The best parts about the Harry Potter books are all the reminders of the traditional British school story and a childhood spent haunting the children’s library. Hogwarts – like Greyfriars, St. Jim’s, Linley Court, St. Clare’s, Malory Towers and all the rest – is a direct descendant of the early Victorian Rugby School of Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Each school has…
I take my title from Gary Stager. Read his commentary and research to answer the question for yourself. (To read about Gary’s visit to PDS: click here)
This picture has a dollop of peanut butter on one edge, a smear of grape jelly on the other, and an X across the whole thing. I cut it out of a magazine for homework when I was six years old. ‘Look for words that begin with W,’ my teacher, Mrs. Evans, had said. She was the one who marked…
Some came from New York City and much further – including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Denmark. Other came from closer to school but all were welcome at the annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day. We gathered in the dining room for breakfast and after brief remarks of welcome our visitors went to classes and then to a command performance…
Over one hundred lower school children having a wonderful time – bursting with joy and pride of accomplishment. More coming soon on this wonderful performance.
Technology is always disruptive. Think of the introduction of the printing press, or the combine harvester, or the mechanical looms that destroyed a way of life for cottage industry weavers. Some of them took to frame breaking and gave us the unfairly derisive term of “Luddite” for those who resist technological change. Technology as disruption came to me early in…
A beautiful spring day and students took full advantage over lunch-time.
Technology is always disruptive. Think of the introduction of the printing press, or the combine harvester, or the mechanical looms that destroyed a way of life for cottage industry weavers. Some of them took to frame breaking and gave us the unfairly derisive term of “Luddite” for those who resist technological change. Technology as disruption came to me early in…
Let’s Abolish High School – it’s a link to an article in Education Week (April4, 2007) by Robert Epstein. Epstein provides some historical context to the educational warehousing of teenagers. Teenagers, he contends, are not inherently incompetent and irresponsible and we should stop treating them as if they were. To give you a taste: In today’s fast-paced world, education needs…
Gary Stager came to Poughkeepsie Day School at the end of March and he began with a lively Vassar College/ PDS presentation Ten Things to do with a Laptop. His title is a deliberate nod to a groundbreaking 1971 article by Seymour Papert and Cynthia Solomon “Twenty Things to Do with a Computer.” They had twenty on their list but…
Does this Jerry King cartoon from FNO strike a chord? It’s easy to say “less is more” but not always so easy to see the sentiment translated into the practical of everyday life where the pressure seems on for more stuff in less time. Here is Carl Honoré – author of In Praise of Slowness explaining how to get more…
El externado de Poughkeepsie desarrolla a ciudadanos educados con una pasión para aprender y vivir. Nuestra comunidad exige integridad, responsabilidad y respecto mutuo. Poughkeepsieの昼間学校は学び、生存のための情熱の教育がある市民を開発する。 私達のコミュニティは完全性、責任および相互点を要求する。 Пугхкеепсие Day School разрабатывает образованных граждан, имеющих страсть к обучению и жизни. Наше сообщество требует честности, ответственности и взаимного уважения. A former colleague – a wonderful Spanish teacher – has a sign by her desk…
What’s next for computers? Here’s a demonstration of a multi-touch interface. Pretty amazing.Imagine the classroom or the workplace where everyone has access to this technology.
Gary Stager with PDS faculty March 30th Here’s a story that Gary related at Vassar on Thursday. It’s about his seven year old nephew and a truly ridiculous reading assignment. Schlock and Awe
In an earlier post, I mentioned the prescient Marshall McLuhan who saw decades ago that we were living in an era of connectivity and communications In that interview, he commented that most of us think in the past. For artists, he says, it is different. They live in the present, they think in the present, and it can be terrifying.…