“It was awesome and totally rocked!” – that was the verdict of one member of the 3rd/4th grade chorus who sang at the Market Street branch of TDBanknorth in Poughkeepsie last Saturday. They were there for the official tree-lighting. They sang and there was hot chocolate, candy canes and a visit from Santa on a firetruck. Thank you to all…
In his talk yesterday, Bruce Judson made reference to the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration. As now, there was a deep financial crisis. As now, there was no one clear path to follow. But doing nothing was not an option. Bruce reminded us that they tried things, experimenting to see what worked. There’s a local exhibition – close…
“Understanding the Economic Crisis in Plain English” – that was the title of the presentation for grades 7-12 today. In his lively and most informative presentation PDS parent and trustee Bruce Judson explained the origins of the current financial crisis. His talk set out the dominoes of the events that led the way. You can see the presentation yourself at…
What do London’s Royal Albert Hall, The Football Association, and the New Zealand Ministry of Education have in common? All three have called on the services of learning and creativity consultant Guy Claxton. He is the author of What’s The Point Of School? Rediscovering The Heart of Education and a foremost thinker on creativity, learning, and the brain. He is…
On the way home tonight I heard Robert Reich on NPR’s Marketplace. The topic was Human Capital. The one sentence summary: Failure to invest in human capital (i.e..education) is shortsighted and counter-productive. Basic idea: Our future competitiveness and standard of living depend on our collective skills, capacity to communicate and solve problems, and innovate. They do not depend on our…
Launch your ideas into the future. This is the Million Futures site where you see a blue sky, fluffy clouds and circling paper planes. Each plane contains an answer to one of the questions representing people’s views on the future of education and the skills that will matter. Read a few, launch your own. It is part of a joint…
… you gotta have fun and you’ve got to love the kids.”
What’s your favorite word and is it in this dictionary yet? If not, then consider making a personal contribution. Meanwhile – take a look, see and listen to the contributions so far in Wordia And don’t worry – there are lots more words to go. The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in…
So many things to be thankful for. PDS gave traditional Thanksgiving thanks at the all-school celebration on Tuesday. Groups gathered to eat, hear a story and re-connect. Older students from the high school led the way – served the food, read the story and then brought everyone together in the JEJ theater a for a poem by Langston Hughes and…
A high school parent writes: I think we knew this already (“study shows teens’ use of digital media show that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online – often in ways adults do not understand or value”) but it’s nice (especially as a parent) to be reassured. The study in question can be found here in versions…
Work hard at what you are passionate about. Read lots of books. There was more, but that was how Mr. Feiffer opened his talk last Thursday. What a treat to hear him talk about his creative process and answer questions – mostly from children- about his life and work. How did he get started? Well – by telling bedtime stories…
I’ve posted about leadersheep before and now I have heard from an Icelandic shepherd with more information. “Flannelberry” – who started a blog Flannelberry Farm (Small-scale farming, self sufficiency and all things considered…) – writes: I am a shepherd with an Icelandic flock and came across your blog while googling “leadersheep”. There are indeed leadersheep – a specific line within the…
A parent sent me a link to this clip from Ulrike Reinhard‘s blog and specifically her story “Intrinsic motivation will play a major role…” Thank you for introducing me to the ideas and work of Chief of Confusion: Richard Seely Brown. Brown is a visiting scholar at USC and the independent co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation.…
First and foremost, I look for someone who asks good questions…We can teach them the technical stuff, but we can’t teach them how to ask good questions—how to think. Clay Parker, president of the Chemical Management Division of BOC Edwards. What’s your answer to the question: What skills do we need to be teaching in the 21st century? To get…
Ninety years since the end of the First World War. Passengers at Paddington station on Armistice Day, 11 November 1919. stopped for two minutes silence to remember those who never returned. Most of the men have taken their hats off out of respect. Over 25,000 Great Western Railway workers were killed in the war. Railway companies commemorated the end of…