December 2017 – Park Parent

Yule Festival: Sharing Our Light

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Cynthia A. Harmon

The hustle and bustle, the crunch underfoot of fallen leaves, the windswept, barren branches and the crispness in the air … these all point to a time of year when our already busy lives become even busier. Families gather, friends call, and there is an overwhelming number of ‘to do’ lists: planning and preparation, entertaining, visiting, and moving through to the other side of the holidays. This notion of moving through and not necessarily being fully present begs some questioning. What are we rushing towards? What are we rushing through? And what are we missing? Do we stop long enough to be still enough to see, hear, and smell the sights, sounds, and scents that linger in the air and signal (for most in our community) that this a special time of the year? – a time when we are meant to pay closer attention to the grace of gratitude and be more mindful of the relationships that have touched our lives. In the spirit of learning to be present and mindful, I invite us all to reflect on the intensity with which we are examining our to do lists at the expense of experiencing the beauty of being in the moment where we are.

Next week, the entire Park community will share in our annual Yule Festival. As I thought about the various holidays that will be celebrated in the homes throughout our community, I was struck by how little I actually knew about the origins of the many different traditions that draw families and friends together during this time of year. After doing some quick online research, I came to appreciate more deeply how the themes of light, hope, joy, peace, gratefulness, nature, and love truly emerged. In some combination, they transcend beliefs, faiths, practices, and observances. These themes speak to the pluralistic society in which we live and our collective, interdependent humanity. (If you’re curious, here is a link to several good articles and websites that I discovered.)

As a school of culturally and religiously diverse families, Yule Festival is an opportunity to experience both the common values and the many traditions that comprise the rich diversity of our Park School community. All year, and especially at Yule Festival, we believe it is important to share our traditions, learn about each other, and celebrate together. These values are a cornerstone of a Park School education.

The Yule Festival program features a range of songs performed by students across all grades. Students study music from a variety of traditions, and we educate them about the principles and spirit of cultural and religious holidays that extend deeper than songs and dance. The selected passages from a variety of religious texts read by Upper Division students help develop a broad understanding of and engagement with these traditions.

We welcome and encourage families to attend Yule Festival, and I look forward to seeing many of you in the West Gym on Friday, December 15 at 9:30am. Following our winter vacation, school will resume on Tuesday, January 2.

Throughout these closing weeks of 2017, it is my hope that we all remember to find peace among the noise, feel the warmth of loved ones, create joy, and share the light and hope that lies within each one of us.

Best wishes,
– Cynthia A. Harmon

What Is Applied Learning?

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Pamela Penna

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What is it that you understand well? How did you come to understand it? How do you know, definitively, that you do in fact, actually understand it? These are some of the questions that teachers must grapple with as they consider how to design applied learning experiences for students at The Park School.

Applied learning fosters a deep understanding of a subject matter in a meaningful, authentic experience. Because life is full of these experiences, applied learning doesn’t always need to happen in a classroom. For me, applied learning took place in my own dining room, where I came to understand the art of wallpapering. I first learned how to wallpaper when I was faced with a challenge of adding style and color to my white walls in time for a large family gathering. The outcome of my learning mattered a great deal to me and that learning took on a multi-faceted approach, which included reading about wallpapering, talking to experts in the field to determine the standards for the project, and asking a lot of questions. I enlisted teachers who provided me information, resources, and tools. Two of these teachers were my amazing in-laws, who presented me with a beautiful gift, which had been handed down through the generations: a handsome wooden box that holds all the essential tools for the craft of wallpapering and then transforms into a working tabletop that supports the process. They used this box to model the technique and then coached me through successes and mistakes. I know that I understand wallpapering now because I can independently wallpaper a room with confidence, I can explain the process to others and help them troubleshoot when something goes wrong, I know my own limitations, and I no longer require my coaches by my side. My learning experience was high stakes and rigorous. This is the kind of meaningful, authentic, and challenging experience that curriculum creators design for students when targeting applied learning.

Teaching for understanding – while developing essential skills – is at the heart of applied learning. Educators have been debating what it means to truly understand for decades! Understanding is more elusive than knowing or remembering something and it is not as simple as a demonstration of a skill. When we truly understand, we are able to think critically around that topic, which might mean solving a problem that arises, asking questions that steer the learning, recognizing the topic or examples of it in new or unfamiliar contexts, making realistic predictions, or justifying a decision because of evidence or experience. Educators are satisfied that students understand when they demonstrate that they are able to use knowledge and skills in original ways.

