Tag Archives: learning

Where We’re From

15 Thursday Jun 2017

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learning without reflection

School’s out for most. Another year has ended. Everyone awaits these longer days of summer and enjoys a more relaxed schedule. How did these marvelous students, most children, get to this day?

Heather Siple- graduation-018.JPGWorking in schools – teaching a variety of students – confirms that children take individual paths to graduation day. Some move through school at the established pace, completing the required steps, causing knowing smiles as they accomplish predetermined goals. Others meander, checking out things along the way, perhaps devoting more time to some things than others and getting to the finish line in their own time. Still others may have difficulty determining where the finish line is and an even harder time figuring out what to do to come close to reaching it. Educators find these variations and more. Parents typically prefer the first option as it is tried and true. We know it works and what is expected is carried out. However, which is the best path? That depends. Continue reading →

Keep Learning

25 Thursday May 2017

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Screen Shot 2017-05-25 at 10.54.26 AMAt Wilmington Montessori School, we have moved slowly but surely from mostly using Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets to using Google Docs and Sheets. Some embraced the move and did it quickly and rather painlessly. Others, not so much. Recently, I was asked how I learned to use Google Docs. My response was a simple one: “I made myself do it.” You see, if I were given a wishy-washy mandate to change from a familiar and comfortable and manageable system (for me) to one that I found time-consuming to work on and didn’t look the same or respond in the same way, I wouldn’t have done it. I would have elected to stay with the familiar. I knew the change was coming and made myself take the extra time to work in one system while not completely trusting it and also saving things in the one I knew. I doubled up for safety! But I did it.  

Making changes such as these is not easy. There will be questions, unfamiliar interfaces, mistakes and frustration. Help will be needed. It’s there for the asking. As we learn new things, whether by choice or mandate, others are there to help us along the way. There will always be new things to learn and others to guide us and answer seemingly simple questions. Take the leap. Embrace change. Keep learning. You’ll be ready for what happens next.

Curiosity vs. Knowledge

18 Thursday May 2017

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curiosity killed the cat

We all know the saying: “Curiosity killed the cat.” This article sheds a different light on that age-old adage, highlighting the premise that curiosity might be a better attribute than knowledge. It is commonly stated that we are living in the information age. Information, also known as knowledge, is there for the taking. We can search on Google, ask Siri or look up something on Wikipedia, and we will get an answer within minutes if not seconds.

If we simply want an answer to a question, those tools will provide the answer and the quest is finished. However, if we want to make connections, think further or wonder “what if,” that is only the beginning. In other words, if we are curious, we need more than the initial response to our questions and our thoughts. We need to think. We need to connect ideas and ask more questions. We need to wonder, to dream and to be curious. Knowing the multiplication tables is an attainable goal and one that schools hold important for children in elementary school. Connecting that knowledge to wonder about why yet another ice cream shop is going out of business if so many of the people walking on the boardwalk on a hot summer’s day are eating ice cream requires curiosity. It’s not simply looking at what exists and looking for a simple answer. Curiosity is going beyond that thinking to consider the “why,” the “how” and the ways in which one can make a difference by connecting those ideas.

Schools need to continue to help students gain knowledge; it is necessary to maintain an educated populace. However, it is imperative that they also instill a culture of curiosity. Children who are encouraged to think harder, try various ideas and adapt the results using a variety of tools are building skills needed for their future. They need to be given the time to think freely, wonder and guide their learning. Curiosity may be a problem for cats – not so for students. Allow it to thrive.

The Traditions that Unite Us

27 Thursday Apr 2017

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Last week, I was reminded of my family’s many traditions as we gathered to dye Easter eggs, hunt for hidden ones, and wish each other a “Happy Easter” while breaking cascarones on each others’ heads. We enjoyed brunch with extended family and friends. Some of these traditions have religious significance, arising from traditions in European countries long ago. Others are relatively new to our family, having learned of them when we visited San Antonio several years ago. Regardless, it is what we have come to expect each year when Easter weekend rolls around.

