Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Good Questions
I had the chance to talk with Claire today about some of the questions she's mulling around and found myself looking up this interview with Peter Senge on the Questions for Living site. So many of the questions he's asking resonated with me as questions we grapple with here. I'll steal a few for us to try out at our meeting this week--looking forward to seeing all of you on Thursday at 3:30!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Fog Town School of Thought
Kit Hawkins read this poem at the end of the professional development day at The Arbor School on Friday. I thought you would all appreciate it.
The Fog Town School of Thought
They should have taught us birds and trees
in school, they should have taught us beauty
and weaving bees and had a class
on listening and standing alone--
the children should have studied light
reflected from a spider web,
we should have learned the branches of streams
spread out like fingers or the veins
of a leaf--we should have learned the sky
is the tallest steeple, we should have known
a hill is a voice inside the sky--
O, we should have had our school
on top and stayed until the night
for the fog to bloom in the hollows and rise
like cotton spinning off a wheel--
we should have learned a dream--a child's
and even still a man's--is made
from fog and love, my word, you'd think
with the book in front of us we should
have learned how Fog Town got its name.
-Maurice Manning-
The Fog Town School of Thought
They should have taught us birds and trees
in school, they should have taught us beauty
and weaving bees and had a class
on listening and standing alone--
the children should have studied light
reflected from a spider web,
we should have learned the branches of streams
spread out like fingers or the veins
of a leaf--we should have learned the sky
is the tallest steeple, we should have known
a hill is a voice inside the sky--
O, we should have had our school
on top and stayed until the night
for the fog to bloom in the hollows and rise
like cotton spinning off a wheel--
we should have learned a dream--a child's
and even still a man's--is made
from fog and love, my word, you'd think
with the book in front of us we should
have learned how Fog Town got its name.
-Maurice Manning-
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Preparing for Thursday
Our next meeting is this Thursday, October 3rd!
Thinking about our conversation from last week, I think a protocol would be useful that could help us refine our skills in asking different types of questions, as well as to generate some ideas about the kinds of dilemmas or work we might present in future meetings. The Consultancy Protocol is one of the most versatile, with versions for both looking at dilemmas and for examining student work. As we prepare for fall conferences, we may want tools to help us look at collections of a particular student's work or to help us think through dilemmas arising in our classrooms and practice as we strive to meet the needs of everyone in our classroom community.
To help us refine the skills needed, we'll try an interactive fishbowl for modeling the consultancy on Thursday. It may be helpful to do a few things in advance:
Do some reflective writing (1/2 page or a page) on a dilemma you face. Use this document on framing consultancy dilemmas and questions as a guide.
Take a look at the pocket guide to probing questions in advance. We will have this available in print at the meeting for your reference.
See you on Thursday!
Thinking about our conversation from last week, I think a protocol would be useful that could help us refine our skills in asking different types of questions, as well as to generate some ideas about the kinds of dilemmas or work we might present in future meetings. The Consultancy Protocol is one of the most versatile, with versions for both looking at dilemmas and for examining student work. As we prepare for fall conferences, we may want tools to help us look at collections of a particular student's work or to help us think through dilemmas arising in our classrooms and practice as we strive to meet the needs of everyone in our classroom community.
To help us refine the skills needed, we'll try an interactive fishbowl for modeling the consultancy on Thursday. It may be helpful to do a few things in advance:
Do some reflective writing (1/2 page or a page) on a dilemma you face. Use this document on framing consultancy dilemmas and questions as a guide.
Take a look at the pocket guide to probing questions in advance. We will have this available in print at the meeting for your reference.
See you on Thursday!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
We're On The Calendar!
It's official, we're on the OES calendar for our monthly meetings in Morris House! Here are the dates to add to your own calendars. All meetings are 3:30-5:30 in the Morris House conference room:
Thursday, Sept. 19th
Thursday, Oct. 3rd
Thursday, Nov. 14
Thursday, Dec. 5th
Thursday, Jan 9th
Thursday, Feb 6th
Thursday, Mar 6th
Thursday, April 10
Thursday, May 8th
Our first meeting will be spent in a protocol to help us learn from one another's classroom environments. We hope to see you there!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Welcome Back, Friends.
Last August Hours Before the Year 2000
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Spun silk of mercy,
long-limbed afternoon,
sun urging purple blossoms from baked stems.
What better blessing than to move without hurry
under trees?
Lugging a bucket to the rose that became a twining
house by now, roof and walls of vine--
you could live inside this rose.
Pouring a slow stream around the
ancient pineapple crowned with spiky fruit,
I thought we would feel old
by the year 2000.
Walt Disney thought cars would fly.
What a drama to keep thinking the last summer
the last birthday
before the calendar turns to zeroes.
