NEIM is hosting a pre-registration meeting for families interested in enrolling their 5-8 (9?) yr olds into the primary classroom next fall. They are hoping to get a solid idea of how many students would be involved in the classroom. This information is necessary before they can comfortably begin the hiring process and/or offer a contract to a teacher. There is need for the hiring process to begin very soon as school districts will be extending contracts and expecting their completion in March and April.
However, some parents are hesitant to committ to sending their children to the primary classroom as information regarding the curriculum/direction of the classroom has not been established. The whole child education group is very excited about moving forward, and have asked NEIM director, Jane Busch, to draft her ideas on a curriculum and schedule that would be representative of where NEIM sees the classroom going. We are concurrently working on drafting the educational goals we would like included in the curriculum. We intend to focus on practical ideas that would infuse those goals into the curriculum. A great deal of our discussion on that will occur this Wednesday, March 19th at 3:30 at First Lutheran.
Please take a moment to write down any ideas you have on the curriculum for next year. This is your chance to get your voice heard (the meeting is another great opportunity)! I'm also including some comments from previous posts/emails on this subject. Please let me know if I missed any. Hope to hear your comments and see you on Wednesday!
Alicia
19 comments:
Perhaps Waldorf curriculum (involves much more teacher direction) could be utilized in the morning and the afternoon could be reserved for Montessori curriculum involving more student-directed choice or the afternoons could be reserved for projects, etc. (reflective of "unschooling").
This is would make sense with brain research (I believe) as the time in the morning, students are more able to focus on direct instruction, etc. Then, they would have the opportunity to choose their activities/progress at their own pace in the afternoon when they might need more flexibility. Of course, the afternoon "works" could also include Waldorf projects/handworks too.
I like the idea of exploring this more. One of my issues with public school is that there is precious little time to follow your own passions. Consequently, I think many of us grow up somewhat lost as what those are for ourselves and have to spend a good deal of time re-finding the self we knew as children! :) I also advocate freedom in terms of time for the sheer joy of playing alone and with others.
I ALSO like the idea of children being able to leave with an adult to go to a class in the afternoons, that might be away from school. It's been hard with Aidan being in school to schedule his violin lesson. He used to have it at 2:15 or 2:45 but it was a problem with school to have him leave early like that. I think other activities are nice to encourage.
Blessings,
Parker
I think this idea is appealing for a number of reasons. Just in terms of honoring and implementing two very disparate teaching and learning systems, splitting up the day seems like an easy way to go about it. It would be nice to really truly integrate both philosophies (and others) throughout the entire experience, but again, that's a lot easier said than done.
I REALLY like the idea of having "free" or "loosely structured" time every day for the kids to explore their own motivations and passions and selves. To me, that's what is lacking in "conventional education," and is one of my main motivations for wanting something different.
I guess another way one could split up time would be to have some days structured, some days not, or something. Just brainstorming here...
Rachel
Hi friends,
Here is some info I found about Bothmer Gymnastics. Additionally, we have tremendous resources here at Luther with Jane Hawley and her students studying movement fundamentals. I can share some info I have about developmental movement and its role in brain development, you can also look up a program called "Brain Gym." It is gaining acceptance in more mainstream locations but may take awhile to catch on. There is research but it is limited, into the effectiveness. We sponsored a Brain Gym training here in Decorah back in 2000, and I have basic basic level training.
Love, Parker
Hi friends,
I was looking over the Thoreau School site and there is a page about being a "green school." I'd think we'd want to go in that direction as well so getting some more info about that might be helpful?
I also mentioned our alt ed group to Blake Nellis who graduated from Luther last year and has developed a curriculum called Moving Dance/Learning Bodies (I think that's the name!) which he did with some of our children in the last 2 years. I do want to encourage us to incorporate movement as both an art form as well as an instructional/self awareness/brain building strategy in our school- that sets us apart from the public schools dramatically. I would also like to learn more about what seems to be a Waldorf movement approach called Bohmer Gymnastics. I've not heard that term until recently, was more familiar with the eurythmy term, but still didn't understand what that was...
I also just got a book about something called the "Extra Lesson" which is a sensory/developmental movement aspect of Waldorf for children who need some extra support.
Just thoughts and explorations. I am so excited by what we are all accomplishing! Thanks to all for all the work and commitment.
Love,
Parker
As for the "original" meeting notes: I apologize, that I only have 2 or 3 of the slips of paper...
