Social Equity, Environment, & Development

S.E.E.D. Mission Statement: SEED nurtures and challenges interested, curious and compassionate students to grapple with today's major social issues and, in turn, produces empowered leaders.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Practical, Lifelong Skills

The EXPERIENTIAL PROGRAM at SEED academy teaches students lifelong skills, rarely taught in independent secondary schools. When teaching math, students often ask: "When will I ever use this?" While the answer I give- that students in high school are trained to think clearly and analytically- the truth is that I often wonder why more applicable skills are not taught.


Then I think: What are some things that an 18 year old should definitely know how to do? Speak another language. Change a tire. Start a good fire and be able to cook over it. Fix a leaky pipe and do basic home repair. Be alone, happily. Be honest with oneself. Grow food. Help others.


Freshmen Year: Students spend 10 weeks in the White Mountains, exploring watersheds and learning to BE in the woods. By the end, students will spend one week ALONE. With only a tarp, a lighter, access to a creek and some simple food, these students will live quietly by themselves for 7 days, developing a deep connection with nature and a deeper sense of self. They will come away from the program with an ability to be alone, with a love of (or at least an appreciation for) wilderness, and a resounding feeling of independence.


Sophomore Year: Students spend 10 weeks building simple homes in underprivileged communities. With a hammer as their tool, each student will learn about home maintenance and repair. More importantly, this altruistic endeavor will push students to think about what it means to give. Evening workshops will challenge students to consider their own privileges. The end goal is for students to become aware of disparities in opportunity and become committed to social equity.


Junior Year: Students spread their wings and spend seven weeks in a home-stay in either China or a Spanish speaking country. Students will learn to cross cultural bridges, challenge their view of the world, and come away fluent in their language of study. Then, students will finish the trip with three weeks on an organic farm. Learning about food production, students will have the chance to get their hands dirty while continuing to hone their language skills.


Senior Year: Students depart to the East, spending eleven weeks in the north of Thailand. Three weeks will be spent in a Buddhist monastary- living simply, practicing meditation. Three weeks will be spent at a UN refugee camp, helping indigenous groups who have crossed the Burmese border in refuge. Three more weeks will be spent teaching english in underserved schools. In the last two weeks, seniors will spend time processing their trip and their high school experience, as well as planning for their CAPSTONE PROJECT, where they will study, research, and then communicate on a topic


Graduating seniors will have spent 10 weeks in the wilderness, 10 weeks building homes, and 21 weeks out of the country. They will have lived in Buddhist temples and volunteered in UN refugee camps. They will have learned to build a fire and cook over it, and they will have grown their own food.


These graduating seniors are global citizens. They are worldly and self-sufficient. Their perspective is enormous, but not as large as their hearts.


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Smart Presentation

These videos (the link is below) come from a presentation on Smart Use of Smart Boards. We looked at how Notebook Software interacts with SmartBoards and the use of Wikispaces for the presentation of class videos and notes.

In particular, we looked at how we might flip the notion of class time and homework time. In other words, we could create videos which students would watch at home. During class, after learning the skills at home, students would work on projects in groups to practice and deepen their understanding of the topics learned at home.

The role of the teacher becomes that of an "experienced learner," going from one group to the next, helping them consider the various problems, and making sure they understand both the theory and practice.

http://www.flipshare.com/viewFbReshare.aspx?i=b1fc9f15-541f-4689-a596-f2fbb7cd2a58&s=55896921&langmedia=en-us

Monday, January 24, 2011

SMART USE of SMART BOARDS

Tonight I'll be presenting on the Smart Use of SmartBoards to the NMH Math Department. A video of the presentation will be coming later. I see the use of SmartBoards not as flashy technology, rather a way to greatly improve the way in which we teach and structure the time in the classroom.

Please watch the video (which will be uploaded later) if you are interested.