Sunday, November 15, 2015
Monday, June 10, 2013
Mini-society
It is a truism that a school is a microcosm of society, but nowhere is this more vividly illustrated than during a week each June, when the whole school literally is turned into a Mini-society. After the excitement and hard work of the Fair, children come to school on the next Monday with eager anticipation ready to start a new kind of work - that of paid employees in a corporate world of "bosses", unions (sometimes) and all the trappings of commerce. This huge week-long simulation game, that turns teachers into bosses and children into workers, allows them to explore the World of Work in a hands on way. It culminates in Market Day on Friday morning in which the school is transformed into a marketplace with stalls selling various handmade items, food concessions, games, spas, buskers, paid advertising and mobile vendors. It is much more than a training ground for young entrepreneurs, as it explores a range of workplace issues such as equity, benefits, savings, workers' rights, currency issues and more.
The week before, the all important detail of the name of the currency for this year's Mini-society is discussed and voted on by all the students in the school. Everyone is allowed to put forward suggestions, and an elaborate system of weeding out less popular (and sometimes inappropriate) names is done through several meetings. Over the years, some very imaginative currencies have seen the light - it always amazes me that names such as "Googoogagas", "Dylonges" or "Oodles" roll off the tongue so easily after a few days of use. Once the currency name has been decided, the older students create design for the different denominations and stacks of coloured, photocopied bills are produced ready to be handed over to the Mini-society "bank", run by Middle School students.
On Monday morning, the day starts with a whole school meeting, where the elementary children are divided into 5 multi-age producer groups, and reminded of some of the basic elements of Mini-society. They are told that they will be paid 12 oodles for their work from 9:00 to 10:30 each day (and one afternoon), that the 5 workplaces are Snack, Newspaper, 2 Crafts, and Gardening, and that on Friday they will have a chance to buy some of the crafts from a "warehouse" at wholesale prices and resell them during the marketplace, as well as items that they have made at home. They are told that after worktime is over, (at snack time), they will be able to deposit their money in the Mini-society bank, thus gaining interest over the week of 10%, but to be sure to save out some oodles to buy the snack (produced by the Snack group) and the newspaper.
Then off the various groups go to their workplaces, where they work with one or two teachers to make their product. The children are partnered up within their groups so that an older child is always looking out for and helping a younger one. Just before 10:30, the bosses pay the salaries to the workers, sometimes to the shock of a few children, docking pay for not working hard enough or giving bonuses for work beyond the call of duty. Then the children line up to deposit their earnings in the bank (the 5 branches are conveniently located outside each classroom workplace and staffed by Middle School students). Outside the lunchroom, vendors are hawking the daily version of the newspaper, hot off the presses, so that children have something to read as they munch on the daily snack, purchased from a stall within the lunchroom. Then, all the children run outside to be children again, ready to start all over the next morning in a different activity. Over the 4 mornings and one afternoon, all children experience each workplace and get paid for 5 "days" of work.
At 11:00, after play time, daily meetings reinforce some of details of how mini-society works as well as deal with issues that arise during the sessions. The younger children are often confused about what happens on market day, and don't understand why it's a good idea to trust their hard earned cash to the banks. Stories of lost or stolen money, as well as the advantages of earning interest are shared, but it always surprises me that some children refuse to patronize the banks and prefer their pockets instead. Issues of fairness or equity are raised: One year a student who was sick and missed a day of "work" thought it was unfair that she didn't get paid, so sick leave at half pay was instituted. Another year teachers forgot what the rate of pay the previous year was, and salaries were set at a lower rate, and a union was formed to agitate for higher pay. The system of handing out bonuses is often considered to be arbitrary by the children, and lots of discussion ensues about how to make it fairer.
What is actually produced during these work sessions? In the Snack group, the children make healthy but fun snacks designed to appeal to them and then sell them for 2 oodles at snack time. They also realize that advertising will promote their product, so a small group produces a roving commercial that visits all the other workplaces, singing or acting a jingle
In the Newspaper group, children brainstorm and are assigned various topics on which to report, and then despatched with clipboards to conduct interviews, polls and observations of what is happening in Mini-society that day. They are given a strict deadline in which to return, so that they can edit and finish their good copy on small pieces of paper which are then cut and pasted onto a 2 sided legal sheet of paper. A name is chosen for each paper, comics, games and puzzles are drawn and sometimes there is a theme that drives the topics chosen. On some days, ads are solicited (at a price) to promote some of the businesses which will be appearing on Friday. It can get very hectic towards 10:30 when the competing pressures of uncooperative photocopiers, unmet deadlines, a public clamouring for their daily read and employees needing to be paid can result in some palpitations on the part of the editors, but it is all worth it for the sight of a room full of children absorbed in reading their papers, while munching on the snack of the day.
A variety of items are produced in the two Craft groups each day. Most often the craft is something that can be made by children of all ages, and is appealing for children and adults alike. Friendship bracelets, hand-made diaries, mandalas, bubbleprint cards, origami animals, games, toys, and painted rocks are just a few of the types of items that have been produced. Sometimes a Craft group produces something that has a real, and practical use for the school. When the school was hosting a fundraising run, the children became button producers, and designed and made buttons to give out as participation medals. Another year when the Native garden needed a fence built to protect it from soccer balls (and players), the Craft session became a Fence Factory, where each child painted a fence picket. These were later assembled and installed into a colourful, funky picket fence that the children enjoy every day on the playground. But the main purpose of the Craft sessions is to produce items that can then be bought and sold on Market Day.
The Gardening group performs a real service. The children help with planting and weeding in the vegetable or Native garden, as well as pruning and labelling various crops. On rainy days, they create garden crafts to be sold on Market Day - painted plant pots, child-designed packets of seeds, bottle birdfeeders, or concrete paving stones to name a few.
