RattleBag and Rhubarb

Dangerous Stereotypes

by

It can be a worrisome sign when Dilbert cartoons start appearing in the workplace!Here are the first two frames of Dilbert cartoon that a colleague brought to my attention on Friday.

They’re back …!

by

They came by bus, by van, by car, by foot, on bicycle and on crutches. They carried book bags and lunch boxes and precious objects. It was the first day of school yesterday and the energy was cranked up. Now the school has come alive again.

Student Orientation

by

It was the first day of school for ninth grade, fifth grade and all students new to Poughkeepsie Day School. And the buildings were buzzing. The younger children found new toys and places to play and work. And all of them met their new teachers and learned more about what it means to be a … Read more

Mission Tag Cloud and a Mystery Text

by

A tag cloud is a visual presentation of text. It uses word frequency to provide a blink-worthy read of information. It communicates a great deal in a few seconds and provides an instant take. I entered the text of our mission and description et voila! A poetic distillation of meaning. caring citizens collaborative committed community … Read more

Curiosity

by

Poughkeepsie Day School graduates students who: Are intellectually curious, active seekers, users and creators of knowledge Curiosity is the natural stimulus to learning and small children have it in abundance. The upturned Frisbee in the picture below is full of the playground gleanings of a kindergartener at lunch-time. What happens to that curiosity as children … Read more

Voice activated pencils: “The school we’d like”

by

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 … Read more

A World Lit by Shooting Stars

by

The exhalations whizzing in the air Give so much light that I may read by them. Julius Caesar Act 2 scene 1 The annual Perseid meteor shower was not quite that spectacular but the shooting stars were out last night as our planet sailed through a stream of ancient cosmic dust emanating from the constellation … Read more

The School that I’d Like

by

Back in 1967 – the Observer newspaper in the UK organized an opportunity for children to write on the subject: “The school that I’d like”. The results became a Penguin book edited by Edward Blishen and a collection of opinions that provided a trenchant critique of school and school life. The students wrote with freshness, … Read more

The Moral Compass: Make a Difference and Ask: Can’t we do Better?

by

These are words from our mission: Poughkeepsie Day School graduates students who: Know who they are and follow their own compass with optimism and courage Lead and inspire others through example, dedication and commitment to equity and justice This is a part of Tom Brokaw’s commencement address at Stanford University last year: “…welcome to a … Read more

College Admissions: Which is more interesting: Gorillas or Guerrillas??

by

That question is one the prompts from the new Tufts University optional essay section. It’s part of its Kaleidoscope program based on the psychometric work of Robert Sternberg who is now the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts. Sternberg’s work has long focused on notions of successful intelligence and creativity. ‘If … Read more

School Choice: Hogwarts or Diffendoofer?

by

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 … Read more