My neighbor says anything we plant
in September takes hold.
She's lining pots of little grasses by her walk.
I want to know the root goes deep
on all that came before,
you could lay a soaker hose across
your whole life and know
there was something
under layers of packed summer earth
and dry blown grass
to moisten.
----------
What are you planting this September?
What roots lay waiting?
Let's meet to find out what hopes we're nurturing and what we've decided is important enough to carry into this new school year. Shall we try Thursday, August 29th, in the garden in front of Morris House, 12:15ish-1:00? There's a picnic table there and I'll bring a blanket, as well. Bring your lunch and your calendar! I'll send out a message to all LS faculty so anyone interested will know--please feel free to spread the word.
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Spun silk of mercy,
long-limbed afternoon,
sun urging purple blossoms from baked stems.
What better blessing than to move without hurry
under trees?
Lugging a bucket to the rose that became a twining
house by now, roof and walls of vine--
you could live inside this rose.
Pouring a slow stream around the
ancient pineapple crowned with spiky fruit,
I thought we would feel old
by the year 2000.
Walt Disney thought cars would fly.
What a drama to keep thinking the last summer
the last birthday
before the calendar turns to zeroes.
My neighbor says anything we plant
in September takes hold.
She's lining pots of little grasses by her walk.
I want to know the root goes deep
on all that came before,
you could lay a soaker hose across
your whole life and know
there was something
under layers of packed summer earth
and dry blown grass
to moisten.
----------
What are you planting this September?
What roots lay waiting?
Let's meet to find out what hopes we're nurturing and what we've decided is important enough to carry into this new school year. Shall we try Thursday, August 29th, in the garden in front of Morris House, 12:15ish-1:00? There's a picnic table there and I'll bring a blanket, as well. Bring your lunch and your calendar! I'll send out a message to all LS faculty so anyone interested will know--please feel free to spread the word.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Our Realm of Influence
So many thanks to all of you for your trust, honesty, faith and time as we traveled down this CFG journey this year. If you couldn't join us today, we did some reflecting on what kept us coming to the CFG this year. What surprised us? What did we value?
Here are some notes on what was meaningful to us about the CFG:
-getting a glimpse into each others' classrooms and practice
-being inspired by colleagues' perspectives on the work they're doing
-walking away feeling energized and fulfilled instead of drained or frustrated
-hearing your own teaching frustrations mirrored in someone else's story, then hearing ideas and suggestions in their context that could be applied to your own
-a sense of honor and relationship
What would you add to this list? I'd love to hear from you about what you valued, what you craved more of, what you would like to see explored or questioned. I'll continue to compile this feedback as we look forward to next year.
We also tried out The Orchard Cove Protocol to look forward to next year. What work seems imperative to Lower School? What next steps do you think are important for us to embark on together as a learning community? What support will we need? What support can we provide each other?
In the spirit of that last question, what support we can provide one another, a model called the Realms of Concern and Influence came up. I offer it to you here as a tool for your own reflection, a journal prompt, or an activity with your team. Listing our concerns comes easily. What happens when we really look at what is within our immediate influence? What small changes can we make to our own time, collaborations and practice that can widen our realm of influence and ease our realms of concern?
Thank you again, friends, for your willingness to share this year together. I can't wait to see what the next school year holds in store for us.
Here are some notes on what was meaningful to us about the CFG:
-getting a glimpse into each others' classrooms and practice
-being inspired by colleagues' perspectives on the work they're doing
-walking away feeling energized and fulfilled instead of drained or frustrated
-hearing your own teaching frustrations mirrored in someone else's story, then hearing ideas and suggestions in their context that could be applied to your own
-a sense of honor and relationship
What would you add to this list? I'd love to hear from you about what you valued, what you craved more of, what you would like to see explored or questioned. I'll continue to compile this feedback as we look forward to next year.
We also tried out The Orchard Cove Protocol to look forward to next year. What work seems imperative to Lower School? What next steps do you think are important for us to embark on together as a learning community? What support will we need? What support can we provide each other?
In the spirit of that last question, what support we can provide one another, a model called the Realms of Concern and Influence came up. I offer it to you here as a tool for your own reflection, a journal prompt, or an activity with your team. Listing our concerns comes easily. What happens when we really look at what is within our immediate influence? What small changes can we make to our own time, collaborations and practice that can widen our realm of influence and ease our realms of concern?
Thank you again, friends, for your willingness to share this year together. I can't wait to see what the next school year holds in store for us.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Our Last Gathering of the Year
Our last scheduled gathering for this school year is tomorrow, Wed., May 15th. Let's plan on gathering from 4-5:30, and to reflect together on our school year and our experience as professional collaborators. See you then!
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