In summary: We felt that we wanted school to be a place where "learning" was fun, and inspiring...that our children were taught not "what to learn" but "how to learn", we wanted enrichment in arts, music, foreign language, and kinesthetics (body movements)...We wanted ceremony and community, joy and civility! Emphasis on the natural world was highly important, and using inquiry approaches to learning...If you have more from the first meeting to add, please do so....
Emily
Specific emphases that I believe are seriously lacking in public ed and would be important to build into alt ed include (of the multitude): truly experiential approaches, outdoor ed in many versions and levels of integration, flexibility/differentiation/acceleration not as separate issues but as fundamental principles, and an emphasis on relationship building, peer group development, and emotional growth as well as academic. Probably nothing new there.
Andy J
The parent(s), child, teacher(s) and school will work as partners to facilitate the child's educational experience.
Amy C.
I'd also mentioned "high stakes tests" last night. Though I've only spoken to my mom and havent looked up more specifics what she told me is this. In some states, in some districts, children MUST pass a test in order to move on to the next grade or to graduate, regardless of their school record. It varies widely- in some schools it is only to graduate and in others it is to go from 3rd-4th, or other grade steps. I would not ever want to see use subscribe to that- I understand it is not at play right now in IA, but with an association with the public system, it could be a requirement should they choose to make it one. Just food for thought! :) Love, Parker
I think language activities are important to have in the classroom at every age and all the time, as integrated as possible. Kids learn to read at a wide variety of different ages, which is why "reading by 1st grade" doesn't work for everyone. My kids were reading on their own over the summer, but when they started kindergarten and Jolly phonics, they stopped reading and it set them back. The teachers are so structured in by the box the school has them in that they can't think outside it. When I told them my kids were reading and asked them what opportunities they had in school to read, they responded as if I were an alien. Ways to learn reading need to be available on many levels, and reading learning needs to be individualized in some ways as much as possible. I can't tell you how sick I am of our 3rd-grader bringing home worksheets, and how boring they are for her. When I was a kid I loved worksheets and I even loved (and still do love) standardized tests. But manipulatives and hands-on, multi-dimensional learning is crucial. Read Montessori, she talks a lot about how differently the information goes into the brain when the learning is hands-on. I think both individual and group opportunities should always exist in the classroom. I think kids should be able to choose (as much as possible). I really believe in Montessori's concept that kids need long, uninterrupted periods to really "get into" and explore their work. They develop concentration and thinking skills that you cannot teach them. They learn this by having these chances to explore it their own way.
Thanks, Amy
In summary: We felt that we wanted school to be a place where "learning" was fun, and inspiring...that our children were taught not "what to learn" but "how to learn", we wanted enrichment in arts, music, foreign language, and kinesthetics (body movements)...We wanted ceremony and community, joy and civility! Emphasis on the natural world was highly important, and using inquiry approaches to learning...If you have more from the first meeting to add, please do so.... Thanks, Emily
Because I want my kids to like going to school and like learning. I also want an emphasis on developing the whole child. My public school was academically strong, but I didn't develop many areas outside of academics and band. I chose not too, and I probably should have, but it was either take art (music, etc) or don't. In my school, you took art if you thought you were an artist. You took music if you thought you were a good singer. My ideal of an alt school will incorporate the arts into academics (music, movement, etc.) so that the students can "discover" that they are ALL artistic, musical, and kinesthetic (etc). I also want an emphasis on the natural world. That was totally lacking in my education and leads to individuals who respect and borrow the earth responsibly. Worst experience: being left out of group one day, after being the leader of the group the day before, after being left out the day before that, after being the leader the day before that, etc. etc. (4th grade) Best experience: 4th year German play. Student directed (only four of us in the class) compilation of multiple fairytales translated into German. Performed by the four students; set created by the four students; costumes created by the students; great memories and collaboration created by the students. We bused elem kids in to watch. I need to get a copy of that production! Alicia
Ok....I'm trying this...I want a school that promotes community, respect and family values....I feel like public schools are full of competition, consumerism, and too much focus on technology, and not enough on character. I also want to see more emphasis on understanding and appreciating the natural world, more involvement of the arts, language (foreign), and cooperation! Worst experience: being left out most of elementary school! (Mind you in my graduating class of students from my elementary school, one is on death row, and a few others in jail for other crimes....) I was teased for so many reasons, and had horrible ITBS scores! Best Experience: Junior High read aloud contest...I could shine, and was cool for it! Also, Mock Trial and Swing Choir...I finally met kids who were like me! Emily