Friday morning, or Market Day, is easily the most exciting, eagerly anticipated day of the school year. Some children plan what they are going to do months in advance. A few days before, all the children have had an opportunity to buy licenses for the particular business they and their friends are going to have. Food licenses are very popular, so there is a lottery to decide who gets them. Mobile vending licenses (the right to use the trolley carts from the kitchen) are also popular, and as there are only 2 of them, a lottery is often needed there too. Gaming licences are issued, as well as busking licences, and licences for retail outlets.
Market Day starts as the children withdraw all their money from the bank and then are called down in groups, according to a lottery system, to buy goods from the "warehouse". Items are grouped in batches of two or three, with a price designed to reflect the amount of work put into them - some items are made by one child alone in a session, while others are the work of several children together. This is the time where many children need to have it explained why they can't just buy the one item that they made themselves, and some need to be encouraged to "spend money to make money". Younger ones often need some counselling on what sort of mark up on the items they buy will allow them to make money, but not price themselves out of the market. If sales in the warehouse are not brisk enough, the teachers will reduce the wholesale price in order to stimulate the economy, and get the goods to the market.
While all this is going on, the other children are setting up their stalls in classrooms around the school, displaying licences and making price tags. The lunchroom is set aside as a Food Court, and all vendors are anxiously awaiting the warehouse to close so that they can set up. As soon as it is, the blenders come out and the trays of cupcakes and cookies are attractively displayed. At 9:30, the Market is declared open for business, and the school starts to buzz.
Groups of Littles and Youngs, accompanied by parents, start their shopping expeditions, with pockets bursting with cash. They take it in turns to leave their Littles Carnival or Youngs Marketplace, so that some are always on hand to run the stalls. The adults with them help them make the difficult decisions about what to spend their oodles on, and make sure that they are happy with their purchases. As they travel around the school, they come across a girl lying on the floor with her legs wrapped around her neck, and a hat out for donations. They hear the blare of music coming from
The week before, the all important detail of the name of the currency for this year's Mini-society is discussed and voted on by all the students in the school. Everyone is allowed to put forward suggestions, and an elaborate system of weeding out less popular (and sometimes inappropriate) names is done through several meetings. Over the years, some very imaginative currencies have seen the light - it always amazes me that names such as "Googoogagas", "Dylonges" or "Oodles" roll off the tongue so easily after a few days of use. Once the currency name has been decided, the older students create design for the different denominations and stacks of coloured, photocopied bills are produced ready to be handed over to the Mini-society "bank", run by Middle School students.
On Monday morning, the day starts with a whole school meeting, where the elementary children are divided into 5 multi-age producer groups, and reminded of some of the basic elements of Mini-society. They are told that they will be paid 12 oodles for their work from 9:00 to 10:30 each day (and one afternoon), that the 5 workplaces are Snack, Newspaper, 2 Crafts, and Gardening, and that on Friday they will have a chance to buy some of the crafts from a "warehouse" at wholesale prices and resell them during the marketplace, as well as items that they have made at home. They are told that after worktime is over, (at snack time), they will be able to deposit their money in the Mini-society bank, thus gaining interest over the week of 10%, but to be sure to save out some oodles to buy the snack (produced by the Snack group) and the newspaper.
Then off the various groups go to their workplaces, where they work with one or two teachers to make their product. The children are partnered up within their groups so that an older child is always looking out for and helping a younger one. Just before 10:30, the bosses pay the salaries to the workers, sometimes to the shock of a few children, docking pay for not working hard enough or giving bonuses for work beyond the call of duty. Then the children line up to deposit their earnings in the bank (the 5 branches are conveniently located outside each classroom workplace and staffed by Middle School students). Outside the lunchroom, vendors are hawking the daily version of the newspaper, hot off the presses, so that children have something to read as they munch on the daily snack, purchased from a stall within the lunchroom. Then, all the children run outside to be children again, ready to start all over the next morning in a different activity. Over the 4 mornings and one afternoon, all children experience each workplace and get paid for 5 "days" of work.
At 11:00, after play time, daily meetings reinforce some of details of how mini-society works as well as deal with issues that arise during the sessions. The younger children are often confused about what happens on market day, and don't understand why it's a good idea to trust their hard earned cash to the banks. Stories of lost or stolen money, as well as the advantages of earning interest are shared, but it always surprises me that some children refuse to patronize the banks and prefer their pockets instead. Issues of fairness or equity are raised: One year a student who was sick and missed a day of "work" thought it was unfair that she didn't get paid, so sick leave at half pay was instituted. Another year teachers forgot what the rate of pay the previous year was, and salaries were set at a lower rate, and a union was formed to agitate for higher pay. The system of handing out bonuses is often considered to be arbitrary by the children, and lots of discussion ensues about how to make it fairer.
What is actually produced during these work sessions? In the Snack group, the children make healthy but fun snacks designed to appeal to them and then sell them for 2 oodles at snack time. They also realize that advertising will promote their product, so a small group produces a roving commercial that visits all the other workplaces, singing or acting a jingle
In the Newspaper group, children brainstorm and are assigned various topics on which to report, and then despatched with clipboards to conduct interviews, polls and observations of what is happening in Mini-society that day. They are given a strict deadline in which to return, so that they can edit and finish their good copy on small pieces of paper which are then cut and pasted onto a 2 sided legal sheet of paper. A name is chosen for each paper, comics, games and puzzles are drawn and sometimes there is a theme that drives the topics chosen. On some days, ads are solicited (at a price) to promote some of the businesses which will be appearing on Friday. It can get very hectic towards 10:30 when the competing pressures of uncooperative photocopiers, unmet deadlines, a public clamouring for their daily read and employees needing to be paid can result in some palpitations on the part of the editors, but it is all worth it for the sight of a room full of children absorbed in reading their papers, while munching on the snack of the day.
