Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Box? What box? Breaking the mind-forged manacles.

Probably the only two responses to constant change are to ignore it (shrink back, retrench, go off the grid, become irrelevant, turn inwards, stay put, get run over, and so on) or keep on keeping on with the learning life. But what happens if the mantra of: Keep moving, just try it, have a go, fail-fail-fail and then succeed and…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Change and the Rear View Mirror

A home decorating project revealed this message from the former owner underneath the kitchen wallpaper. I quite liked the pattern actually but it was time to move on. Change in education is not as simple as stripping a wall but there are always messages from the past. The pendulum swings back and forth while we lurch into the future re-discovering…

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RattleBag and Rhubarb

Change is Easy (for animated avatars and robots)

Robotic teachers make a quick and easy transition toward teaching in the digital era of change, collaboration and global community. If YOU teach a specialized class such as underwater basket-weaving, maybe you too can find colleagues and resources with 2.0 tools. If you know who created this film please let me know so I can credit it appropriately.

RattleBag and Rhubarb

The little bit of ivory and the traditional virtue of the exquisite tweet

How long does this have to be? Should we teach to the text (message)? Forget about the five paragraph essay, what about the five (abbreviated) word text and the exquisite tweet? Lots of commentary about a recent article with follow-up  here in the NYTimes about the importance of concise writing.  Without a doubt it is an aspiration we need to…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Embracing Innovation in a Time of Disruptive Change

The Independent Curriculum Group and Poughkeepsie Day School Present Embracing Innovation in a Time of Disruptive Change Poughkeepsie Day School Friday, April 15, 2011 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Poughkeepsie Day School and the Independent Curriculum Group cordially invite you to Embracing Innovation in a Time of Disruptive Change on Friday, April 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. As we re-imagine…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Outcomes and results matter: But what’s with all the testing?

In a recent post at Raining Acorns, a Pennsylvania parent records what happens in March school testing season. She outlines the impact on the school schedule and the disruption to learning. Is it all worth it? Why all this time on test? Yong Zhao argues that this imposition of high stakes testing is more than a waste of time and…

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RattleBag and Rhubarb

Did you grow up with Mister Rogers?

Tragic Events In times of community or world-wide crisis, it’s easy to assume that young children don’t know what’s going on. But one thing’s for sure — children are very sensitive to how their parents feel. They’re keenly aware of the expressions on their parents’ faces and the tone of their voices. Children can sense when their parents are really…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Let the kids rule the school…We just did that

Written by Shirley Rinaldi. Cross-posted from Talking the Tech Walk This week I realized that sometimes things just seem to fall into place and are meant to happen. This was the case with a new project that we tried in middle school this week, called Imagination Day.  The first thoughts of something new began to emerge on Twitter last Wednesday,…

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RattleBag and Rhubarb

Japan

On Tuesday the day broke with bright sunshine. The grass was rimed with sparkling frost and the air was sharp and fresh. It was a perfect morning in early spring. And the contrast was stark with the devastation and horror that was unfolding across the world in Japan. While we as adults attempt to make sense and cope with the…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

The Graphic Advice of Wendy Mogel

I loved the addition of graphic artists at this year’s NAIS Annual Conference. It was a marvel to watch them work and then see the finished product – huge poster board representations of the words of the main speakers. Here are some examples drawn for Wendy Mogel’s talk. She is the clinical  psychologist author of two “Blessings” books. The first…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Monumental Opportunities

So here I am at the NAIS annual conference – where it is sunny and balmy- ready to engage in the monumental opportunities of listening to and talking to strangers. They won’t all be strangers though and it will undoubtedly be amazing that, in the company of 4-5000 educators, presenters and workshop leaders, I will catch up with, and run…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

The Unconcert and the Unconference

Inuksuit is inspired by the stone sentinels constructed over the centuries by the Inuit in the windswept expanses of the Arctic. The Inuktitut word translates literally “to act in the capacity of the human”. This work is haunted by the vision of the melting of the polar ice, the rising of the seas, and what may remain of humanity’s presence…

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