When Sophie was a wee baby, a number of people - strangers and friends alike - looked lovingly at her as we all do babies and said, wistfully, some version of this: "Enjoy her now while you have her, because when she turns 5 she's not yours anymore!" Just a few years earlier I had been the youth counselor for a certain church in town to which some of my radical simple living friends belonged, and was confounded by both the bad behavior of these kids and the values they seemed to have that were so different from my friends, their parents. So when people made these comments about baby Sophie, I put the pieces together: these youth had spent most of their time in an environment that was dictated by the government, and what I was feeling about the values of our government (consumerism, competition, unhealthy hierarchies, and more) were not positive. at all. One more thing that happened, which was the final straw in my decision to look into alternative education: Hannah and CArina, who had been our community's surrogate children for 5 years, went to school. The loss of them in our daily lives was profound, and I felt less whole for having no children to love or be inspired by. I came to the conclusion then that when youth are in our midst we are inspired to create better environments of all sorts, and when they are stuck away at school all day and we have no responsibility for them (the parents still do have some, but of a different kind) then we just work. And work. We need the children in our midst to inspire us to imagine a better world. It's just so much more natural to have them around our communities, interacting with all ages! In human history, how long has it been that children were removed from everyday life like they are now? Only last 100 years, or less, right? I found, through raising Sophie and Ida in the sometimes-awkward and challenging way of our homeschooling, that the children are empowered by seeing their parents work together to create something good for them. They are empowered by being able to make choices for themselves. When Sophie and Ida were in school for a semester, we were astounded by the system's lack of trust in children AND parents to know what's appropriate for that child. I could see how being in the system for a bunch of years could create docile and obedient people. Liz
My reasons for wanting an alternative were many, of course, but here are a few: I wanted my kids to be kids, outside doing creative play without plastic and technology. I wanted them to follow their interests. I don't believe school developes responsibility when kids are told exactly what to do, when, how and when it's due-it's the opposite of responsibility. Free choice developes responsibility. I wanted my kids raised in the community in a non-ageist setting. Also, in that community doing real things, not sitting at a desk while a teacher tries to describe to them how this is like the real world. Environmental education happens the best outside. I truely hope when you find your spot it will be near a wild place. Worst experience: when my son, Winter, got off the bus after his first day of Kindergarden sobbing because he wasn't allowed to check out a library book because he couldn't write his name Best experience: Birgitta helping Chance transition into public last year. Public is not my choice and I see Chance doing his work as fast as he can with no thoughts of pride or learning. He actually cries because he has no time to read. It's hard to home school a 15 yr old boy who wants to be with his peers, and away from his mom. RoJene
As I think about the curriculum development for this new age group I am wondering if you all know about the idea of multiple intelligences. Here is a site which gives a basic background and references Waldorf and Montessori schools as having done this approach to learning for many years. I have only come in to this knowledge the past 2 years and implemented it with my 7th/8th graders. It has made a huge difference in their engagement to learning . I love it. So be assured that this is part of where I am coming from in being open to the design of the curriculum.
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm At the bottom there are several other links, go to the one called Utopia schools.
Jane
-I have basic knowledge of Brain Gym. I learned about it in massage therapy school. I have used it a few times with kids who have test anxiety, just the opening both sides of the brain part by doing this little movement called Cross Crawl. It seemed to help them, but nothing officially documented on success from my room!
-The other item is from Parker as well, I believe, on "high stakes testing". When I taught in Jacksonville, FL (1989?) FL was a pilot state for such types of tests. My 9th grade advanced physical science students could not graduate to 10th grade if they did not pass that test with a certain percentage. I don't recall the specific number of students or the passing score required, but I had roughly 25 students who didn't pass one section of the test- nuclear energy. I was given 2 weeks to reteach the subject and they were allowed to take the entire test again. The students failed that portion of the test simply because we hadn't ever touched on the subject and they had no personal knowledge of it. After I "spoon fed" them the information in 10 days time, they all successfully passed on to 10th grade. Their first scores were recorded on my professional file as red marks, to show that I had a certain number of students who had failed the first time through.
This type of testing has just gotten worse. Having taught in a private school for the past 9 years, I am thankful that we are somewhat exempt from the No Child Left Behind laws. I would never want our Alternative school to take on the role of that type of testing.
I do believe in assessing children for simply being able to demonstrate depth of knowledge, but there are so many creative ways to "test" that don't involve paper and pencil or grade point. Just simply letting children tell you or demonstrate in some way of their choosing is so much more successful and true to what they know. However, these assessments do not need to be weekly or monthly. They do not need to be separate pieces of a day, just simple natural ways of checking in with a student to see what is known.