Children love traditions. Once we do something one way, it becomes an anticipated event. At Wilmington Montessori School, we have a birthday assembly each year to celebrate the school’s founding. We share a moment of silence and sing a song of peace each year on the U.N. International Day of Peace. Children stop at the front desk on the morning of their birthday to receive a ribbon and have “Happy Birthday” sung to them. They look forward to the bubbles on the first day of school and the graduation ceremony on the last day. These all have become traditions at our school. They are anticipated and adored. We keep them alive because they are an integral part of the life of the school.

In your family, you can name traditions that have been handed down to you from past generations. You have most likely begun many of your own. They unite us. They help us to appreciate each other and learn about our similarities and differences. Think about the traditions known to you and your family and those you might want to explore as your children grow. Cultural influences and traditions are an abundant source of learning, sharing and creating acceptance in our world.

Expectations Matter

13 Thursday Apr 2017

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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Sonia Manzano speak. You may know her as Maria from Sesame Street; she was on the show for more than 40 years. Ms. Manzano spoke about the importance of a strong early childhood education, sharing the inequities that persist today. She said of her childhood, “I was smart in the Bronx and stupid in Manhattan.”

She was speaking to Montessorians and spoke with her audience in mind. Ms. Manzano understands that children learn through play and that it takes experienced educators to guide them in their choices and explore mistakes with them along the way. As she warmed to her topic, I was profoundly moved by her statement that, “I was good in school because so little was expected of me.”

Expectations matter. It is one thing to guide children through a curriculum. It is another to learn what is needed for each child to stretch themselves, to learn all that is possible at a given moment and to communicate that we know they can reach their goals, offering support as needed. Educators must know their students. They must offer opportunities to learn and expect the best from them. Communicating expectations for success allows children to rise to those expectations and beyond. When educators set goals that require children to stretch and yearn for more, they are proud of their accomplishments. Children count on us to share the world with them and to stand firmly beside them while they explore, question and learn to expect the best of themselves and their educational experiences.

What do we need to know?

06 Thursday Apr 2017

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What do students need to succeed in school and in life? That is a question that educators have struggled with since societies began offering education to its citizens. Most of us wouldn’t argue with the idea that we all need to read, write and know basic math skills. After that it gets a bit muddier. What content must be “covered” to ensure an educated populace?

If you take a moment to consider your own education, what you loved about it, what you absorbed at the time, and what you quickly forgot and relearned later in life, you will begin to understand the limitations of a singular attempt at becoming an educated person. We have all learned a body of facts about history, geography, varying sciences and more. How many of those facts do you recall? Of those you remember, why do you suppose they are easily recalled? If you happen to have loved learning about Greek mythology as a child, chances are you held onto that information and have added to it throughout your life. If you were not interested in it, the opposite may have occurred; you remembered what was needed for a report or a test, forgot most of it and can perhaps pull up one or two facts years later.

There are national standards for education in all disciplines. Schools and educators throughout our country use those standards to determine what to teach and at what age or grade they should be included in the curriculum. What standards don’t address is how to ignite the interest, curiosity and passion of the children who are the intended learners. Education is much more than sharing facts. Attending school means so much more than being presented information. It is the place where we are inspired by ideas, current and past, by questions that ignite a curiosity and passion to seek answers, and by educators who are learners themselves. It’s imperative that those who call themselves teachers continue to be learners. None of us will ever learn all that is to be learned. Each of us has the capacity to continue to seek knowledge, to ask questions and to ignite curiosity in ourselves and others. Learning for life is preparation for the future and is the best standard we can set for students in our schools.

Independence

30 Thursday Mar 2017

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If you are reading this blog, my guess is that you have gone to school. No matter where that school was located, or who your favorite and least favorite teachers were, my guess is also that the school you attended looked very much like the schools most children attend in 2017. Your classroom was most likely filled with desks, chalkboards or dry erase boards, books, pencils, notebooks and perhaps some art materials. There was probably one teacher who talked more than he or she listened, and even your enrichment classes were probably similar to the ones most schools offer today: physical education, music, art and foreign language. Why, you might ask, is this so? Do the cars we drove 20 or 30 years ago look and act in the same ways? Do our banks, stores and other businesses function as they did when you were a child? Chances are the answer is no.

Why is it so hard to create change in schools? Reading blog after blog and book after book, attending conferences, and learning from other educators leads me to understand it is the way of education. Change happens slowly – and it happens even more slowly in schools. You might be fortunate enough to have experienced a teacher or classroom that is at the cutting edge of what it means to create a vital teaching and learning environment. Typically, it takes decades for those changes to become what one might consider “best practice” in education and part of every child’s school experience. .

