Archives for January 2017

This week in second grade, I think Mrs. Krass must have adopted the motto of Pablo Picasso, who once said, “Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.” Instead of, “sticking to the book,” she found a way to engage her students’ minds, creativity, and handiwork.

In the subject of Social Studies, second graders were learning the differences between urban, suburban, and rural settings. They read about them, made grandiose lists of what each of the places included, and discussed how and why groups of people thrive there.

Instead of letting the lesson end there, however, Mrs. Krass challenged her students to take this learning to another level. Educational psychology tells us that the more autonomously students can approach their learning, the more effectively imprinted an idea will become. They will have ownership over their understanding, and thus, will be able to make more meaningful connections to the content.

For the past few days, Mrs. Krass gave student groups large pieces of poster-board, an endless supply of construction paper, tape, glue, scissors, and infinite use of their imaginations. She told them that they were to create 3-D constructions of either urban, suburban, or rural settings in a very constructivist approach, (the ability to make sense of an idea through one’s own experience of it) not encumbering them with too many directions. This allowed them the freedom and space to create and intrinsically motivated them to do their best work.

Amazingly, the collaborative creativity was tangible. Walking into the room you’d see pure excitement and joy at the tables.

“Oh, let’s make a boat,” one student said.

“How would we make one?” the other asked.

“Let’s start with folding brown paper up, and tape Lego people in on our blue-paper river.”

“That’ll work!” he excitedly replied.

At another station. I heard engineering and construction conversations abound. The three students’ heads were bent in concentration. “We should make a tunnel,” one boy said.

“Yeah, and we can put cars in it, just like in real life,” his partner agreed.

Still at another table, one where they were building a rural setting, they had the idea to add a windmill. To create it, they rolled a tube of white paper, and taped it to create a base, then the little girl in the group tugged the four-strand bow off of her headband and paper clipped it to the top of the base, creating the most darling, polka-dot fan-blade I’d ever seen.

This “Over-the-River-and-Through-the-Woods” project conquered numerous standards and skills second graders are expected to know. To say it was impressive would be a gross understatement. From 3-D constructions of the Upward Basketball Building, Walmart, Starbucks, and barns, to tunnels, bridges, and bird-nested trees, there were endless elements of proof that these students completely understood their settings, and the differences between them. Ingenuity. Ability. Self-Confidence. Cooperation. Pride. These are the attributes of what a classroom is capable of, when given the space and time to show what they know, and create!

Although I know it is not Christian-like to envy, I do have to admit that I was a bit envious of what our third-grade teacher, Miss Betori decided to do in her classroom! Educational philosophy tells us that to truly educate with integrity, we must first build relationship. Aristotle himself once said that “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Well, Miss Betori is most definitely educating holistically, as fun and delight were introduced in the form of a cocoa bar!

When you walk into the third-grade room, there is now a bright aqua Keurig, with a darling display of personalized cups the students were able to design themselves. According to Miss Betori, they’re calling it, “Coffee Shop Time,” where we will gather together to hear information or presentations.” Later, she told us that on the first day, “We gathered together as I told them about an upcoming book of poems they will be writing and publishing!” Miss Betori plans to use the Cocoa Corner as an incentive for individual or group use as well.

P.J. Caposey from “Education Week Teacher,” once said, “Great teachers focus not on compliance, but on connections and relationships.” It is evident that Miss Betori and her amazing blend of creativity and connectivity will give the third-grade class something to warm their hearts and memories for many years to come.

The longer I spend time at Westlake, the more I find myself delighted by the fabric of the culture here. I once heard someone describe communion not only as the sacramental offering we take at church, but as the living, breathing moments that we take on the persona of Christ, and join one another in community. I remember thinking how beautiful it is when we see this happen, and as a teacher at Westlake … I have the privilege of seeing “communion” quite often.

When students share in comforting one another during a hard time, there is communion. When kids stop and pray with one another, there is communion. Where you see someone stand up and hold a friend accountable, there is communion. I would argue that there are more situational instances of authentic communion here that happen on a daily basis, than even many surrounding churches can boast. What a blessing to know that our children are exposed to this constant form of fellowship, connection, and empathy.

While I wish I could personally deliver the dozens of stories I’ve witnessed already this year, time and space just won’t allow for that. However, one of my favorite examples of communion happened last week … in the setting of indoor recess. It wasn’t my week to have recess duty, but I was passing by, and thought I’d take a moment to see the kids in their “natural element” – play! Instead of seeing the normal chaos of balls bouncing and feet pounding a running rhythm into the floorboards, I saw a HUGE group of multiage kids sitting on the stage in rapt contemplation of the project before them.

Our sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Coombe, had decided to pass on the life-skill of patience, creativity, and perseverance discovered in the form of CROCHET! There were fourth, fifth, and sixth graders “strung” about her, leaning in with intense admiration and focus on the steps she was teaching. Having given each of them a crochet hook and ball of yarn to work with, the students yearned for indoor recess just to continue practicing their craft. Blending steps and stitches, Mrs. Coombe had each child working independently on their own piece within two days time.

Mitch Albom once said, “Devote yourself to your community around you. Devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” Mrs. Coombe did that. She literally threaded communion among these children and gave them a common experience to learn, to enjoy, and to share. What a true and perfect gift … to teach, to love, to grow in community.

This week, we had something magnificent happen in our classroom, and as author Natalie Babbit once said, “Like all magnificent things, it is very simple.” Before I get to this however, I’ll tell you our backstory. In the fall, my fifth graders worked through the transformative novel, Tuck Everlasting. If you’ve not had the pleasure to read it, I suggest you do, as it is one of “those” books, those that have the power to change you for having read them.My students felt the power of this story, as it begs the reader to grapple with the debate of whether living forever would be a blessing or a curse. Through her wisdom-infused pen, Natalie Babbit singlehandedly eased the troubled connotations associated with death, by helping young readers to understand that, “Life has got to be lived, no matter how long or short. You’ve got to take what comes,” and furthermore, “You can’t have living without dying.”

So after having wonderful discussions, and grand conversations in the form of a Socratic Seminar, our unit was coming to a close. We had already found and studied the great ways that Tuck Everlasting had expanded beyond the book into the global community, being made into a movie twice and appearing on Broadway for the first time ever this past season. I thought we would end with a grand finale, which would be a great real-life extension to write to the author and tell her all the ways her words affected our thinking.

Ironically, after our letters were written, we discovered that Natalie Babbit had died only the week before. Here it was, that this woman whose words helped the students understand death, had passed into eternity just days before we contacted her. Heartbroken, the students and I mourned the loss of such an influential writer, but then decided that we would try to send our letters anyway, to her husband. After some searching, I located the Harvard graduate, author and professor, Samuel Babbit, and got his address. The students made bereavement cards for him and we sent both our letters and the cards to his home address.

Imagine our delight when Tuesday, after returning from break, there was a letter in our mailbox from Mr. Samuel Babbit himself! He addressed the letters, talked about how his wife’s words would live on and inspire though she was gone herself, and thanked us for the kind words and appreciative condolences. The kids were thrilled that he took the time to write, and I guarantee that this tiny, magnificent thing, will tie literature to their hearts for many years to come. Mr. Babbit’s letter brought our wheel of learning full circle, and again, Natalie’s words reminded us why, “Everything’s a wheel, turning and turning, never stopping … Always coming in new, always growing and changing, and always moving on. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. That’s the way it is.”