A variety of items are produced in the two Craft groups each day. Most often the craft is something that can be made by children of all ages, and is appealing for children and adults alike. Friendship bracelets, hand-made diaries, mandalas, bubbleprint cards, origami animals, games, toys, and painted rocks are just a few of the types of items that have been produced. Sometimes a Craft group produces something that has a real, and practical use for the school. When the school was hosting a fundraising run, the children became button producers, and designed and made buttons to give out as participation medals. Another year when the Native garden needed a fence built to protect it from soccer balls (and players), the Craft session became a Fence Factory, where each child painted a fence picket. These were later assembled and installed into a colourful, funky picket fence that the children enjoy every day on the playground. But the main purpose of the Craft sessions is to produce items that can then be bought and sold on Market Day.
The Gardening group performs a real service. The children help with planting and weeding in the vegetable or Native garden, as well as pruning and labelling various crops. On rainy days, they create garden crafts to be sold on Market Day - painted plant pots, child-designed packets of seeds, bottle birdfeeders, or concrete paving stones to name a few.
Friday morning, or Market Day, is easily the most exciting, eagerly anticipated day of the school year. Some children plan what they are going to do months in advance. A few days before, all the children have had an opportunity to buy licenses for the particular business they and their friends are going to have. Food licenses are very popular, so there is a lottery to decide who gets them. Mobile vending licenses (the right to use the trolley carts from the kitchen) are also popular, and as there are only 2 of them, a lottery is often needed there too. Gaming licences are issued, as well as busking licences, and licences for retail outlets.
Market Day starts as the children withdraw all their money from the bank and then are called down in groups, according to a lottery system, to buy goods from the "warehouse". Items are grouped in batches of two or three, with a price designed to reflect the amount of work put into them - some items are made by one child alone in a session, while others are the work of several children together. This is the time where many children need to have it explained why they can't just buy the one item that they made themselves, and some need to be encouraged to "spend money to make money". Younger ones often need some counselling on what sort of mark up on the items they buy will allow them to make money, but not price themselves out of the market. If sales in the warehouse are not brisk enough, the teachers will reduce the wholesale price in order to stimulate the economy, and get the goods to the market.
While all this is going on, the other children are setting up their stalls in classrooms around the school, displaying licences and making price tags. The lunchroom is set aside as a Food Court, and all vendors are anxiously awaiting the warehouse to close so that they can set up. As soon as it is, the blenders come out and the trays of cupcakes and cookies are attractively displayed. At 9:30, the Market is declared open for business, and the school starts to buzz.
Groups of Littles and Youngs, accompanied by parents, start their shopping expeditions, with pockets bursting with cash. They take it in turns to leave their Littles Carnival or Youngs Marketplace, so that some are always on hand to run the stalls. The adults with them help them make the difficult decisions about what to spend their oodles on, and make sure that they are happy with their purchases. As they travel around the school, they come across a girl lying on the floor with her legs wrapped around her neck, and a hat out for donations. They hear the blare of music coming from
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Values Education
The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once had a discussion with a man who argued that children should not be given any religious training, but should be free to choose their own faith when they were old enough to decide for themselves. Coleridge later invited him into his garden. It seems our Mr Coleridge was a great poet but not a great gardener. “Do you call this a garden?” the visitor asked. “There are nothing but weeds here!”
“Well, you see,” Coleridge replied, “I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was just giving the garden a chance to express itself.”
Source: Reported in Daily Walk, March 28, 1992
If we change the words "religious training" to "values education" this quote illustrates what can happen in schools where values and the skills of empathy, compassion and mediation are not dealt with consistently and systematically throughout. How often do we hear that high schools are like a jungle? In Nova Scotia today, the challenge of dealing with children and adults who do not have these skills is magnified with the rise of social media. Every day we read in the papers about bullying in schools, and the sometimes tragic results that can occur when it is disseminated and compounded through Facebook or texting.
Halifax Independent School is a religiously non-religious community. No religious holidays are celebrated, unless in a range of celebrations as a part of a comparative religion unit. Although children are not discouraged from sharing their beliefs or from asking questions about another's religion, they are reminded that not everyone shares the same beliefs. The diversity of religion within the school population, as well as diversity of cultures, is celebrated, and treated the same way as children are encouraged to treat differences in personality or height - with respect and appreciation.
From the earliest age, children are taught to respect each other's beliefs, their feelings, their privacy and their bodies. This type of Values Education is taught both explicitly in classroom discussions, and implicitly through example and modelling. Specific language is taught to give children the tools to tell each other when they feel that boundaries are being breached. "I don't like it when you..." "I feel hurt/sad when you....." " When you grab that from me, I feel..." The idea that every human being is a whole being deserving of our respect is modelled constantly by the teachers and older children through emphasis on positive comments and separating the behaviour from the person. Children are taught through example that when they misbehave, it is their behaviour that is being castigated, not them, and the basic respect for them never wavers. The expectation is that they will behave in the same way to their peers.
Perhaps one of the strengths of HIS is the way in which interpersonal relationships are at the very heart of the school culture and curriculum....not only are there many opportunities within the school year, week and day for teaching and talking about such issues, but the adults behave in ways that reinforce them. One of the most fundamental ways that this happens is the fact that no one in the school uses a title...all teachers, administrators and parents are known by all by their first names. Many visitors to the school look askance at this practice and ask, "How do you maintain the respect of students for their teachers if they are calling them by their first names?" The answer is simple: in a culture where everyone is respected, regardless of status, titles are not necessary; in fact they promote the idea that there is a hierarchy of respect and that adults are more worthy of it than children. This does not take away from the teacher's authority and role as keeper of the rules. The smallest child is granted as much respect as the Headteacher, and is entitled to be listened to with the same attention. However, it is clear that age, experience and training do give some weight to one's opinions, so that when teachers do give an opinion in Meeting, it is sometimes considered the "last word". One teacher who demanded to be called, "Miss A.", found that the title did not garner her respect; in fact the opposite was the case.
