RattleBag and Rhubarb

What? Wow! And Amazing!

Just a sample of some of the reactions from the high school when they returned to school today. Kenyon House is transformed and restored. Yes – this is a high school.  Flowers included. Take a look at these pictures and come to Founders Day on January 15th for a tour of the real thing. In Gilkeson the new science labs…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Grading and Upgrading

Take Paul Barnwell’s “test” in this article from NEA Today.  How do your answers compare?  Did he miss any questions? What’s in an ‘A’? Take this test and compare your answers with mine.   By Paul Barnwell Fill in the blank: 1. Grades are a great way to ___ (a) provide meaningful feedback; (b) sort students by ability; (c) get…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

It takes a teacher … to make a difference

… I was always interested in trying to communicate, to have a feeling from someone to make me feel that I was worthwhile. So when my teacher, Mrs. Bishop — I will never forget her, beautiful, brown-skinned lady at P.S. 136 in Harlem — she gave me a poem because she realized I was having a problem with myself. And…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

“The Class” – a film to look for

Teachers often take a jaundiced eye to films that claim to depict the classroom experience. It’s akin to being skeptical about the newspapers because every time they present a story with which you have actual familiarity they rarely seem to get it right. I saw two excellent films last week. One was Entre les Murs – renamed The Class in…

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Art, Film, Photography, RattleBag and Rhubarb

The Lower School chooses Joan Miro

If you’re going to MoMA for the Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night – good luck. It’s a wonderful exhibit, of course, and very much worth the visit. But the popularity, my timing, and the rather haphazard MoMA crowd management made it a less than stellar gallery experience when I was there last week. But while you’re there…

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RattleBag and Rhubarb

A Winter Walk

This time along the Appalachian Trail by the side of the Housatonic River,  north out of Kent. The snow was mostly gone,  although – as is the way with micro-climates – there were patches glazed with ice and slick with melting snow.  But mostly it was soggy and brown with leaves. The  going was easy in spite of a  sockful…

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Poetry, RattleBag and Rhubarb

“Suddenly there’s Poughkeepsie”

Suddenly there’s Poughkeepsie what a hard time the Hudson River has had trying to get to the sea it seemed easy enough to rise out of Tear of the Cloud and tumble and jumps   draining a swamp here and and other smaller longings for the wide except for its spelling ocean sixty miles away is that town every day and…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

What’s next?

First  the music and the record stores closed.  And then the  books – Posman’s on Broadway, Ivy’s and too many others across Manhattan. And then it was the international news and magazine shop – Global Ink – on the corner of 112th street where it was possible to browse obscure journals, pick up yesterday’s Guardian and newspaper from all over…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

In his Element- Ken Robinson is back

Kennneth Robinson – Sir Ken – made quite the international splash when his TEDTalk on  How schools kill creativity went viral in educational circles. He was  the keynote speaker at the NAIS national conference in March and he filled Radio City Music Hall to overflowing. Here he is again in a podcast about his new book to be published in…

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Education, Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb

False Promise: The Ersatz Language of School Reform

An article by Alfie Kohn in The Nation is a timely reminder of how language is so easily co-opted to mean quite the reverse of the usual understanding.  The polluters bring us “Clear Skies” and the armaments industry brings us the B36 bomber – “The Peacemaker”.  And now those  touted as school “reformers” are heralded for ushering in a new…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

21st century skills – New urgency or just another passing fad?

Lots of talk in recent years of the new essential  skills to survive in the 21st century economy. Tony Wagner’s book The Global Achievement Gap- why even our best schools don’t teach the survival skills our children need and what we can do about it has  received lots of attention. See this summary to review a list of the usual…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

When will I ever need to know this? Connecting learning to the real world

“What do I need to learn this algebra and geometry and math stuff for?” Connecting learning to the real world – that’s the tag line of The Futures Channel – a great educational resource.  On this page they provide a wonderful set of answers to that age old classroom math question: “What do I need to learn this algebra and geometry…

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RattleBag and Rhubarb

“Because it is my name….”

Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! – John Proctor The Crucible Act IV on…

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