Lots of talk in recent years of the new essential skills to survive in the 21st century economy. Tony Wagner’s book The Global Achievement Gap- why even our best schools don’t teach the survival skills our children need and what we can do about it has received lots of attention. See this summary to review … Read more
“What do I need to learn this algebra and geometry and math stuff for?” Connecting learning to the real world – that’s the tag line of The Futures Channel – a great educational resource. On this page they provide a wonderful set of answers to that age old classroom math question: “What do I need to … Read more
Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! – John Proctor … Read more
“None of us is as smart as all of us.” — Japanese proverb There’s brainpower in numbers. But you don’t get there by brainstorming. Read more at NYTimes Unboxed
“It was awesome and totally rocked!” – that was the verdict of one member of the 3rd/4th grade chorus who sang at the Market Street branch of TDBanknorth in Poughkeepsie last Saturday. They were there for the official tree-lighting. They sang and there was hot chocolate, candy canes and a visit from Santa on a … Read more
In his talk yesterday, Bruce Judson made reference to the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration. As now, there was a deep financial crisis. As now, there was no one clear path to follow. But doing nothing was not an option. Bruce reminded us that they tried things, experimenting to see what worked. There’s … Read more
“Understanding the Economic Crisis in Plain English” – that was the title of the presentation for grades 7-12 today. In his lively and most informative presentation PDS parent and trustee Bruce Judson explained the origins of the current financial crisis. His talk set out the dominoes of the events that led the way. You can … Read more
What do London’s Royal Albert Hall, The Football Association, and the New Zealand Ministry of Education have in common? All three have called on the services of learning and creativity consultant Guy Claxton. He is the author of What’s The Point Of School? Rediscovering The Heart of Education and a foremost thinker on creativity, learning, … Read more
On the way home tonight I heard Robert Reich on NPR’s Marketplace. The topic was Human Capital. The one sentence summary: Failure to invest in human capital (i.e..education) is shortsighted and counter-productive. Basic idea: Our future competitiveness and standard of living depend on our collective skills, capacity to communicate and solve problems, and innovate. They … Read more
What’s your favorite word and is it in this dictionary yet? If not, then consider making a personal contribution. Meanwhile – take a look, see and listen to the contributions so far in Wordia And don’t worry – there are lots more words to go. The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains full … Read more
So many things to be thankful for. PDS gave traditional Thanksgiving thanks at the all-school celebration on Tuesday. Groups gathered to eat, hear a story and re-connect. Older students from the high school led the way – served the food, read the story and then brought everyone together in the JEJ theater a for a … Read more
A high school parent writes: I think we knew this already (“study shows teens’ use of digital media show that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online – often in ways adults do not understand or value”) but it’s nice (especially as a parent) to be reassured. The study in question can … Read more
Work hard at what you are passionate about. Read lots of books. There was more, but that was how Mr. Feiffer opened his talk last Thursday. What a treat to hear him talk about his creative process and answer questions – mostly from children- about his life and work. How did he get started? Well … Read more
I’ve posted about leadersheep before and now I have heard from an Icelandic shepherd with more information. “Flannelberry” – who started a blog Flannelberry Farm (Small-scale farming, self sufficiency and all things considered…) – writes: I am a shepherd with an Icelandic flock and came across your blog while googling “leadersheep”. There are indeed leadersheep – … Read more