It sometimes happens that a child may see part-time, younger staff members (often university students hired as lunch monitors) as lower on the hierarchy than regular teachers. These children may believe, mistakenly, that lunch monitors do not need to be heeded; that if a lunch monitor asks a child to stop doing something that is against the rules, they can be disregarded. Much discussion ensues about the role of adults in the school to keep children safe, and help them navigate through any social problems they may have; it is made very clear that lunch monitors play that role, and deserve respect accordingly.
Sally and Amir are chasing each other around the play structure. They seem to be having fun, but suddenly shrieks are heard and they are observed locked in battle: Sally is clutching Amir's coat, while he is attempting to wrest a stick from her hands. The playground monitor separates the two, asks them to cool down and calls over Graeme, an older boy wearing a blue sash.
"Do you need a Peer Mediator?" he asks the two. Sally nods slowly, while Amir, still crying, kicks the gravel with his foot. The monitor melts away, while Graeme leads to the children to a quiet corner. He asks Amir, "Are you willing to try to work this out?"
This time Amir, wiping the tears from his face, says reluctantly, "Okay."
Graeme asks Sally if she would like to tell what happened. "We were playing Lost in Space, and I was the Spaceship commander and we were fighting aliens.I had the magic light sabre..."
"But I had it first!" interrupted Amir.
"Remember the rules of mediation: no interrupting!" Graeme said.
"But I am the Commander!"interjected Sally, "It is my job to protect the spaceship! I was just zapping the aliens with the light sabre, and Amir started trying to grab it from me. So I ran away."
Graeme: "Okay, so how did you feel when that happened?"
Sally: "Really bad."
Graeme: "Now, Amir, it is your turn to tell what happened."
Amir: "Well, like Sally said, except that I got the stick from the bushes and I had it. Then when the aliens attacked, she just grabbed it from me and said that she had to fight the aliens because she is the Commander."
Graeme: How did that make you feel?
Amir: I was really mad!
Graeme: So it sounds like you both feel pretty bad about this! Sally, can you think of anything you could have done differently?
Sally: Well, I guess I could have asked Amir for the stick.
Graeme: Amir? What could you have done differently?
Amir: I guess I didn't need to try grab it from her.
Graeme: Okay, how do you think you could solve this problem?
Amir: Well, sorry Sally. How about you get the stick to fight the aliens, and then it will be my turn to be the Commander, and I can have the stick?
Sally: Okay. I'm sorry I just grabbed the stick. That sounds like a good idea.
Graeme: Are you both okay with Amir's idea?
Amir and Sally: Yes. Can we go play now?
Graeme: Here's the stick, Sally. Good mediation, you two!
Amir and Sally scamper off
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will always hurt me"
making up rules
Excluding
property rights - snow forts
soccer, 4-square - cheating
lying
stealing
Meeting
Peer Mediators
Monday, May 6, 2013
A Garden of Children
When the grey, rainy days of March start eating away at the snow, and glimpses of brown earth and grass start appearing, my hunger to get outside in the garden becomes overwhelming, and I find myself sometimes raking away at frozen ground with frozen hands, desperately searching for signs of life. Tiny green shoots of ground elder give me a stab of happiness, even though I know that in a few months I will be waging war with these same shoots. Usually, after this first session in the garden, I vow to wait until I can work the soil a bit, until the first tiny leaves are unfolding on the bushes and until the points of various perennials are pushing through, before getting out again.
In the meantime, I dream and plan and try to visualize the next stage of my garden. I order bulbs from Vesey's, visit the seed store to discuss organic fertilizers for the tiny patch of shady lawn and when the rain takes a break, get out with my secaturs and start cutting back on the shrubs that are threatening to take over. It is as I clip away at the unruly growth, allowing the shape of the bush to emerge, that the similarity between my approach to gardening and to educating children suggests itself. I think about what all children (and gardens) need to flourish....lots of love, healthy food and stimulation (sun, water and nutrients) in a safe environment. But they also, like gardens, need gentle guidance to encourage them to discover their own capacities and inner strengths while acknowledging and working on their weaknesses.
As I look back at the development of my teaching philosophy, I think how it parallels the development of this garden that I have been privileged to tend for the past 13 years. As the garden has matured over the years, so have the children that I have been teaching and so has my teaching approach . Each year my garden surprises me with the juxtaposition of colours and shapes, as do my students.
So here's a description of my gardening style:
Although when I moved into my house, I spent a fair amount of time planning the bare bones of the garden (and even engaged a garden designer for a brief time), my approach to planning since then has been characterized by a lot of mooning around in the springtime dreaming, punctuated by numerous visits to nurseries where I often buy things on impulse. Serendipitous finds come from plant exchanges, gifts from friends and sometimes "volunteers" which appear unbidden in the springtime. I make sure that my soil is good, enriched with bone meal, manure and compost, but my one experience with the scientific method (a $4 soil-testing kit) resulted in my not applying lime when I should have, and has not been repeated.
I prune carefully and religiously, but sometimes have to push myself to do the really hard pruning required by roses and other shrubs. When I do, I find myself amply rewarded, so I am getting better at it with time. I weed enthusiastically, but perhaps not regularly enough, and I am always looking for ways to minimize the weeding (mulch, close planting etc). I enjoy exposing sensitive plants to the sun and air, rooting out the creepers and weeds that threaten to choke them.
I love watering the garden in the evenings during a dry spell, and often imagine the plants sucking in the moisture as children soak in knowledge.
Sometimes, plants self-seed, and show up in places they are not supposed to. I have a hard time pulling them up, so my garden may have bachelor's buttons growing in the middle of the patio, or forget-me-nots in the lawn. I don't allow all of them, but generally, I love the random effect. And since I don't always plan every last detail, there are other surprises in the garden that show up as the season goes on - unplanned groupings of colours and shapes that complement each other or a shady nook surrounded by ferns and white hydrangeas that is very inviting on a hot day.
