I once worked in a school where the librarian arranged the non-fiction by the color of the spine. It made for some serendipitous browsing. He was a friendly fellow with a big bushy beard, a scholarly demeanor and who claimed to have a PhD in philosophy. We got along well. There came a day when … Read more
We all love to rumble on about lifelong learning . But how does that happen when learning is presented as a series of predefined steps and stages that learners must master and hurdle – the endless hamster wheel of material, test, grade, material, test, grade, move on. Where is the room for the infinite variety … Read more
I haven’t read Go Set a Watchman and I’m not sure I will. I did read the first chapter in The Guardian and was not particularly impressed. If Harper Lee did not want it published then she didn’t want it read. But read it or not, it’s hard to miss all the controversy over the … 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
How long does this have to be? Should we teach to the text (message)? Forget about the five paragraph essay, what about the five (abbreviated) word text and the exquisite tweet? Lots of commentary about a recent article with follow-up here in the NYTimes about the importance of concise writing. Without a doubt it is … Read more
Ever wonder what happens in an all-school assembly when all students and faculty pre-k through 12th grade gather in the James Earl Jones Theater? Along with all-school activities we we have these regularly scheduled throughout the year including Thanksgiving and the annual Peacemakers Assembly every winter. The welcome back assembly last week did not include … Read more
When a new technology comes along and knocks you off the old one – in this case a motor car and a canary-colored horse-drawn cart – are you more of a Toad, Mole or Rat? ‘Glorious, stirring sight!’ murmured Toad, never offering to move. ‘The poetry of motion! The real way to travel! The only … Read more
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
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
Do you like eating nuts? You do? And so do squirrels, but even squirrels can eat too many. Tippety Nippet was a squirrel and he was VERY fond of nuts; but once he ate far too many, as you shall see. (Uh oh! Moral lesson about to be delivered.) And he had to admit to … Read more
This picture has a dollop of peanut butter on one edge, a smear of grape jelly on the other, and an X across the whole thing. I cut it out of a magazine for homework when I was six years old. ‘Look for words that begin with W,’ my teacher, Mrs. Evans, had said. She … Read more
In an earlier post, I mentioned the prescient Marshall McLuhan who saw decades ago that we were living in an era of connectivity and communications In that interview, he commented that most of us think in the past. For artists, he says, it is different. They live in the present, they think in the present, … Read more
Why do I stand here? I stand on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly force ourselves to look at things differently The world looks different from up here. If you don’t believe it, stand up here and try it! All of you. Take turns. – Dead Poets Society It’s everywhere – the … Read more
Would you rather have supper in a castle, breakfast in a balloon, or tea on the river? John Burningham We do best, and engage most readily in, that which we experience as freely chosen. Margaret Donalson At PDS we build in options for students wherever we can. Making constructive choices and managing timewell are important … Read more