Is this what we mean by that current refrain “Whatever it takes”? This is from another era – 1991. Anything much changed? More well-intentioned (mostly) but misguided reformy ideas. And it’s always worth remembering the Latin roots of the word “inculcate” meaning to grind in with the heel.
Interesting post from The Innovative Educator: 21st Century Educators Don’t Say, “Hand It In.” They say, “Publish It! Read the post to hear what happened when she put out the word via Twitter and also to see her suggestions for making it happen in the classroom. Meanwhile – here is one of the slides from … Read more
With school closed for the day there was time for a walk. Buttercup Farm Sanctuary off Route 82 just north of Stanfordville has one path that tracks along Wappingers Creek as it runs down from the head waters at Thompson Pond south toward the Hudson. It was quiet except for the rustle of squirrels, a … Read more
PDS has had a longtime commitment to service learning and getting involved to make a difference. I was pleased to find these photos deep in the archives. The first one is from 1962-1963 and shows children and a rescued squirrel and the others show PDS volunteers involved in a horse rescue project in 1999. This … Read more
Interested in education? Like a good debate? Then Bridging Differences is for you. It’s an ongoing debate between two of the most interesting minds in education – Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch. They have been disagreeing for years but they both believe deeply in the importance of education and share a passion for improving schools.
There’s another of those scary science stories in today’s NYTimes: Split Outcome in Texas Battle in Teaching Evolution. The real scary part is such ignorance is still alive and kicking, and not just in Texas. And when it comes to textbooks – as Texas goes, there goes the nation. Meanwhile next month we celebrate the … Read more
PDS marked the inauguration at its Peacemakers Assembly on Tuesday. Entitled “Stony the road we trod” the event began with the singing of James Weldon Johnson’s Lift Every Voice and Sing. In the collage you can see pictures of the participants from high school to lower school. Ater lunch everyone returned to the JEJ theater … Read more
More about our assembly later but here is a screenshot from the NYTimes website. The middle school Photo Journalism class previewed some of the pictures on the site. One student sent a picture. When the class noticed that it got published it sent another one. Picturing the Inauguration: The Readers’ Album PDS MAKES THE NY … Read more
An article by Alfie Kohn in The Nation is a timely reminder of how language is so easily co-opted to mean quite the reverse of the usual understanding. The polluters bring us “Clear Skies” and the armaments industry brings us the B36 bomber – “The Peacemaker”. And now those touted as school “reformers” are heralded … 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
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
More humor. This time from Fast Company magazine where Tom Stern wonders whether the over achievement of some adults has resulted in achievement obsession for their kids? From kindergarten to the boardroom considers whether we’re preparing our kids to take over the world far too early in their lives. It’s funny stuff but also provokes … Read more