Thanks.
Jane Busch
Hi all! This is such an exciting time of possibilities! I am grateful for all the work that has gone into this program since it began 4 years ago, and as it continues to grow.
I have 4 links to share that have been helpful to me in informing myself of the Montessori 6-9 curriculum, the Waldorf early grades curriculum, the Ocean Schools "Whole Child Curriculum" and philosophy, and a link for Jane to respond to her question about the "main lesson" books which I think are a fabulous way to have children "own" specific learning as well as to have a reference that makes sense to them and is very accessible, since they made it!
As we move forward, two other strong thoughts that keep occurring for me are:
1) evaluation/assessment/"grade level" questions (see Jane's post above- as well as on the links sent, especially Ocean School, to get an idea of what I think is an appropriate way to "evaluate")
2) sense of wonder/awe in learning and how to REALLY do that.
These do go hand in hand at times of course.
One other thought that seems to be in the forefront for me is this: in creating other programs especially with the homeschooling community (where I've gotten to do that more than in other aspect of my life), I've seen more success and satisfaction when there was a pre-established DIRECTION, VISION, PHILOSOPHY or MISSION that is as clearly spelled out as possible. That gives "consumers" (for lack of a better word!) and the teacher/s, an idea of what they are choosing, as well as parameters within which they can expect to contribute their ideas. Of course the program is moving this way, I just put that out there to address the idea of micromanagement, if that makes sense. My experience has been that if people are invited into what they perceive to be an open program of which they are to be a part, it is human nature to excitedly want to form it. Maybe that only makes sense in my brain! :) I know I have no desire to micromanage, but I do want to know what the program IS, and at this point, I am excited to help form it as part of the "whole child" committee.
Ok, the links:
1) http://www.montessoritraining.net/curriculum_materials/elementary_program.htm
This presents some curriculum as used in Montessori 6-9, 9-12 programs. Click on "sample lesson" and you'll see a chapter. It's slightly "academic" BUT, I think presented in an exploratory way, with arts integrated (like watercolor painting, or sculpting with beeswax, clay, etc) it feels like we're giving children accurate information and can keep as an intention, staying away from over-intellectualizing or getting too strongly in the "head" at the young age. Keeping the sense of wonder, imagination and creativity.
2) http://oceancharterschool.org/curriculum.html
This link takes you to the Ocean School's Whole Child Curriculum page. I LOVE their wording. If you click on the links in the box titled "read more about..." you can see how this philosophy translates into actual "core subjects." I find this sort of thing helpful as I think about what something (like an idea or philosophy) could look like. I'm not wedded to any of these per se, but I love aspects of both of these programs (Mont link and Ocean School link).
3) http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/02_W_Education/grades1_8.asp
This link will take you to the Association of Waldorf Schools of N. America- there is a lot here, but I have linked you to the page that talks very generally about grades 1-8 in a Waldorf program, mainly to refer Jane here in reference to her question about "main lesson books" to show examples.
4)
http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/02_W_Education/curriculum.asp
This is another page from the Association of Waldorf Schools of N. America. This page outlines the specific curriculum for each grade which is really helpful to me in terms of thinking about what things MIGHT or COULD look like, and why.
I do still like the IDEA of having a more self directed part of the day in the afternoon, more guided in the morning. Could go on an don but won't until another time! :)
I'll sign off, this is long enough for sure!
Love,
Parker
this is from Kristin and Parker (as jabbered out over the phone!)
But really... We found this to be a helpful illustration in our minds about bringing together the more "Montessori" lesson and the more "Waldorf" or imaginative/creative aspect of education.
We looked at the link:
http://www.montessoritraining.net/curriculum_materials/elementary_program.htm
scroll down to the "Math 2" book, click on "sample lesson" and open it. It's a lesson about open and closed figures. Hands on, experiential, looks fun! The piece we think is important for keeping the wonder/whole child/ whole brain/ heart is the imagination, wonder, creative piece. How would this look with this lesson? We thought by simply adding things like "I wonder why the open shape closed?" "I wonder why the closed shape opened?" "Ooh, it's like an opening shell!" or other creative/imaginative ideas, you can probably be more creative than I'm being! :)
We can talk more about WHY do this, but i need to stop writing just now!
Love,
Parker and Kristin (though we got disconnected and Parker finished the writing- certainly leaving out much!)
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