Planning for rigorous, inquiry-based, complex learning experiences is a very thoughtful process. Park teachers exert great effort in presenting new subject matter and creating learning experiences so that their students can engage in developing an understanding of content while building skills. Over the summer, many teachers engaged in professional development in this important area with the Buck Institute for Project-Based Learning and at Harvard School of Education’s Project Zero for Teaching for Understanding. Throughout the year, teachers are fortunate to have design thinking experts (Carol Buzby, Kim Fogarty, Megan Haddadi, Elaine Hamilton, and Tory Lane) as faculty resources who can collaborate on planning applied learning projects. These efforts have translated into many amazing experiences for students, including:

Engineering ramps for Hot Wheels cars in student partnerships, focusing on design, problem solving, and redesign for ever-increasing challenges (Kindergarten)
Creating a physical, and then digital map to a favorite classroom spot to practice skills of measurement and to understand that maps show us how to get where we need to go (Grade I)
Transforming a classroom into an outdoor marketplace, ensuring authenticity based on product choice, marketing, and money management (Grade II)
Remarketing toys with new packaging that combat gender stereotypes (Grade III)
Creating original artifacts that purposefully clue the future archaeologist toward inferences about the creator (Grade IV)
Calculating just how many plastic balls would be necessary to create a classroom-sized ball pit, as well as the cost of such a project (Grade V)
Using images to tell stories through the creation of original book trailers, where students use technology for visual and auditory appeal to advertise a favorite book, while practicing the skills of digital citizenship (Grade VI)
Problem solving for the “germiest” place in school, following the swabbing of a variety of suspect surfaces throughout the building (Science Club – Grade VI)
Designing an appealing carnival game for younger students, using an understanding of theoretical and experimental probability to target a fair win/loss ratio (Grade VII)
Examining oral narratives and using the learned core elements to develop and perform a personal story, as inspired by NPR’s Moth series, accompanied by visual support (Grade VIII)
Using problem-solving techniques to push the boundaries of creativity and originality by designing a completely original mythological creature; sketching ordinary, preconceived mythological creatures, slicing them into three sections, (head, torso, and legs), mixing and matching those sections to reimagine possibilities, and then creating creating an entirely newly imagined creature (Art – Grade IV)

Through these experiences, students from Kindergarten to Grade VIII are developing their understanding through “doing.” Through applied learning, students are learning to communicate in a variety of ways, to ask thoughtful questions, engage in meaningful dialogue, creatively problem-solve and problem-find, and to think critically about a topic. These rigorous experiences insist on the development of skills required for our ever changing world and workplace environments.

Ask your children what they were asked to solve with others at school today. Ask them what they understand now, which they didn’t understand yesterday or last week, and please, ask them how they came to understand it and also how they can be sure that they do. And, if you are looking for more ways to ask your child about her/his day, I welcome you to find an idea here.

The 2017 Strategic Plan, Journey Together, focuses on three exciting priorities to move the School forward for the next 5-7 years: applied learning, social & emotional development, and beyond the classroom.

Meet Caroline Beasley, New Upper Division Head

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Martha Golub

Talking with Park’s new Upper Division head Caroline Beasley, it’s hard not to be infected by her passion for education and her excitement about her new role. Caroline, a champion of progressive education who joined Park this fall after nine years at The Parker School in Devens, MA, sat down with me before the Thanksgiving break to share her educational philosophy, her background, and her priorities for the Upper Division.

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What motivated you to pursue a career in education?

My interest in education started in elementary school in Carrollton, TX, a suburb outside of Dallas, where I went to a local public elementary school. In the third grade, I was placed into my school’s Gifted and Talented program, which I credit with my skills in critical reasoning, effective communication, and above all my ability to be a creative and analytical thinker. I believe in project-based learning and applied learning because I went through it myself as a child. But this experience also made me acutely aware of equity in education and the messages kids get at an early age about haves and have nots. One of the reasons I was driven to be a teacher was so I could provide access to those programs for all students, not just those who show an aptitude at a very early age.

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How has that shaped your thinking as an educator?

That experience was a huge part of my thinking as an educator about equity and access and about how students learn. I believe that students learn best when they have opportunities to construct meaning through hands-on exploration and inquiry. This is far more effective than teacher-centered learning where a teacher gives information and students absorb and repeat it back to the teacher.

