In a nutshell

Creating "Solutionaries"- A response to Zoe Weil's TED Talk

Zoe Weil, cofounder and president of the Institute for Humane Education, said in a recent TED Talk: “We need a bigger vision for the purpose of schooling... It should be this: that we provide every student with the knowledge, the tools, and the motivation to be conscientious choice makers and engaged change makers for a restored and healthy and humane world for all.” This is exactly what SEED will deliver its students. The thematic and interdisciplinary academic curriculum combined with the Experiential Program will produce graduates who are true “solutionaries.”

SEED academy will focus on issues of land use, the environment, social equity and global development. The emphasis will not merely be on debating ideas for an academic exercise. Rather, right from the start, students will be asked to decide on solutions for improvement. Most importantly, the students will need to engage in and implement these solutions. Weil professes: “We need to graduate a generation of solutionaries.” SEED will deliver just that.

As an anecdote, Weil describes a student who did a research assignment and after his presentation, he wanted to hand out leaflets. To Weil’s surprise, the student intended to hand the leaflets out onto the Philadelphia streets, not just in the classroom. Weil says: “He’d become an activist over night.” This is precisely what needs to happen. All projects should be public. Students must utilize social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube so that their ideas far exceed the walls of the school.

We have shared the idea of SEED to many educators and friends. We believe that the more we talk about it and the more feedback we get the better. Of the concerns people raise about the curriculum, the most common concern is whether graduates will be prepared. I absolutely loved the way in which Weil answered this same question:

“What would our graduates go on to do? Well they would do the same thing that graduates do today. They’d be business people and health care providers and plumbers and engineers... and beauticians... The difference would be they would perceive themselves as solutionaries. They would know that it was their responsibility to ensure that the systems within their profession were just and humane and peaceful. Why? Because that is what they would have learned in school.”

I’d like to thank Zoe Weil for an excellent talk (see talk) and further inspiring me to re-think how we educate.

A Perfect Size of School

Dunbar's number- 150- is the largest number in which groups of humans can maintain stable social relationships. This is the number of students on campus at any quarter at SEED Academy.

In Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, he looks at the maximum size for any functioning group. He believes that at some number, intimacy and trust is lost, and thus the efficacy of the group diminishes. Supported by case studies and biological research, Gladwell explains that humans have the capacity to exist in groups of up to 150, citing numerous supporting examples.

Reading this in Gladwell's book was confirming. Envisioning SEED Academy, we want to have four sections of 10-12 students per grade level. Therefore the projected size of the 9-12 program at SEED academy is roughly 200. While at first this seems to have overshot Dunbar's number and Gladwell's finding, at any given quarter, 50 of the students will be off-campus in the Experiential Program. This leaves 150 students on campus.

Therefore, in a way by happenstance, we have envisioned a school size that will, according to Malcolm Gladwell, operate at maximum capacity without losing stable relationships.

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.

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

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.

Reading at the Coffee House

Tomorrow night I'll be reading this great poem at our school's "Coffee House."

The poem is called "Becoming Joey" by Paul Gorski.

It's incredibly powerful. I first read it in the book: White Teachers, Diverse Classrooms.