RattleBag and Rhubarb

Give Joy a Chance: An 11-Step Program

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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 … Read more

Online People are Real: Give Them a Break

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There’s research that suggests strongly that real-world bullying strongly predicts cyberbullying and the parallels in behavior both suggest that cyberbullying may not actually be a distinct phenomenon. “These findings further underscore the continuity between adolescents’ social worlds in school and online,” they conclude. And then some good advice for all of us from the Squidoo … Read more

“…larnin’.” It’s the key that opens all doors.”

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William Woodruff died this week. He  was a professor of world history best known perhaps for his autobiographical works. He discovered a love of learning as a young adult and found his way to Oxford and a life in academia on three continents. His autobiographical The Road to Nab End was published in 1993 and portrays a long … Read more

Many Minds: Differentiated teaching

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Good introduction to Carol Tomlinson’s work on differentiated teaching – the theory that teachers can work to accommodate, support and build on students’ diverse learning needs – in this issue of Teacher magazine. Differentiated instruction is a term that is interpreted in a lot of different ways. How do you define it, and why is … Read more

Slow Food, Slow School: John Cleese and the Promise of the Tortoise Brain

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There’s a slow food movement so why not a slow mind movement? Some years ago Guy Claxton wrote Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less. It made a compelling argument that the mind works best when we trust the unconscious – our “undermind” tortoise mind. The hare brain is the deliberative, … Read more

Keep Calm and Carry On

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In a time of crisis and turmoil it is sometimes valuable to turn to the past for reassurance. So: – worse things happen at sea – we’re in it together – nobody died – we all have to do our bit – if it’s got your number on it – keep smiling through – and … Read more

An Amazing New Periodic Table

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Take a look at this fantastic tool. How many of these skills do you have at your mousetip? Since 1996 I’ve worked in schools where laptops are ubiquitous for older students. Back in that day we had lots of conversations about visual literacy. I think we may have had in mind an illustration here, a … Read more

PDS for Peace

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It was International Day of Peace last Sunday and today the middle school assembled on the soccer pitch and formed a human peace symbol The idea for this event came from a 5th grader who wanted to send a symbolic message about the school’s support for International Peace Day. After assembling as a peace symbol, … Read more

Kind Words

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When you write a blog for the world to see you can never be sure who reads it nor what they think. Keeping site statistics is one thing. Stats tell me how often, and how long and where from but not whether it mattered. Comments are always appreciated and thank-you to everyone who has taken … Read more

Sanctuary

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There’s an animal sanctuary in Saugerties and today students from the high school were there giving a helping hand. There was a barn to be painted, muck to be raked and animals to care for. Here is a collage of pictures from today’s service learning trip. Thanks Tanya for making the connection, organizing the trip … Read more

An Education President for the 21st Century

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The next president needs to be multi-dimensional, addressing issues that extend far beyond the classroom, but which are critically connected to a strong education framework. It’s election season and the new issue of Independent School magazine is out. Here is NAIS president Pat Bassett’s on The Politics of Learning – an open letter to the … Read more

We Are Under Construction But There’s Still Plenty of Room for Recess

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With the main playground currently out of bounds due to construction those swings are still, the tire swing empty, the playhouse deserted and the slide unslid. But all is not lost. There is still recess – a time to go outside, be with friends, meet new people, run around, hula-hoop, play ball, climb mountains, learn … Read more