The Parker School, where I was before Park, is a leader in progressive education and a pioneer in student-centered learning. Student-centered learning shifts the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student and moves the child to the center of the educational experience. It prioritizes the student’s needs above all needs. I loved that way of teaching and and was an arts and humanities teacher for nine years before getting my master’s degree in educational leadership last year. I’m interested in looking at how students learn in parallel with how teachers learn, which aren’t vastly different. I’m passionate about adult learning, student engagement, and school reform.

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How have you applied these ideas at Park?

We just piloted Park’s first student-led conferences, which gave our eighth grade students a chance to practice the skills of reflection, self-assessment, self-advocacy, and communication. Students led their parents and teachers in conversation by sharing their reflections about who they are as learners, focusing on their own goals for the year, as well as key strategies they believe will support them in making progress. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

I have also been working with teachers to embed more student voice into the curriculum so our students can practice rigorous academic skills. I have challenged teachers to talk only if they are giving instructions, asking questions, setting parameters to a problem, or synthesizing what a child has said. This doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in content or the importance of information or of answers, but when a student has the opportunity to construct meaning on their own, they are also being given the opportunity to think creatively, critically and flexibly. That is how academic rigor is defined, and it requires the teacher to be thinking about how you design learning rather than deliver learning.

I also want to take a look at assessment – to move away from “can students tell you what you told them” and toward “what can students do with what they’ve learned.” This is called authentic assessment: it’s about the doing rather than the knowing. Knowledge is important, but just knowing lots of things isn’t particularly valuable – it’s about what you can do with what you know. We need to be starting at this age and even before, giving students the opportunity to do something with what they know and assessing them on their doing and not just on their knowing.

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What are your priorities in your first year at Park?

There’s work for us to do in the social-emotional learning realm. Social-emotional skills are deeply connected to academic rigor, because if you are asking students to do intellectually-rigorous academic work, that requires a certain caliber of relationship in the classroom with peers and with teachers. We’ve learned from brain research that if students don’t feel socially and emotionally safe in the classroom, they actually can’t learn – they’re not going to raise their hand to ask a question or take a risk on exploring a solution on their own. They’re going to want to play it safe. And when a child isn’t feeling safe to explore something, then they’re not practicing critical thinking skills or analytical skills or communication skills. These are the skills that define academic rigor in the 21st century, not memorization and not ‘recipe’. Furthermore, this is the magic of a PK-8 education: our Upper Division students have strong, longstanding, consistent relationships with peers and teachers supporting them as they merge into more complex and rigorous academic work. We need to capitalize on that magic!

And on a lighter (or I should say heavier!) note, we’re taking a look at the weight of our students’ backpacks. I have created a task force of Upper Division students to study the issue and come up with solutions. We meet once a week and are making good progress. So far, we’ve defined the problem, identified questions, and will soon move into our data collection phase. We hope to have some recommendations for the Administrative Team to review and consider by the end of January.

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You recently spent three days as a Park student: one for each grade in the Upper Division. What did you learn?

It was awesome! Being a Park student for three days allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of the student experience. I was exhausted by the end of every day. Adult work is really different than student work. When you’re an adult, for the most part, you’re in the position to create and control situations, but when you’re a kid it’s the opposite; kids often are asked to enter into situations and adapt to expectations that have been set for them. As adults, I think we can forget how exhausting that can be. Surprisingly, my favorite part of being a Park School student was when I had to take a test. I hadn’t been in classes learning the material leading up to the test, and so this forced me to approach the work by problem-solving, rather than by simply answering questions. I had to be the most creative, to think the most critically, to be careful about how I communicated – that’s when I was doing the most doing.

I also noticed a big difference between sixth and eighth grades. I crammed for a test during recess with other eighth grade students, whereas in seventh grade I was swinging on the swings. Eighth graders have a lot of pressure so that they can get into the secondary school of their choice, but I worry that it becomes less about learning and more about how they’re seen by others. We need to make sure that students want to learn for learning’s sake and not wanting to perform. Because at some point, the audience fades away, and it becomes you and your work. If you’re just motivated to learn for a grade, you’re going to burn out and you won’t be an effective adult in the greater world. I want to instill in students a love for learning and the skills to DO so they’re able to go out and make meaningful contributions in their chosen fields of study and work. That is the point of an education.

