Each week I try to give the Lower School faculty a little something extra to think about as they wrap up the weekend. Every Sunday I learn something new as I look to start the conversation. I enjoy it immensely, and I hope that it resonates with those who spend the time reading it.
4/27/14
Lagniappe: "We make our mistakes into masterpieces!" Possibly my favorite classroom quote, ever, is heard regularly in our Lower School Art room. In the care of Jane Keenan and Lauren Rago, our students learn to make mistakes, believe in their artistic voice, and the trust in the result. Masterpieces come in large waves. This Sunday we will celebrate the Art of Country Day, and it is important to remember that art helps all of us, whether or not we know a Matisse from a Monet, develop lifelong learners.
4/20/14
Lagniappe: The hope with professional development is that it speaks to someone, in some way, in attendance. The dream is that the someone then takes that idea and does something new /different/inspired with it . When Leonard Marcus spoke to the Country Day faculty last week he gave us a lot to chew on. I went home with a new lens on some favorite books - Nick Manfredi went home and got to work. Inspired by the section of the talk on alphabets , Nick set his mind, and his computer, to creating an alphabet based on the school environment, the core values, of an elementary classroom. He shared it with me at the end of the weekend, and I asked his permission to share it with you. Please follow the link below to access the Nick's alphabet project. Thank you, Nick, for jumping on a good idea and sharing.
Link to Alphabet Project
The site is still in development - thanks again to Nick for allowing me to share this particular spot.
4/14/14
Lagniappe: This Saturday I had the chance to participate in a most "Country Day" and marvelous rite of Spring - Kindergarten Baseball. Baseball is a sport of significant frustration for even the best players - hitting the ball 1/2 of the time would guarantee you a spot in the Hall of Fame! That can make it a very difficult sport to introduce to the youngest children. Not so with Kball! Saturday afternoon every child hit, threw, caught, and enjoyed the time with their friends. It was a festival in the dirt. There is a social and historical draw to our national pastime - and it doesn't have an age or coordination limit. Kball has it in spades - if you're looking to get excited about the season stop by the fields on a Saturday afternoon. I would defy you not to come away a fan.
4/7/14
Lagniappe: I've shared with each of you some of my favorite books - many of them are picture books. They might bring back memories from childhood, be a bedtime favorite for my boys, or introduce a difficult/important message in a simple and profoundly powerful way. Before you hear Mr Marcus on Friday, please spend some time thinking about the picture books that speak to you - I'm sure there are a few.
3/30/14
Lagniappe: This past week I revisited the goals I put on paper for myself this summer. It was an affirming and daunting exercise - quite a lot can happen in a few months! I reflected, and I revised a bit as I head into the last few months of my first school year on the Country Day campus.
The pace of the spring will be quick for everyone, I encourage you to revisit, reflect, and revise as you prepare to dive in.
3/9/14
Lagniappe: Two weeks off is a long time. We've hit our mid winter stride in the classroom, and the students are having a-ha moments on a daily basis. Parents and teachers alike worry about the Spring Break "melt" and we do what we can to help - book recommendations and the occasional math packet can be helpful, but it's a vacation. There should be authentic ways to keep the brains going and sometimes it is in pursuit of these moments that we discover a lifelong inspiration. There was a story/blog on NPR recently about finding that love - about when a piece of art reaches out and grab you. The author describes his 8-year old memory of a trip to MoMA, "I looked at it. It looked at me, and all it said was, 'Me too!'— and Cezanne and I have been talking ever since." All of us remember those moments from childhood - let's encourage our families to go out in search of them in the next two weeks.
3/2/14
Lagniappe: As we head into conference week, I will recycle two of my favorite pieces regarding these conversations. Enjoy the sense of shared purpose with the parents in your class this week, it is a remarkable connection.
2/23/14
Lagniappe: An article in the Sunday Review of the New York Times got me thinking. It was a commentary from Thomas Friedman entitled,How to get a job at Google. (link). The whole article is worth a read, but the gist of it relates to the skills identified as needed for success in the dynamic professional world of companies like Google (ranked the most innovative company in the world by Fast Company magazine this month).
The hiring team at Google is looking for five key attributes:
2/17/14
Lagniappe: Every day that I am physically able, I shake as many of the 400+ Lower School hands as I can as they sprint through the front door on their way to you. They are very happy to be here, and there is no more affirming way to start the day for me. Adam Rohdie promises parents that their children will be known and loved while they are in our care, and we set the tone for this when we greet them personally in the morning and say goodbye in the afternoon. These daily interactions are important and appreciated, and there's scientific research and history (see below) to back it up. Please make it a part of your day that is never passed over.
