Last fall I informed the president of the board of trustees that 2015-16 would be my last year at Poughkeepsie Day School. Today Amanda Thornton, the president of the board of trustees, announced the new head of school. Please read that announcement here. After a thorough search and a considered process that involved all constituent groups within the school community the…
I am not a fan of Halloween. There – I’ve said it! What a killjoy, spoil sport, and miserable curmudgeon! Ok – to explain: First – It’s not a part of my childhood tradition. My personal mental furniture of memory for this season trends toward Bonfire Night, November 5th. I do remember once bobbing for apples – a game now out…
We all love to rumble on about lifelong learning . But how does that happen when learning is presented as a series of predefined steps and stages that learners must master and hurdle – the endless hamster wheel of material, test, grade, material, test, grade, move on. Where is the room for the infinite variety of human capacity? Where is…
Such a joy to be out on the fields for the first ever PDS Cross-Country Invitational last Wednesday. It was a peerless Fall afternoon – perhaps a little warm for the runners but perfect for the rest of us. Congratulations to coach Quincey Mills and to all the runners. We’ve had a Cross Country team since 2007. You can read…
If you’re reading this online then you are engaged in social media. You are consuming. I’ve been thinking about education and social media not so much as an option but as an opportunity and an obligation – something we owe ourselves as learners and something we owe our students as teachers. We all know that we live an era of…
There’s a wonderful walk along the Housatonic in Kent, Connecticut. We were there early enough to have it to ourselves for over an hour on Saturday. And then today more amazing color and beauty at Innisfree Garden, near Millbrook.
We had some glorious fall days last week (as well as some much-needed rain). It was perfect weather for the soccer and cross-country teams. I took advantage of the sunshine to visit the lower school at recess. Plans were being made, plots hatched, games created and imagination extended. And plenty of opportunity to run, slide, chase, ride, jump, swing, hang and…
Building community means getting to know each other. And that means time. Last week we had the first ASA (all-school-activity) of the year and it was a lot of fun. This year the faculty have divided up the activities for the year and have each taken on the responsibility to be a part of the planning of that event. Our…
There’s an interesting photo exhibit just opened at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar. Called “the Making of an Argument” it shows the story of Gordon Park’s Life magazine photo essay from 1948. The subject was Leonard (Red) Jackson – the teenage leader of the Harlem gang the Midtowners. The story was titled “Harlem Gang Leader” and…
When it’s getting near the end of fresh tomato season and the freezer and shelves are full of sauces it’s time to think chutney. Lots of good recipes out there but my all-time favorite is adapted from the indispensable Madhur Jaffrey. I’ve been making it for over thirty years and it never fails in spite of all the variations on…
Great to see these video tweets yesterday. Thanks Jenn and Jill. Making art is messy! @PoughkeepsieDay pic.twitter.com/EL9jE1nx5q — Jennifer Jordan (@artteacherjenn) September 16, 2015 "Air Lock" at the middle school cooperative field day today! @PoughkeepsieDay pic.twitter.com/7ioWh8Jlnr — Jill Walsh (@JillDoesPE) September 16, 2015 Hoppity hops were GREAT! pic.twitter.com/lNDkSpNDX4 — Jill Walsh (@JillDoesPE) September 16, 2015
The first week and the exhilaration and energy are like a tide that sweep you along. But those lazier days of summer have left you unused to the sheer adrenalin surge and when the Welcome Picnic finally winds down with the sun setting behind the Shawangunks on Friday you are happy, but tired! So here are just a few glimpses…
A few tips storified from an #ISEDchat courtesy of @LaneYoung. This is by no means a complete list of course. There are many more but here a few basics for beginners. And, while others may find this a laughing matter: [
Unless the mass of workers are to be blind cogs and pinions in the apparatus they employ, they must have some understanding of the physical and social facts behind and ahead of the material and appliances with which they are dealing. – Schools of Tomorrow John Dewey; Evelyn Dewey 1915 Children today need to understand, just as fully as did previous…
Tool #1: Twitter With so much out there it’s hard to know where to begin. But Twitter is by far the number one online professional growth tool for educators. It’s the link and the glue that connects and brings colleagues and our collective knowledge together. While others may use Twitter for celebrity gossip, news updates, relentless self-promotion* and recreational outrage…