NEH Summer Grant Recipients: Nancy Barre and Scott Sandvik

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by The Park Parent Editorial Board

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By the Park Parent Editorial Board

Applying against the odds is an experience that Park parents know, so we should be able to empathize with the six thousand educators who vie for National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) summer programs each year. The NEH is charged with spreading and strengthening the appreciation of “the diversity of excellence that comprises our cultural heritage,” according to the 1965 act of Congress which established it. To fulfill that mission, each year NEH offers America’s best educators the opportunity to participate in their summer seminars, institutes, and workshops. Last summer, two members of the Park faculty conquered the odds and joined the honored few.

Participants are selected from among the piles of applicants based on demonstrated excellence as educators and assurances that what they learn will impact what they teach. So, it is easy to see why Park Upper Division Social Studies teacher Nancy Barre was selected to participate in a workshop on the Reform Era in Rochester, New York. Nancy is A.B.D. in history at the University of Rochester, so she was already familiar with how the construction of the Erie Canal encouraged Reform Era allies such as suffragette Susan B. Anthony and abolitionist Frederick Douglass to adopt Rochester as their base of operations. But what Nancy learned in Rochester last summer will inform how she teaches the new Grade VIII social studies curriculum she is shaping. “I knew that Douglas was a super-star of the Abolitionist Movement,” she said, “but what I learned from the workshop will help me convey why he founded The North Star where he did and how broader changes spurred the movement he led.”

Despite the fact that first-time participants are favored in the NEH’s selection process, Scott Sandvik was chosen for a second workshop last summer. The NEH requires that all applicants demonstrate related intellectual interests in workshop subjects. It is clear that Scott, a composer, performing professional guitarist, and published academic, surpassed that hurdle. In 2015, Scott participated in a program about the Mississippi Delta and its rippling effects on American culture—a topic which he once taught a course about at the New England Conservatory. And this past summer he studied how the Gullah, the descendants of those enslaved in the Lowlands of the American South, seeded the development of African-American musical culture. In both these workshops, Scott was able to take a deeper dive into areas where he had already delved and bring back what he learned to The Park School. For instance, the seventh grade studies the techniques and history of the Mississippi Delta Blues, thanks to Scott’s deep knowledge.

NEH’s selection of Scott Sandvik and Nancy Barre highlights that Park faculty members are not just instructors, but also scholars who are often experts in their subject areas. Both educators emerged from their summer workshops most excited about how their experiences would revitalize their teaching. As Nancy tells it, “trading thoughts with educators from all over the country really gets you jazzed about what we are doing and how we do things.”

New Music Curriculum

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Sadie Mayes

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Lessons in Gratitude and Generosity

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Olivia Moorehead-Slaughter

Chances are when hearing the names Harvey, Irma, José, and Maria, your mind will reflect upon this year’s tumultuous and terrifying hurricane season where millions of people in Florida, Houston, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other parts of the Caribbean were struck by devastating storms. Though the official hurricane season ended on November 30, many will be contending with the aftermath of this year’s storms for quite some time. For some, their loss is massive. Families have been left standing in the midst of wreckage where their homes once stood. For others, returning home has meant undertaking an overwhelming effort to repair, rebuild and restore that which had been made uninhabitable by the powerful forces of wind and water. And then, there’s the continuing plight of Puerto Rico, where at the time of this writing, over half of the island’s citizens (1.7 million!) are yet without electricity.

Over the past many weeks, there has been a great deal of news coverage about these areas with interviews of those whose lives continue to be upended. A common theme throughout the personal stories and reflections are expressions of gratitude for the sparing of their lives and the lives of their family members and loved ones. Over and over, even as they acknowledged feeling overwhelmed by the loss of homes and possessions, and the daunting undertaking they would face in rebuilding, there remained profound expressions of gratitude for life itself, the one thing that is truly irreplaceable. Finding the path to gratitude through life’s toughest times brings both perspective about what is most important and the resilience to persevere through the harsh reality of one’s challenging situation. While an attitude of gratitude may not change those circumstances, it offers a lens for the heart and mind that clarifies and confirms the value of what yet remains.

Importantly, these stories of gratitude were accompanied by others which highlighted the incredible generosity of people towards neighbors and strangers alike. This generosity took many forms including bailing water from houses, offering dry places to sleep, rescuing pets, sharing food, and giving donations of much needed clothing, diapers, and of course, money. Many schools, including Park, participated in relief efforts, encouraging children to express generosity through their individual acts, and ultimately, to experience the even larger impact of our collective action. Perhaps your family participated in other efforts and/or engaged in discussions about the acts of kindness and generosity described in the media.