2/9/14
Lagniappe: As I mentioned above - it's February. The snow is not going away, the sun is rising too late, and it's setting too early. Mother nature is doing her best to make life difficult, but we have an advantage in combating these challenges - we work with children. They too can succumb to the February doldrums, but because of them, we get to come to work and change lives. Not to put too fine a point on it, but changing lives is what great educators do. Please know that it is well worth the dark commutes.
2/2/14
Lagniappe: I love stories. The stories we tell with our children, our friends, our families, our students - they are a wonderful way to teach and connect. This week I came across an article on the hidden importance of teaching with stories. There is nothing hidden about the importance of the stories we use to teach our students in the Lower School. A relationship-driven, student-driven, mission-driven school thrives on its stories. Thank you for telling them.
1/26/14
Lagniappe: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” This is a quote from Irish playwright, novelist, and poet Samuel Beckett brought into recent light as it is tattooed on the left forearm of yesterday's Australian Open Tennis Champion Stanislas Wawrinka. While the idea of tattooing verse onto one's arm is hardly age appropriate, the idea behind the ink of the man who, after ten years of "almost there" finally won a grand slam tournament, certainly is. Visit the kindergarten and watch the construction of one of their epic block towers - then ask the budding architects how many times it fell on the way up. Resilience starts young.
1/19/14
Lagniappe: The idea that young children are more capable than most adults give them credit for is not a revolutionary thought for those of us in the early childhood business. However, as we look toward preparing our own students for a world that expects collaboration, creativity, and resilience, it's important to remember just how much more they're capable of when we find the right kindling.
1/12/14
Lagniappe: Last week the request by some of the big NYC banks for their junior analysts to take a Sunday off every once in a while made national news. This morning, the Sunday review led off with the cleansing power of sleep for our brains (article below). You don't need to be a banker to work hard, occasionally too hard. The work/life balance is an essential one to monitor - even when you love what you do!
1/5/14
Lagniappe - I know that a focus in our house over the break was the importance of being grateful for all that we have. There are all manner of reasons why we as parents and teachers emphasize the importance of being grateful with our children. Recently, the Wall St. Journal published an article stressing the research behind the power of gratitude as a defining habit for children.
12/15/13
Lagniappe: Storytelling is a time-honored holiday tradition, at home and at school. Thanks go to Tracy for passing along this article from the Atlantic which emphasizes the importance of storytelling, with or without a book.
12/8/13
Lagniappe: Asking questions is what we do. It's an art form, and in an engaging classroom questions drive the environment - questions to and from teachers and students alike. Collaboration and creativity are natural byproducts of an environment that encourages and feeds the insatiable curiosity of young children. This weekend I cam across an article on five questions we could all direct every day to the children in our care.
12/1/14
Lagniappe: Spending time with my parents this week and listening to them read stories to my boys was a powerful reminder to me of how important reading aloud is to my children and the role it plays in my family memories. It''s a habit worth forming.
11/24/13
Lagniappe: At Thanksgiving, it seems only appropriate to think about thank you notes. Please find here a Link to Thank You Notes From Famous People. Some of them are gems.
11/17/13
Lagniappe: The most powerful speaker during the conference at which I was presenting this weekend was former Philadelphia Principal, Salome Thomas El. He was an inner city magnet school leader who has received recognition for his vision and success in his desperately poor neighborhood. His message was centered around the power of a teacher's influence in the lives of children and the heights he'd seen his own students reach under dire circumstances. In less than 20 words, "Every child deserves to have someone in their lives who is absolutely crazy about them." Often, El found that for his students those people were the teachers. Don't forget the power of your influence on the lives of your students
11/10/13
Lagniappe:
This week NY Times columnist Charles M. Blow devoted a column to the "passion" of parenting. As a single dad, Blow calls his mother a lot for advice, and she gives the advice, "parenting was a lot like giving a hug: It’s all about love and pressure and there is no one way to do it." (link to the full article)
11/3/13
Lagniappe:
Preparation for my Connections Coffee on Monday led me to a few different sources. I was both challenged and affirmed by the things I found. Please follow the link below for a brief selection of a few quotes and resources regarding Global IQ, culutural competency, and what it all looks like in schools - certainly at GCDS.
Link to Global Citizenship Resource
10/27/13
Lagniappe:
As we all spent time this week talking about the wonderful world of high expectations (some appropriate, some not so much), I love this quote from former college football coach Lou Holtz.
"I can't believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary."
10/20/13
Lagniappe:
Please find a link below to a story that child psychologist Michael Thompson tells on the power of parent conferences and the message we send as educators about the children in our care. It's a powerful commentary.