Generally, my garden is a slightly overgrown tumult of colours and greenery, a place where birds, cats and children play together (usually without grief) and where people can socialize on a warm summer evening. It is a source of delight as it grows and fills in. Each plant or bush has its place, and its season to shine, and all are loved in spite of their spikes or thorns. I like to think that my classroom, and indeed HIS, parallels this garden: the underlying planning is there, but it is never so rigid as to disallow the spontaneous happenings and discoveries that create excitement and a love of learning; "sensitive plants" are given extra care, while the "weeds" of distraction or whatever else is choking them are pulled up; there is lots of cross-fertilization of ideas as teachers, parents and children talk to each other. My classroom is a slightly eccentric, but stimulating place, in which children thrive with a combination of enrichment, love and encouragement, with a little bit of judicious pruning thrown in from time to time.
The trend in education in North America in recent years, lead by a drive to standardize and make schools more "accountable" has resulted in more testing which in turn creates an atmosphere in which the "right" answer is paramount. An environment where students and teachers alike are under pressure to perform to a set standard, and where there are real, life altering consequences for failure, is not conducive to experimentation, spontanaiety or creativity...indeed the type of garden it would create would be
In the meantime, I dream and plan and try to visualize the next stage of my garden. I order bulbs from Vesey's, visit the seed store to discuss organic fertilizers for the tiny patch of shady lawn and when the rain takes a break, get out with my secaturs and start cutting back on the shrubs that are threatening to take over. It is as I clip away at the unruly growth, allowing the shape of the bush to emerge, that the similarity between my approach to gardening and to educating children suggests itself. I think about what all children (and gardens) need to flourish....lots of love, healthy food and stimulation (sun, water and nutrients) in a safe environment. But they also, like gardens, need gentle guidance to encourage them to discover their own capacities and inner strengths while acknowledging and working on their weaknesses.
As I look back at the development of my teaching philosophy, I think how it parallels the development of this garden that I have been privileged to tend for the past 13 years. As the garden has matured over the years, so have the children that I have been teaching and so has my teaching approach . Each year my garden surprises me with the juxtaposition of colours and shapes, as do my students.
So here's a description of my gardening style:
Although when I moved into my house, I spent a fair amount of time planning the bare bones of the garden (and even engaged a garden designer for a brief time), my approach to planning since then has been characterized by a lot of mooning around in the springtime dreaming, punctuated by numerous visits to nurseries where I often buy things on impulse. Serendipitous finds come from plant exchanges, gifts from friends and sometimes "volunteers" which appear unbidden in the springtime. I make sure that my soil is good, enriched with bone meal, manure and compost, but my one experience with the scientific method (a $4 soil-testing kit) resulted in my not applying lime when I should have, and has not been repeated.
I prune carefully and religiously, but sometimes have to push myself to do the really hard pruning required by roses and other shrubs. When I do, I find myself amply rewarded, so I am getting better at it with time. I weed enthusiastically, but perhaps not regularly enough, and I am always looking for ways to minimize the weeding (mulch, close planting etc). I enjoy exposing sensitive plants to the sun and air, rooting out the creepers and weeds that threaten to choke them.
I love watering the garden in the evenings during a dry spell, and often imagine the plants sucking in the moisture as children soak in knowledge.
Sometimes, plants self-seed, and show up in places they are not supposed to. I have a hard time pulling them up, so my garden may have bachelor's buttons growing in the middle of the patio, or forget-me-nots in the lawn. I don't allow all of them, but generally, I love the random effect. And since I don't always plan every last detail, there are other surprises in the garden that show up as the season goes on - unplanned groupings of colours and shapes that complement each other or a shady nook surrounded by ferns and white hydrangeas that is very inviting on a hot day.
Generally, my garden is a slightly overgrown tumult of colours and greenery, a place where birds, cats and children play together (usually without grief) and where people can socialize on a warm summer evening. It is a source of delight as it grows and fills in. Each plant or bush has its place, and its season to shine, and all are loved in spite of their spikes or thorns. I like to think that my classroom, and indeed HIS, parallels this garden: the underlying planning is there, but it is never so rigid as to disallow the spontaneous happenings and discoveries that create excitement and a love of learning; "sensitive plants" are given extra care, while the "weeds" of distraction or whatever else is choking them are pulled up; there is lots of cross-fertilization of ideas as teachers, parents and children talk to each other. My classroom is a slightly eccentric, but stimulating place, in which children thrive with a combination of enrichment, love and encouragement, with a little bit of judicious pruning thrown in from time to time.
The trend in education in North America in recent years, lead by a drive to standardize and make schools more "accountable" has resulted in more testing which in turn creates an atmosphere in which the "right" answer is paramount. An environment where students and teachers alike are under pressure to perform to a set standard, and where there are real, life altering consequences for failure, is not conducive to experimentation, spontanaiety or creativity...indeed the type of garden it would create would be
Monday, April 8, 2013
Theme in the Olds
Vignettes:
The day starts with a circle on the floor. The teacher gathers the children, and begins by reading from a the current novel, ....by Karen Hesse, a fictionalized diary of a cabin boy from Captain Cook's voyage around the South Pacific. Each entry starts with a log of the latitude and longitude, so the globe is brought down, and a child volunteers to find the location, sparking a discussion about the distance travelled since the previous entry.
The children are researching some historical background for the stories they will be working on. The week before, they had visited Pier 21, Canada's Immigration museum, which tells the stories of the thousands of European immigrants who arrived in Canada by ship during the first part of the 20th century.. During their visit, they learned about some of the experiences of typical immigrants, including the types of things they might bring with them, conditions on board the ships, and events in the world that made Canada seem like a beacon of stability and prosperity. While there, they were getting ideas for a setting, characters and a plot for the story that they would be writing and were encouraged to ask questions of the volunteer dosuns who showed them around. After returning to school, each child chose a geographical area, and a precipitating event that caused their character to leave Europe.