The advantage of an independent school (like Wilmington Montessori School) is that the changes we know need to happen in education are happening in classrooms on a daily basis. Independent schools are able to make changes more quickly. We are able to be more experimental, trying things, seeing if they work and incorporating change from one classroom to the next in a more responsive way than can occur in the public school system. Independent schools have thrived and continue to contribute to the education of children by doing just that.

We know the children in our schools. We understand them and work each day to build the experience those children will benefit from the most. The result is students and graduates who are themselves more independent. These young people are not only capable of upholding and exceeding the standards that are critical to ensure an educated populace; they are also able to think independently, synthesize information and effect change in our world.

Shhh… Quiet

09 Thursday Mar 2017

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The last place you might expect to find a person who identifies strongly as an introvert is on a stage in front of more than 5,000 people. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, often finds herself in this position as she shares her message about life as an introvert. Listening to her speak to a large group, 80% of whom raised their hands when asked if they think they are introverts, was fascinating. Cain blends personal stories with research and strategies for introverts and extroverts alike.

One of the things that is of particular interest is her connection between the need for solitude and creativity. Schools and workplaces have worked to provide spaces for collaboration and teamwork; they also need to provide space for us to work quietly, to think and to let our minds wander. We keep hearing that the world of the future will require us to be able to get along well with others, work on a team and manage well in groups. It is also believed that we need to innovate and look for solutions to problems other than those that are obvious. How does this happen? Where will those ideas come from? How will we add meaning to a group or a creative process? How many of your good ideas have come to you while in the shower or driving? Perhaps it is the quiet that allows these ideas to percolate to the surface.

How will you grow?

23 Thursday Feb 2017

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how will you grow.pngThis time of year brings with it a lot of professional development opportunities for educators. Last week, several teachers were able to attend a conference on technology integration. It is a conference held each year to share ideas and experiences with technology in the classroom. This conference is what all professional development should be…inspiring.

Taking the time out of one’s schedule to learn new things and to be inspired by the work of others is one of the things that energizes us each to enthusiastically work to do the best we can to support children’s growth. Each person has varying needs to improve his or her practice. Each year presents different challenges. Just when you think you have it all figured out things shift and new skills and knowledge are required.

Working in a school reminds us that we are all learners. We have things to learn from each other no matter how young or old. As another year’s opportunities for learning take place, where will you focus? What tools will you add to your already overfilled toolbox? It is in yearning for more and refining our practice that we continue to contribute to the lives of the children in our care.

A Lot of Thought

08 Thursday Dec 2016

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car-puzzleI came across this puzzle the other day and found myself running through all of the strategies I use to figure out math puzzles. I am generally good at these types of puzzles and knew I could figure it out. I added, subtracted, multiplied, divided, squared numbers, etc. I knew the solution was obvious, but still I couldn’t find the answer. I ended up “cheating” and looking at the answer that was provided. The interesting part of this puzzle was not that it was challenging or that I couldn’t come up with the right answer. I love a challenge. It was that I applied tried and true strategies and they simply didn’t work. The answer* was simple…very simple.

How many times have you applied what you know to be true and not come up with the “right answer?” How many times have you been presented with a familiar situation and gone to the familiar rather than bringing a new approach to that problem? Did you become frustrated? Did you give up?

Each day we ask children to approach problems that we understand completely. We know the answer and want them to join us as “knowers.” We offer smiles, nods and perhaps an enthusiastic “Yes” when they reach the pinnacle of knowing. However, do we encourage diversity of thought? Do we join as thinkers and not simply knowers? Do we learn from their attempts to make meaning? It is only in doing these very things that we all learn. I have learned more from the students I’ve taught than I have ever learned from the books I’ve read and the courses I’ve taken. I’ve learned new approaches to “old” thinking. I’ve learned that there are multiple ways to approach any given situation and to still get a problem “right.” And what have those students learned? They’ve learned that it is important to try and that there are multiple ways to solve a problem. They’ve learned that others’ ideas and thoughts have an impact on their thinking. They’ve learned that it is OK to be wrong and that effort matters.

* Click here for the solution.