Michael Thompson - Say Something that Claims the Child
Please find below a link to a blog post regarding setting the environment for conferences by Erin Klein. It's got some ideas and might spark a few more.
Tips for Setting up Parent/Teacher Conferences
10/14/13
Lagniappe: I saw this article over the weekend in the NY Times and thought it was worth sharing. It's for anyone who spent time practicing scales or can't resist sitting down at an open keyboard now and then .... there are a few of us!
NYTimes: Is Music the Key to Success?
http://nyti.ms/1bmgIhl
4/27/14
Lagniappe: "We make our mistakes into masterpieces!" Possibly my favorite classroom quote, ever, is heard regularly in our Lower School Art room. In the care of Jane Keenan and Lauren Rago, our students learn to make mistakes, believe in their artistic voice, and the trust in the result. Masterpieces come in large waves. This Sunday we will celebrate the Art of Country Day, and it is important to remember that art helps all of us, whether or not we know a Matisse from a Monet, develop lifelong learners.
4/20/14
Lagniappe: The hope with professional development is that it speaks to someone, in some way, in attendance. The dream is that the someone then takes that idea and does something new /different/inspired with it . When Leonard Marcus spoke to the Country Day faculty last week he gave us a lot to chew on. I went home with a new lens on some favorite books - Nick Manfredi went home and got to work. Inspired by the section of the talk on alphabets , Nick set his mind, and his computer, to creating an alphabet based on the school environment, the core values, of an elementary classroom. He shared it with me at the end of the weekend, and I asked his permission to share it with you. Please follow the link below to access the Nick's alphabet project. Thank you, Nick, for jumping on a good idea and sharing.
Link to Alphabet Project
The site is still in development - thanks again to Nick for allowing me to share this particular spot.
4/14/14
Lagniappe: This Saturday I had the chance to participate in a most "Country Day" and marvelous rite of Spring - Kindergarten Baseball. Baseball is a sport of significant frustration for even the best players - hitting the ball 1/2 of the time would guarantee you a spot in the Hall of Fame! That can make it a very difficult sport to introduce to the youngest children. Not so with Kball! Saturday afternoon every child hit, threw, caught, and enjoyed the time with their friends. It was a festival in the dirt. There is a social and historical draw to our national pastime - and it doesn't have an age or coordination limit. Kball has it in spades - if you're looking to get excited about the season stop by the fields on a Saturday afternoon. I would defy you not to come away a fan.
4/7/14
Lagniappe: I've shared with each of you some of my favorite books - many of them are picture books. They might bring back memories from childhood, be a bedtime favorite for my boys, or introduce a difficult/important message in a simple and profoundly powerful way. Before you hear Mr Marcus on Friday, please spend some time thinking about the picture books that speak to you - I'm sure there are a few.
3/30/14
Lagniappe: This past week I revisited the goals I put on paper for myself this summer. It was an affirming and daunting exercise - quite a lot can happen in a few months! I reflected, and I revised a bit as I head into the last few months of my first school year on the Country Day campus.
The pace of the spring will be quick for everyone, I encourage you to revisit, reflect, and revise as you prepare to dive in.
3/9/14
Lagniappe: Two weeks off is a long time. We've hit our mid winter stride in the classroom, and the students are having a-ha moments on a daily basis. Parents and teachers alike worry about the Spring Break "melt" and we do what we can to help - book recommendations and the occasional math packet can be helpful, but it's a vacation. There should be authentic ways to keep the brains going and sometimes it is in pursuit of these moments that we discover a lifelong inspiration. There was a story/blog on NPR recently about finding that love - about when a piece of art reaches out and grab you. The author describes his 8-year old memory of a trip to MoMA, "I looked at it. It looked at me, and all it said was, 'Me too!'— and Cezanne and I have been talking ever since." All of us remember those moments from childhood - let's encourage our families to go out in search of them in the next two weeks.
3/2/14
Lagniappe: As we head into conference week, I will recycle two of my favorite pieces regarding these conversations. Enjoy the sense of shared purpose with the parents in your class this week, it is a remarkable connection.
- Michael Thompson - Say Something that Claims the Child
- Erin Klein - Tips for Setting up Parent/Teacher Conferences
2/23/14
Lagniappe: An article in the Sunday Review of the New York Times got me thinking. It was a commentary from Thomas Friedman entitled,How to get a job at Google. (link). The whole article is worth a read, but the gist of it relates to the skills identified as needed for success in the dynamic professional world of companies like Google (ranked the most innovative company in the world by Fast Company magazine this month).
