learned a great deal about eels from Graham Swift’s remarkable 1983 novel Waterland set in the watery fens of eastern England. The history of the scientific understanding of the eel – Aristotle posited that they sprang from the mud – and the mystery of their epic migration to spawn in the Sargasso sea feature … Read more
I don’t know what started it but I found myself launching into manifesto mode! And this is what it led to – a kind of 9 Pillars of Education. I know I’ve left so much out. Feel free to critique these and add what’s missing. Change is inevitable. We need to help children to lean into … Read more
A simple Sunday night tweet from a PDS English teacher is enough to fire up the engine on the magic carpet of the mind. “The Waking” is apparently one of Theodore Roethke’s best known poems but it was new to me. Read it below and let it take you on a journey into consciousness. I … Read more
The high school Enviro Club reports that the new recycling facility has been rolled out and is ready to use in Gilkeson! Faculty advisor Brent Boscarino reports: I’m super proud of everyone who contributed to it- Li and her students are really to thank for the design of the central “cool bin”- it is truly … Read more
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