Today, they are researching the events causing their characters' departure from Europe. One group is researching WWII, another the rise of Naziism in the 30's, the Soviet takeover of the Baltic states and still another the British Home Children. Books are spread around the classroom as children search for answers to the questions they have brainstormed together. Coloured slips of paper mark places in books with information worth a second look; children show passages or pictures to others they think might be interested and everyone is jotting down facts in charts in their "theme" notebooks. The charts have been drawn up based on the questions generated during the class brainstorm.
During this time, the teacher is moving around the classroom, sitting at each table, helping children fill in the gaps in their charts, finding new information, and in some cases reading aloud difficult passages. She is gently reminding some children that conversation needs to be about the topic at hand (not telling them not to talk) or redirecting others back to their assigned task. Occasionally she reminds the class that in a few days, they will be starting to write their stories and that they will need as much background information as possible.
The next day, a parent, who is also an immigrant from Central America, comes in to talk to the class about her experiences moving to a new country - the difficulties she faced, the reasons for coming, and what she learned throughout the experience. The children take notes in their theme notebooks, and ask questions which show that they have been thinking about the issue. After the parent has left, the class discuss their reactions to the presentation "What struck you most about the difficulties Maria faced?" "What can you use for your story from Maria's experiences?". The children then write thank you letters in which they are encouraged to reflect on what they have learned, and what from the presentation they will incorporate into their stories.
After this, the teacher judges that it is time for the children to start writing their stories. Even though they have not finished all the research she had planned, she wants to maintain their interest, and capitalize on the freshness of the information already gathered. In a circle, the children share a little bit about their characters, and the events that have made it necessary for them to emigrate, before heading to their table to start writing. The teacher reminds them about writing good paragraphs, and about using quotation marks for dialogue. At this stage, she requests quiet, explaining that it is time for concentration and thinking. Some children immediately start writing, while others stare blankly out the window. The teacher waits for a few minutes and then softly asks each of the blocked individuals if they need help - sometimes a suggestion for where to start, or just chatting with the child about the causes of their characters' departure is enough to get them writing. After about 25 minutes the teacher notices that one child is still fiddling around with her pencil, and hasn't written anything. She stops the class, and compliments the children for their hard work (thinking is hard work, too). One child volunteers to read his opening paragraph out loud; others join in for an impromtu sharing session which lasts about 10 minutes, before everyone gets back to work. By this time, the last hold-out has had an idea, and is soon busily scribbling.
By snack time, the children have written various amounts, but all leave the classroom excited and chatting about their characters. Some will ask if they can continue to write at home (of course!)
The day starts with a circle on the floor. The teacher gathers the children, and begins by reading from a the current novel, ....by Karen Hesse, a fictionalized diary of a cabin boy from Captain Cook's voyage around the South Pacific. Each entry starts with a log of the latitude and longitude, so the globe is brought down, and a child volunteers to find the location, sparking a discussion about the distance travelled since the previous entry.
The children are researching some historical background for the stories they will be working on. The week before, they had visited Pier 21, Canada's Immigration museum, which tells the stories of the thousands of European immigrants who arrived in Canada by ship during the first part of the 20th century.. During their visit, they learned about some of the experiences of typical immigrants, including the types of things they might bring with them, conditions on board the ships, and events in the world that made Canada seem like a beacon of stability and prosperity. While there, they were getting ideas for a setting, characters and a plot for the story that they would be writing and were encouraged to ask questions of the volunteer dosuns who showed them around. After returning to school, each child chose a geographical area, and a precipitating event that caused their character to leave Europe.
Today, they are researching the events causing their characters' departure from Europe. One group is researching WWII, another the rise of Naziism in the 30's, the Soviet takeover of the Baltic states and still another the British Home Children. Books are spread around the classroom as children search for answers to the questions they have brainstormed together. Coloured slips of paper mark places in books with information worth a second look; children show passages or pictures to others they think might be interested and everyone is jotting down facts in charts in their "theme" notebooks. The charts have been drawn up based on the questions generated during the class brainstorm.
During this time, the teacher is moving around the classroom, sitting at each table, helping children fill in the gaps in their charts, finding new information, and in some cases reading aloud difficult passages. She is gently reminding some children that conversation needs to be about the topic at hand (not telling them not to talk) or redirecting others back to their assigned task. Occasionally she reminds the class that in a few days, they will be starting to write their stories and that they will need as much background information as possible.
The next day, a parent, who is also an immigrant from Central America, comes in to talk to the class about her experiences moving to a new country - the difficulties she faced, the reasons for coming, and what she learned throughout the experience. The children take notes in their theme notebooks, and ask questions which show that they have been thinking about the issue. After the parent has left, the class discuss their reactions to the presentation "What struck you most about the difficulties Maria faced?" "What can you use for your story from Maria's experiences?". The children then write thank you letters in which they are encouraged to reflect on what they have learned, and what from the presentation they will incorporate into their stories.
After this, the teacher judges that it is time for the children to start writing their stories. Even though they have not finished all the research she had planned, she wants to maintain their interest, and capitalize on the freshness of the information already gathered. In a circle, the children share a little bit about their characters, and the events that have made it necessary for them to emigrate, before heading to their table to start writing. The teacher reminds them about writing good paragraphs, and about using quotation marks for dialogue. At this stage, she requests quiet, explaining that it is time for concentration and thinking. Some children immediately start writing, while others stare blankly out the window. The teacher waits for a few minutes and then softly asks each of the blocked individuals if they need help - sometimes a suggestion for where to start, or just chatting with the child about the causes of their characters' departure is enough to get them writing. After about 25 minutes the teacher notices that one child is still fiddling around with her pencil, and hasn't written anything. She stops the class, and compliments the children for their hard work (thinking is hard work, too). One child volunteers to read his opening paragraph out loud; others join in for an impromtu sharing session which lasts about 10 minutes, before everyone gets back to work. By this time, the last hold-out has had an idea, and is soon busily scribbling.
