Come see what we are doing in the Middle School. March 31, 2011

Aims: 2. Review what we do in our Middle School. 3. Discussion of points raised. 1. Review a few concepts in education.

Why are we here tonight? Teaching does not happen in a vacuum. The community and the child’s family must be included. Parents are the student’s first and most important teachers and they cannot, and must not, be left out of the education equation – not even when there are “professionals” around. Dennis Littky, The Big Picture, (2004), pg 13

On school structure: In fact, schools were not designed for children. Rather, they reflected the factory model of organization resulting from the ascension of industry and economic expansion between 1897 and 1921, which ultimately was applied to education as well as business (Feldman, 1999). With 180 instructional days based on an agrarian calendar and six-hour days with eight subjects, the standardization took hold. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Curriculum 21 (2010) pg. 09

Today much of what we call education is merely knowledge gathering and remembering. Problem solving and thinking, never strong parts of our educational system, have been downgraded in all but a few scientific subjects. … At all levels of education we have now an intense effort, perhaps reaching its peak in collage and graduate school, to program people with predictable knowledge in the same way our computers are programmed. Glasser, Schools Without Failure (1969) On learning:

We are entering a new age. It is an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life – one that prizes aptitudes that I call “high concept” and “high touch”. High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities … to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction …. On present learning: Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind (2006)

On present learning: Curriculum should not only focus on the tools necessary to develop reasoned and logical construction of new knowledge in our various fields of study, but also should aggressively cultivate a culture that nurtures creativity in all our learners. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Curriculum 21 (2010) pg. 17

On assessment replacements …. 21 century social scientists, mathematicians, artists, writers, language specialists, musicians and business men and women might produce the following: DocumentariesFilms PodcastsOnline courses CAD projectionsVideo podcasts Digital music compositionsScreenplays Webcasts from live sitesOnline journals Blogs Heidi Hayes Jacobs, pg 24

On schedules: Commencement means beginning, and we should take that literally so that students can launch into their futures. We need to give our learners the time that they need to grow and to be ready for launch. Many students drop out of school in part because they cannot make a particular deadline in early June. Consider the students who are sophomores or juniors in our high schools who are ready for higher education. We ask them to tread water because of their maturity or ability. (Curriculum 21 pg. 64)

On classroom space: Parkask Nair (2009) states: Let’s start with the fundamental building block of almost every single school in this country: the classroom. Who seriously believes that locking 25 students in a small room with one adult for several hours each day is the best way for them to be “educated”. In the 21 st century, education is about project-based learning, connections with peers around the world, service learning, independent research, design and creativity, and, more than anything, critical thinking and challenges to old assumptions. (pg 74 – 75)

On classroom space (continued): The actual design of the physical space limits the types of learning experiences that students can have as well as how frequently teachers will have opportunities to interact with one another. We know that multi-age groups, accompanied by thoughtful grouped personnel for our young learners, have proven to be extremely effective, yet we isolate our teachers within self-contained classrooms. Curriculum 21 pg 13-14

On testing: I care way more about helping kids learn to apply knowledge than I do about presenting them with knowledge and finding out if they have memorized enough of the facts to spit them back at me. (pg. 06) Tests are dictating what we as a society hold valuable in our young people. Our addiction to testing is blinding us to what we believe in our hearts are the important lessons our children should learn. (pg 5) Dennis Littky, The Big Picture, (2004)

Keswick Ridge School staff, in partnership with the community, is committed to educate each student to their individual potential using all available resources. Growing opportunities for our children. We teach kids, not subjects. Our Mission Statement Our Motto Our Focus

On the real goals of education: Over the course of three decades watching kids walk into my schools, I (Littky) have decided that I want them to: * Be life long learners * Be passionate *Be able to problem-solve and think critically *Be able to work independently and with others *Have integrity and self respect * Speak, write, read and work well with numbers *Truly enjoy their life and their work

Some of the activities here at the Middle School. Cross Country Running Badminton Soccer Basketball Volleyball Track and Field Tim Horton’s Camp Partners for Youth Leadership Program MS Dances 7 Habits Program Intramurals Choir

Why do we do the things we do? It’s all about “U” Well, U-Tube really.

The day to day from the staff.

Open discussion.