Did you know it’s Banned Books week? I did, and I’ve spent some time reflecting on the whole notion of banning books….and blogs….and wikis…and Ning….and a whole slew of other things in schools this week….in the name of protecting children. It’s interesting what we ban and what it is we allow, isn’t it? Our notions of what it means to protect others….our understanding of what is truly threatening in this world…it’s all very muddy, isn’t…
“…you are teaching yourselves how you will live and work. Early habits take up residence and are difficult to evict later on.” Jim Burke I spent a chunk of this weekend getting inspired by the different approaches my favorite edubloggers are taking with back-to-school posts. The start of every year is filled with such incredible excitement and anticipation. There are goals to set and plans to shape and personal needs to attend to. We’re getting…
The weather was distinctly fall-like this weekend. We just returned from a week in Allegany State Park, where I sat beside a campfire with my husband and reflected on the year behind us in anticipation of the year ahead of us. Every so often, a lanky young woman would wander past us and stop for a moment to plant a kiss on top of our heads. I caught myself wondering where she came from, and…
It has been an honor to have Hana Halloran join us at Studio, and her reading of this original poem on our very last day of the high school session marked one of the most moving moments of the entire experience for us all. I love this photo–take a peek at the expression on each listener’s face. Talk about captivating an audience. I thought I’d share this timely piece, with her permission of course, as…
Nancie Atwell was the first person to influence my thinking about the power of writing workshop. It wasn’t until I began college myself that the whole notion of a writing territories list began to take shape inside my writer-mind. I can still remember how odd it felt to tote around my first list of budding ideas, relieved at last to have a container for the ones that would easily escape me, but uncertain about how…
Tomorrow, we begin another week of Studio summer sessions at Daemen. When writers and teachers first join us, some assume that our program is much like a day-camp for writers. It isn’t until they begin connecting with others and immersing themselves in their collaborative and individual projects that they begin to realize how very different we are. At the end of last week, when I sat down with writers and their parents to listen carefully…
…I wore flip flops in a downpour and realized that rainy summers aren’t so bad after all. John spent the day making gelato with Laura, and Nina and I went to the salon to chop our hair short. As I’m writing this, I can hear the girls bickering in their bedroom, which is right above my head. For now, this is okay. For now, it’s simply good to be home again.
Paula’s post connected with a bunch of different things I’ve had on my mind lately, including the way in which we approach service at home and in schools. Initially, I was most curious about how we might better inspire kids to serve by helping them define their interests and connect them to actions that allow them to give back in some way. Then Chad Ratliff shared Renjie Butalid’s work on Twitter, and it shifted my…
So…….as I was chatting with Alyssa and Sarah last weekend, they spoke to what many of us call authentic learning. Of course, they didn’t use that phraseology–they spoke in their native tongue, describing how some of what kids are asked to do in school is “boring” or “rushed” or “just for a grade”. They weren’t exactly giving their work with me great props either (just in case you thought I was getting off easy), and…
Just this week…… Larry Ferlazzo shared the link to this series of posts about blogging over twitter. Sean Nash caught my request for examples of Ning in the classroom and sent this link and this link my way. Steve Shann shared his examples as well, and he connected me to James Miscavish who directed to me to this ning and this one. Dean Groom direct-messaged me, pointing out that Ning tends to work best with…