With Thanksgiving in the recent past and another holiday season quickly approaching, we frequently encounter messages of gratitude and stories about acts of generosity. Yet, arguably, gratitude and generosity should not be confined to a season or to times of extreme gains or losses. Where did you learn your first lessons about gratitude and generosity? Who taught you to share and to say please, thank you, and you’re welcome? Might these seemingly small lessons be more than formalities or “good manners,” but rather the important incubators for a lifetime of offering respect, kindness, gratitude, and generosity? Might these early lessons provide the foundation for encouraging a lifelong appreciation for what we have and an inclination to share and extend ourselves to others?

The cultivation of life skills and habits around gratitude and generosity are possible for every child and for every adult who values lifelong learning and seeks to live as one who values our interconnected humanity. At home and at school, teachable moments abound for these lessons and more. Indeed, this is applied learning at its very best! As with so much that we wish to teach and instill, right-sized opportunities to practice are important. At Park, these small teachable moments are plentiful and sometimes peppermint flavored*.

Onward……..in kindness, gratitude and generosity.

*For 20 years, Dr. O has given out peppermints to students in the Upper Division (and often to younger students who learn about this tradition!) at designated times during the school day, always accompanied by “thank you” and “you’re welcome.”

News from The Park School Parents’ Association

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Tamar Frieze and Sarah Hall Weigel

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When the school year began in September, it wasn’t just the kids who hit the ground running! The Park Parents’ Association (PA) had a productive fall, sponsoring a number of great community events and offering parents many opportunities to meet one another and get involved.

Following a new tradition, we kicked off the year with the Community Tree Celebration in the Lower Lobby. Each current Park family and faculty/staff member has a leaf on the tree, which is a beautiful visual representation of our school community. While last year’s celebration was held in February, this year we moved it up to September to welcome new families and celebrate our community and the opening of the school year.

The PA subcommittees hosted a number of parent and family events throughout the fall, including new parent dinners, the annual Chop-A-Thon benefiting the Pine Street Inn, and the ever-popular Bingo Night! A special thanks to Leah Dunn Rossi and Paul Newmark for their Bingo Caller skills, and to all of the students who volunteered that evening to help serve and bus the pizza dinner.

In November, the PA Parent Roundtable hosted a film screening of Screenagers. The film was followed by a discussion led by child development expert Joani Geltman, Park’s Director of Technology Jorge Vega, and Growth Education Department Head Heather Offen about the impact of the digital age on our children, how to minimize harmful effects and Park’s policies and philosophies on technology, digital citizenship, and recommendations for Park families at home.

NEW THIS YEAR!

Childcare at Park School Parent Evenings
The PA now offers free on-site childcare during PA-sponsored events to make it easier for parents to attend community evenings and roundtable events. A special thanks to Dr. Liza Talusan, Park’s Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, for spearheading this great new initiative.

Parents’ Association Website
The PA has launched its own dedicated web page on the Park School website. Please check it out to learn more about upcoming events and how to get involved. https://parentsassociation.parkschool.org

COMING UP!

Friday, December 15 Pre-Yule Festival Reception
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Join fellow parents in the West Gym Lobby for coffee, baked goods, and conversation before the performances.

Friday, January 5 Family Skating Party at Larz Anderson Rink
5:00 – 7:45 p.m. Ice skating, pizza, hot cocoa and more!
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

“Just” Books Make “Just” Gifts

Published on December 1, 2017 in Winter 2017 by Tory Lane

This season, the Library is partnering with the P.A. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in a social justice reading initiative. Inspired by the exceptional booklist created by Bank Street College of Education and School Library Journal, we are encouraging the entire Park community to give the gift of reading books that “promote an inclusive, democratic, and just society.” In additional to being a thoughtful gift, the Library has acquired nearly every title, and these books are available to borrow over winter break.

In her holiday New York Times Editor’s Letter, Hanya Yanagihara writes, “the ability to practice and demonstrate personal decency, to say and do the things that make life fairer and more just for the weakest and least privileged among us, is inalienable, and the truest exertion of personal autonomy. It is something to celebrate: at holiday time, of course, but always, and is therefore the most profound gift of all.” It is in this spirit that we hope to inspire our community to “JUST” read!

“The ability to practice and demonstrate personal decency, to say and do the things that make life fairer and more just for the weakest and least privileged among us, is inalienable, and the truest exertion of personal autonomy. It is something to celebrate: at holiday time, of course, but always, and is therefore the most profound gift of all.”