Archives for October 2016

I once heard someone say that the Greek culture didn’t deliver eulogies when a person died. They simply asked the question, “Did he live with passion.” I think there is something really beautiful about the power packed within that one, seemingly simple question. As educators, especially of younger people, we are constantly pulled in a thousand directions, and it makes it difficult to always have the deep, meaningful conversations one meant to have, back when we planned our intellectual dream lessons. The awesome thing that I’ve noticed however is, God has placed resiliency in the hearts of the teachers here at Westlake.

Knowing your clientele is the key to success in any business plan, and school is no different. Mrs. O’Malley is a master at her craft in this area. This week alone, she has transformed my students’ perspective in Science from one of vague interest, to interactive, story-laden, kinesthetic wonder. Last week she came in and discussed Matter and the physical and chemical changes that take place when we manipulate elements. This week, the Science team found a guest speaker “Mr. Energy” come and discuss the different forms of energy with all the literal bells and whistles one could imagine, including a Frank Sinatra inspired ballad about energy! Today, Mrs. O’Malley dove into (pun intended) a lesson on solutions!

Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Instead of diving in with a vocabulary lesson, Mrs. O’Malley created a lively historical fiction tale to enlighten and enhance her teaching. Born in Hawaii, she talked about the European explorer Captain Cook, and his not-so-welcoming early demise due to his lack of cultural respect for the natives of Hawaii. The Hawaiians decided to “cook Captain cook,” and drop him into a volcano. Before they did, the Captain, being a military man, decided to “Solute” and then fell into the “solVENT” of the volcano (the opening) and was sadly, “Dissolved.” It was the native’s “SOLUTION” to end his life, but he taught us a lot about science in the process. I feel so blessed, and so privileged, to teach in an environment with other educators who inspire me by their dedication to teach with such enthusiasm. Mrs. O’Malley has truly been, as Ecclesiastes says, been, “Living a life worthy of your calling.” Thank you to her and every teacher who lives and teaches, with passion.

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, once said that, “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” Today I had the delightful, unexpected pleasure of being invited to dance … literally. In his current curriculum of cultural studies in music, Mr. Pugh has collaboratively added dance to the academic menu! Today in particular, the focus was on Irish and Scottish dance. From the infusion of ancestral music, to the introduction of rich dance and harmonic vocabulary, the students literally “promenaded” their knowledge in kinesthetic wonder! Laughing, cantering, and creating space for turns and skips, the energy was as high as the engagement. Mr. Pugh has been and will continue to be commencing culture as they experience music and dance from countries across the globe. What a true joy to know that our children are learning to praise our great Creator through honoring and becoming familiar with the customs and characters of other nations. In this nation’s state of education, it is easy to become lost in our own complacency, placing value on only that which WE know or have been taught. But this innovative lesson is teaching students that there is more to life than meets our neighboring streets, and music is truly a work of heart, and transcending communication.
According to one of the 20th century’s leading Indian philosopher’s, Osho, “To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” I consider it nothing short of a blessing that Mr. Pugh is crossing music curriculum with cultural studies, and is inherently teaching our students to find value in all life. Today was a beautiful reflection of integrated learning, and loving the life we are graced to dance through. Raquel Harris [email protected]

Sometimes when a student of mine is struggling with an idea, I tell them to write. There is something about getting your thoughts out of your mind and in front of you that make them seem much more approachable. Journaling in education has long been deemed an essential practice for aspiring writers and readers. In the words of a teacher I used to work with, “How do I know how I feel until I see what I say?” This simple mentality, of “seeing” what one is thinking, opens up a sense of freedom and ability to young writers. Over the last few weeks, Miss Betori’s third grade class has adopted this wonderful practice of writing, and not just writing, creative writing! Aside from the traditional benefits of writing (increasing fluency, confidence as a writer, and the ability to form text to text, world and self-connections) Miss Betori and her teacher’s aid are seeing character growth in the students like never before. Miss Betori shared that some of the students who suffered from shyness and lacking confidence to speak publicly were inspired to open up and share their thoughts and feelings through writing. Students are blooming and blossoming as authors all over, and to share some of the joy, here are a few posts from the linguists themselves:

How did you feel on the first day of school?

“On the first day of school, I felt nervous because it was the beginning of the new year. But I was also excited because we have a class pet!” - Zoe

“On the first day of school I felt happy because I was finally in 3rd Grade!!” - Griffin

What are the best things to do on a hot summer day?

“On a hot summer day I like to go to the lake and swim. I get to go fishing and go out on the boat.” - Alice

“On a hot summer day I like to go to The Freeze. I like to ride my bike, and also my skateboard. Anything that’s outside, I like to do on a summer day.” - Cody

If you had one wish, what would you wish for and why?

“If I had one wish, it would be to fly. Because then I could fly to places instead of being in my car.” - Abby

“If I had one wish, I would wish for one million books because I love reading!” - Katie

“If I had one wish it would be to own my own baseball league.” - Nathan

And so you see, with a little bit of prompting, a set-aside time, and practice, these young learners are discovering that they absolutely DO have something to say! Write on young scholars … write on.

 

Raquel Harris

“It was an initiation into the love of learning … as a matter of interdisciplinary cognition that is, learning to know something by its relation to something else.” Leonard Bernstein

 

Where can you get a lesson that’s one part Social Studies, one part Science, one part Art, and a whole lot of hands-on, kinesthetic fun? An interdisciplinary-based class, that’s where! For the last five or so years of my career, I’ve tried to implement interdisciplinary studies into my curriculum. I am happy to report to you that Westlake Christian Academy believes strongly in this educational paradigm, and I’ve been blessed to co-teach “Fossils and Dinosaurs” with the help of the High School Science, Social Studies, and Art departments collectively. When you really come to think of why teachers became teachers, it most likely had to do with our overwhelming passions for the subjects we teach. Nerdy and proud, we just cannot wait to share what we know and discover more with our students. It is the teacher-way! The gift, however, comes from the time we spend with one another, creating connections that will grow mindsets and retain information long after an assessment has passed. My favorite memory of second grade was when my teacher put tiny dinosaur erasers into an ice cube tray filled with plaster. Like mini geologists, we tinkered away, excavating our treasures. It is more than twenty years later, and I still remember that tiny project. It goes to show that sometimes the spin-off lessons are where the sweet spot of study truly lies. Already in our class, my students have had the privilege to examine and identify types of fossils that Mrs. O’Malley shared with us. Today, they created their own fossil casts in art with Mrs. Iverson. Careful to pre-pick the exact replica-worthy seashell patterns that looked most authentic, students were enamored with the process of literally re-creating history. Next week, we hope to have a “text-to-world” connective conversation with a “real, live archaeologist” involved in actual digs … our very own Mr. Naegele! Looking back from and forward to the rest of this unit, I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude at the community surrounding our elementary learners. Having worked in over ten schools, I can tell you that this level of collaborative teaching is not the norm. Only at Westlake would three, high school professionals, take time out of their curriculum-packed days to nurture the growing curiosity and critical thinking development of fifth graders they do not necessarily even know. Only at Westlake is there the allowance of coverage for extension projects that truly resonate with our students and our staff. Only at Westlake is Christ interwoven throughout each and every facet of interdisciplinary connection. And so, it is for this reason that my own two children will continue to attend school … only at Westlake.