I am always a bit astonished when I see tRump signs at people’s houses. And I ask myself: “Who are these people? What on earth can they be thinking?” There’s three on our route to our usual walk – not just signs of course, but mega flags trumpeting the household fascist tendencies, racism, and misogyny … Read more
A favorite place for a walk is the Hudson Valley Rail Trail. There’s at least one stretch north of Hopewell Junction that is regularly infested with religious messages of fear, doom and gloom. Eternal damnation is predicted for us all. The trail starts at the old railway depot at Hopewell Junction and connects with the … Read more
Edcamp is back at Poughkeepsie Day School this August and we are delighted to be the hosts. Edcamps are just about the best possible professional development for teachers: Just-in-time, self directed, needs-and interests-based. just-in-time sharing and collaboration. And a terrific opportunity to meet other teachers from our area and find out what we share, what … Read more
It’s been a cold winter here in the Hudson Valley. Poughkeepsie records only go back to 1949 but this February was the coldest with a whopping 12.7 degrees below average temperature. And then March came in like the proverbial lion breaking another record with -2 degrees F in the first week. And then there was … Read more
There are lots of reasons to be concerned about the digital revolution and its impact on our lives, the lives of our students and schools. And there’s no shortage of voices raising the alarm. Here’s a small flavorsome slice of a particularly entertaining rant that was in the New Statesman a few years back: Take that digital … Read more
Pete Seeger came to PDS yesterday. He came for the lower school musical – an original production on a subject dear to his heart – the magnificent Hudson River for which he has done so much. The show – A Hudson River Journey – was written and produced by lower school drama teacher Dorothy Penz … 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
A bird the color of a stop sign. High on a tree at the Buttercup Farm Sanctuary. A scarlet tanager. My first sighting. A black-winged red bird. Tree swallows swooping, the insistent chipping of an elusive flycatcher and the headwaters of Wappingers Creek swirling down to the river. What a great place for a Sunday … Read more
Suddenly there’s Poughkeepsie what a hard time the Hudson River has had trying to get to the sea it seemed easy enough to rise out of Tear of the Cloud and tumble and jumps draining a swamp here and and other smaller longings for the wide except for its spelling ocean sixty miles away is … 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
Among the many excellent things about working at Poughkeepsie Day School and living in the mid-Hudson Valley is that you are never far from so many places of great natural beauty. It’s fall and the trees are ablaze with color. Here is the view east from the top of the fire tower on Stissing mountain … Read more
The effort effect on display at Buttercup Farm Nature Reserve, near Poughkeepsie. See below for a photo of the dam. Intelligence is not fixed. It is it is learnable and teachable. It can be changed. The way we approach learning and thinking makes all the difference. It is our ‘mindset” that keeps us back. If … Read more
“You must do the things you think you cannot do” Stone Cottage One of the great things about Poughkeepsie is that you are always in striking distance of so many places to visit and things to do. One of them is Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park – the only place she referred to … Read more
The view from Huckleberry Point in the Platte Clove Preserve just before the rainstorm. Saturday June 17th …and along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Sunday June 18th.