By snack time, the children have written various amounts, but all leave the classroom excited and chatting about their characters. Some will ask if they can continue to write at home (of course!)
Introduction
It seems like a regular school day in
dreary, late November but as soon as the visitor walks through the front doors
of Halifax Independent School in the mid-morning, she is aware of the muted
buzz of excitement that seems to emanate from the very walls of the building.
Two 4 year olds burst from a classroom and begin a charge down the hall until
they are aware of the visitor in the lobby, whereupon they slow to a suppressed
run and approach the front desk, hand-in-hand and bursting with importance.
“Valerie, we have a message for you” and
they hand her a piece of paper. Valerie, seated at the front desk, helps the children read the note out
loud, “Please give us 2 sheets of red paper” and goes to fetch the paper from
the storeroom. She gives it to the children, and they begin walking sedately
back to their class.
From above, the sounds of children singing
emanate from the music room, and across the hall tables and benches in the
lunchroom are being moved to create an open space. The “Work-a-ma-jig”, a
kinetic sculpture designed and made by all the students in the school a few
years before, is lit up and ready for action. Walking down the hall, the
visitor sees glass doors covered with cloth and signs saying “No Pirnts Aloud”.
This is no ordinary day at Halifax Independent – it is Fair Day!
In the late morning, parents of the four
year olds – “the Littles” will begin arriving for their Fair presentation, and
throughout the afternoon each class will treat their parents and other
interested people to a presentation about the “theme” they have been studying
for the past 2 months.
Let’s take a walk around and visit these
presentations; Fair is the culmination of the children’s research, the
showcasing of their knowledge and skills and a chance for them to hone their
presentation skills.
We’ll start in the lunchroom with the
Littles who are seated in a row on two benches with pirate hats on, and who
sing an action song before getting up and going to fetch their own parents. Taking
them by the hand, each child leads their willing parents into the classroom which
has been transformed into the various levels of the ocean – one corner
represents the intertidal zone, another the depths etc. The parents gather around their children, who are in groups of two or three, intently listening to them talk one by one about the sea creature that they have fashioned out of papier mache, occasionally asking them a question or two. The children proudly show them the paintings they have done, the writing on the labels and signs, the sketches and brainstorms that have been part of their "study". In a few minutes, at a signal from the teacher, the parents move on to hear another group.
Moving along the hallway, we visit a
middles class in which one whole corner has been built up into a “rocky” ledge
around which various little tide pool animals are perched (the giggles let us
know that these are in fact children). Two girls with a papier mache microphone enter and
begin to interview the creatures,
who stand up and one by one tell the enraptured audience all about their unique
habits and characteristics. A song with original words written by the children
finishes up the formal presentation, whereupon the parents are invited to view
the exhibits of research booklets, models and artwork. In another Middles
class, a teacher plays the role of very careless boater while students point
out all the environmental mistakes she is making while telling the audience why
it is a problem and what we can all do about it.
Upstairs, the Olds are engaging parents in
a spirited game of “Are you smarter than an Old?” with the MC firing off
obscure facts about oceans and then asking “Believe it?” or “Believe it not?”.
Naturally the Olds win handily. Thereupon, the students talk about the research
they did preparing to write historical “novels” about a child emigrating by sea
to Canada from various parts of the world and read selected passages from their
self-published books. A beautiful map of the classical world with scenes from
Homer’s Odyssey painted by the children with the help of a mural artist adorns
the walls, as do other framed art works. Later, the parents are invited to buy
their children’s books, with the proceeds donated to the Ecology Action Centre
to help with their campaign to set up and maintain Marine Protected Areas.
In the Elders, children dressed as various
adult “types” are attending a public meeting to discuss the fate of an area of
shoreline which is under threat from development. A large model of the wetland,
labelled with the various habitats, is in the centre of the room. Everyone gets
their say: environmentalists, the developer, contractors, residents; even the various creatures native to the
area make presentations. In the end, the group votes to preserve the area.
The visitor overhears a parent say, "Wow, he's only 6 and he's using words like 'bathypelagic'!" As she mills about listening to the
parents’ comments, seeing the proud glow on children’s faces, viewing the
artistically presented displays and listening in on little “experts” answering
complex questions on their areas of expertise, she wonders, “How did all this
happen? Why?”
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The 90's - my first decade
My first contact with Dalhousie University School was sending International speakers to do presentations with the children. I was always intrigued with its "alternative" reputation, but had never actually set foot within it...until one day, after I had finished my Masters of Education, left the IEC and was looking for the next job, I spotted a small box ad in the newspaper. Teaching jobs in Nova Scotia were few and far between in those days, and indeed after my 8 years at the IEC I feared I would never have a regular classroom job again. Therefore, I wrote a very careful cover letter and polished up my resume to highlight my "alternative" qualifications...my cross-cultural experience, my experience with adapting curricula, and my belief in a hands-on, discovery approach to learning. I was thrilled when I was invited in for an interview, and prepared more than for any other job I had applied for (can't remember how!). I did not read the Book beforehand (this was before the internet, and I don't think I even knew it existed) and barely knew what "theme studies" entailed, but probably did go and dust off my copies of "Open Education" and "The Integrated Day in the Primary School".
The big day arrived, and I was interviewed in the upstairs main lobby of the Education building, seated on modern looking armchairs, by a group of 3 women who consisted of Ruth Gamberg, Heather B. (a teacher) and a parent from the school committee whose name I have forgotten. All I remember of the interview is that I felt very comfortable with these women, and felt that we had had a good discussion. I know I spoke about cuisenaire rods, and how great they were for teaching basic math concepts (I was fresh from home-schooling 5 year old Winnie) and later when I discovered how central they were to the math programme at DUS, I believed that this is what got me the job (I should check on that!). After the interview, I wanted the job more than ever and prepared for an agonizing wait for a phone call. I did not call or write to thank the interviewers for interviewing me...I just crossed my fingers and in the end, I didn't have to wait too long. When Ruth called, she started out with, "Well I have bad news and good news..." and my heart sank. The bad news was that they had a candidate who had been working in the school, but who was British, and could not be hired until they had established that there were no suitable Canadian candidates. The good news was that she was pregnant, expecting in May, and would be on maternity leave for the fall term. So Ruth asked if I was interested in a short term position in the Youngs class to replace Cate A. I don't believe I thought too much about it before I said "yes", as I was very excited to be back in the classroom, and I knew that a foot in the door was the next best thing to full time job.
