Post date: May 22, 2011 4:31:43 AM
Dear Students and Parents.
Some lessons in school are planned and fit into a curricular progression, and yet others present themselves, often unavoidably, in their raw form and power. This week was a roller coaster of emotions, for me at least. We reveled in the pride of a running waterfall, reflected upon the abundance of opportunity and fortune that surrounds us, watched an intense movie about the power and fragility of optimistic actions, dealt with differential comfort levels with edgy material, and dealt with the complexity of community, collaboration, and challenging morals and ethics. It's complicated... I'll try to keep the explanations short and simple.
Waterfall: With the liner in place and the major rocks arranged to form the spillway routes, the waterfall finally became functional and attractive this week. Many kids added their unsolicited contributions by placing river rocks, troubleshooting spill-over spots, and finishing the pipe trench behind the fence. Somehow, amidst a lunchtime waterfight, I think, the flex hose from the pump got punctured and so the waterfall will have to stay off until I can repair (and properly protect) the flex-hose when I get back from DC.
Pay It Forward: As the students' careers at DCS winds to a close, I'm seeding the idea of 'paying forward' the gifts and good fortune that have been graciously given to them over the years. The details are on my website, but the idea is simple -- find and implement an action that will help to make the world a better place and/or a way to do something good for someone else. The students did a quickwrite, reflecting on a good deed that was done for them, and then we watched portions of the movie "Pay It Forward" (Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Osment). It is a powerful movie that shows life and humanity at its raw core. It brings up issues of homelessness, alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide, and domestic violence, optimism, and futility. I pause the DVD often and asked for discussion about various issues. My goal is not only to lay fertile ground for "buy in" to the idea of personal philanthropy, but also to show that tapping into emotions in a safe environment often leads to the most important expression of those emotions. Great writing grows best from intense experiences. I would also like to acknowledge that some aspects might be sensitive ones, and I don't want to tread into territory that you (parents) feel should dealt with at a later age or are meant to be family-only. Please feel comfortable expressing your concerns and comments with me at any time.
Book Content Debate: Speaking of differential perspectives on media content, I did hear some concerns about the "edgy" content of a book that was chosen by the kids for book groups last week. After much personal debate and hand-wringing, I decided to play it safe and have that group choose a different book. I do understand that literature is a reflection of life, in all it's crass and sometimes distasteful forms; but what pieces of literature are designated as school assignments and which ones are reserved for other reading is the responsibility of a teacher, and one for which I was not adequately prepared this time. I want to thank the kids for their patience and (sometimes) understanding, and the parents, for their clear communications with me as well as the efforts they put into providing reviews of alternative views -- and even sets of books themselves!
Collaboration, Cheating, and Accountability: On Thursday I had the kids in my homeroom do a quick grammar assignment that I collected and then very conspicuously tossed in the recycle bin in order to elicit protest and fuel a discussion about the value of the work they do. I challenged them to consider the perspective that the value of any assignment is not in the score it earns and grade that it perpetuates, but instead in the learning that it facilitates. From there, I introduced the topic of cheating and had them define their personal line at which collaboration (ie. group work, sharing answers, divided assignments, jigsaws, etc) becomes "cheating". I shared some perspectives gained from my pervious schools and also showed them the cheating policy sent by the principal at Prospect High School. The over-arching idea (to me) is that the learning outcome of any assignment should always be the focus -- if a student's method getting the answers disconnects it from its educational value, then the value plumets and the students are simply copying the (hopefully) hard-earned work of others. My description of the discussion here is clumsy and narrow, but, as you can imagine, it was a rich and engaging half hour of honesty, deliberation, and a continual defining of one's personal values, ethics, and integrity.
Other (less important) Things: This week's work in science focussed on waves. The book's definitions, diagrams, and descriptions were supplemented by a set of Slinkys and some experiments posted on YouTube. As the students read about various features and facts about waves, they posted "Things I Wonder" on this spreadsheet.
In English, the kids wrote stories about something good that had been done for them at one time, and I'll be reading those during the long plane and bus rides of the DC trip.
Time to finish packing and head over to school soon.
Have a good week!