I spent several days volunteering with Cate in her classroom that spring, and remember being continually amazed that all sorts of things that I had only read about in my radical literature were happening in the school - things like 5 year olds running around doing polls on various topics and then graphing the results (while many other activities were simultaneously happening), stuffed animals taking on elaborate roles in various scenarios devised by the children (weddings were very popular during those early years) and a atmosphere of respect and trust that was at all levels. One memory stands out - Cate and I took the children outside to the Quad, the grassy area in the centre of some of Dalhousie's oldest buildings, including the Administration Building and the Faculty Club. It was Earth Day, and we were cleaning up garbage - a typical rainy April day with daffodils brightening up the gloom. A roving photographer from the Daily News came by and took a picture of the children, and then of course wanted to know all their names. I was shocked that Cate did not know the last names of any of the children and had to go inside to get a list; this shocked and amused me because my experiences with registers and daily attendance in my previous schools meant that my pupils' full names would have been ingrained. I had a lot to learn! At this time, I got to know Heather, who was teaching the Middles, and Janet N.L., the Headteacher who was also the Olds teacher and I felt very lucky to have such a supportive team to work with in the fall.
What did this tiny theme studies school look like when I first started? Located at one end of the first floor of the “temporary” post-war Education building, a low ivy-covered structure which graced Dalhousie’s central quad, 2 small classrooms and 1 tiny classroom along with a tiny office, kitchen and library were arranged around the “lunchroom” which doubled as a central meeting spot. A cloakroom had doors which led outside to the small fenced playground, which had a set of swings, a few wooden structures to climb on and the Playhouse which had been built during the World of Work year. The playground was surrounded by lovely mature trees, and set against the grey stone buildings, it had a very peaceful, academic air. The Youngs’ classroom had a playhouse built in one corner, known as the Wendy House, but the majority of the furnishings were shabby cast-offs from various university departments. Broken tiles, ancient blackboards and grimy paint characterize the decorating style, but the whole was enlivened by the children’s art work displayed, the in-progress projects lying around and the brightly coloured toys and books everywhere.
Who were these 37 students whose parents were paying good money to attend this not very prepossessing looking establishment? About 1/3 of them were the children of faculty and staff of Dalhousie University. The rest were from the larger community – in those days there was a sizable chunk from the fairly newly established Buddhist community and more than a sprinkling from the arts community. There were “hippie” kids and the children of doctors and lawyers, new immigrant children and scions of Halifax business owners. Parent meetings and social occasions were always lively affairs.
Not only was the school located within the Department of Education, teachers were considered faculty and paid by the University (tuition fees covered salaries and the university covered the rest of the expenses), and the school was administered by a School Committee consisting of Education professors, parents and teachers. This close relationship was widening by the time I started as Dalhousie stopped training elementary teachers (who had previously spent considerable time observing and volunteering in the school) and it seemed less and less relevant to the secondary education students who came in batches of 5 at a time to observe.
In my first full year, I taught the Olds –
about 12 grades 3 and 4 students. The theme was Nova Scotia and that year we
studied fisheries, the Mik’maq, and Black Loyalists. One of our biggest
projects was researching real Black Loyalists, making marionettes of our
characters and writing and performing a puppet show. Another Fair presentation
had the children debating what could be done to save the Nova Scotia fishery –
several years before the moratorium on the cod fishery, these children were
calling for drastic reductions in fish quotas. On a typical day, you might find a group pouring through
books researching Loyalists, another in the lunchroom working with a parent
sewing their puppets’ costumes and another painting backdrops for the puppet
show. Children are chattering to each other, but generally they are focused and
on task – they know that their parents will be watching their show in a few
weeks, and as well as the subject matter, they still have to master the art of
puppetry!
At snack time, the children would eat
quickly in the lunchroom and pour out the cloakroom door into the small
playground sandwiched between the Education building and the Faculty Club next
door, shaded by couple of large elm trees. There they would play on the swings,
climb on the 2 platforms and chase around through the playhouse (built a few
years earlier by the children during “World of Work” theme). Stuffed animals
played a big role, and animal “weddings” were frequently staged between various
children’s stuffies whose personalities were well known, and quite distinct
from their owners.
The month of December was largely devoted
to the production of 3 short plays which were written and/or adapted by the children, and performed
in one of the larger classrooms in the Education building. All the props and
backdrops were made by the children, and the stage was demarcated by a line of
jury-rigged stage lights on the floor. All the parents squashed themselves in
to the room, and the heat would be intense as the children acted, sang and
danced, reaching a climax when the whole school gathered on the stage for the
finale song. Afterwards, the children would bask in the glow of appreciation
from their audience at a pot-luck dessert back in the lunchroom.
Even before I arrived at the school, change
was in the air. The shifting focus from elementary to only secondary education
meant that most professors were no longer interested in theme studies or elementary education; but the
real death knell was issued at the beginning of 1991 when the Nova Scotia government decided to “rationalize” the
universities, and Education departments at Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s were
closed. Most teacher training in the province was centred at Mount Saint Vincent University.
Parents and teachers alike were upset at the prospect of losing this tight knit community of students, parents and teachers, and a small group began investigating the options around moving off campus and becoming independent.
Parents and teachers alike were upset at the prospect of losing this tight knit community of students, parents and teachers, and a small group began investigating the options around moving off campus and becoming independent.
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