The hiring team at Google is looking for five key attributes:
- learning ability - pulling together seemingly disparate information and creating something with it
- non traditional leadership - more about managing and encouraging the flow of a team than dictating the course
- humility - who gets the credit or the blame can't be a hang up
- ownership - believe in the mission
- expertise - according to Google, the least important of the five main attributes
2/17/14
Lagniappe: Every day that I am physically able, I shake as many of the 400+ Lower School hands as I can as they sprint through the front door on their way to you. They are very happy to be here, and there is no more affirming way to start the day for me. Adam Rohdie promises parents that their children will be known and loved while they are in our care, and we set the tone for this when we greet them personally in the morning and say goodbye in the afternoon. These daily interactions are important and appreciated, and there's scientific research and history (see below) to back it up. Please make it a part of your day that is never passed over.
- Science of the Handshake Link
- The History of the Handshake - During the medieval times, when many of the men were covered in armor, the handshake was a manner of greeting used to show friendship. If one male extended an open hand to another this was understood to mean an extension of friendship and the gesture would be returned. Of course the alternative would be a hand extended with an accompanying dagger or sword. Suffice it to say the handshake was a way to determine whether one was friend or foe.
2/9/14
Lagniappe: As I mentioned above - it's February. The snow is not going away, the sun is rising too late, and it's setting too early. Mother nature is doing her best to make life difficult, but we have an advantage in combating these challenges - we work with children. They too can succumb to the February doldrums, but because of them, we get to come to work and change lives. Not to put too fine a point on it, but changing lives is what great educators do. Please know that it is well worth the dark commutes.
- What Students Remember Most - Thank you to both Allison Putnam and Sara Muelder for sharing this article with me.
2/2/14
Lagniappe: I love stories. The stories we tell with our children, our friends, our families, our students - they are a wonderful way to teach and connect. This week I came across an article on the hidden importance of teaching with stories. There is nothing hidden about the importance of the stories we use to teach our students in the Lower School. A relationship-driven, student-driven, mission-driven school thrives on its stories. Thank you for telling them.
1/26/14
Lagniappe: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” This is a quote from Irish playwright, novelist, and poet Samuel Beckett brought into recent light as it is tattooed on the left forearm of yesterday's Australian Open Tennis Champion Stanislas Wawrinka. While the idea of tattooing verse onto one's arm is hardly age appropriate, the idea behind the ink of the man who, after ten years of "almost there" finally won a grand slam tournament, certainly is. Visit the kindergarten and watch the construction of one of their epic block towers - then ask the budding architects how many times it fell on the way up. Resilience starts young.
1/19/14
Lagniappe: The idea that young children are more capable than most adults give them credit for is not a revolutionary thought for those of us in the early childhood business. However, as we look toward preparing our own students for a world that expects collaboration, creativity, and resilience, it's important to remember just how much more they're capable of when we find the right kindling.
1/12/14
Lagniappe: Last week the request by some of the big NYC banks for their junior analysts to take a Sunday off every once in a while made national news. This morning, the Sunday review led off with the cleansing power of sleep for our brains (article below). You don't need to be a banker to work hard, occasionally too hard. The work/life balance is an essential one to monitor - even when you love what you do!
1/5/14
Lagniappe - I know that a focus in our house over the break was the importance of being grateful for all that we have. There are all manner of reasons why we as parents and teachers emphasize the importance of being grateful with our children. Recently, the Wall St. Journal published an article stressing the research behind the power of gratitude as a defining habit for children.
12/15/13
Lagniappe: Storytelling is a time-honored holiday tradition, at home and at school. Thanks go to Tracy for passing along this article from the Atlantic which emphasizes the importance of storytelling, with or without a book.
12/8/13
Lagniappe: Asking questions is what we do. It's an art form, and in an engaging classroom questions drive the environment - questions to and from teachers and students alike. Collaboration and creativity are natural byproducts of an environment that encourages and feeds the insatiable curiosity of young children. This weekend I cam across an article on five questions we could all direct every day to the children in our care.
12/1/14
Lagniappe: Spending time with my parents this week and listening to them read stories to my boys was a powerful reminder to me of how important reading aloud is to my children and the role it plays in my family memories. It''s a habit worth forming.
11/24/13
Lagniappe: At Thanksgiving, it seems only appropriate to think about thank you notes. Please find here a Link to Thank You Notes From Famous People. Some of them are gems.
11/17/13
Lagniappe: The most powerful speaker during the conference at which I was presenting this weekend was former Philadelphia Principal, Salome Thomas El. He was an inner city magnet school leader who has received recognition for his vision and success in his desperately poor neighborhood. His message was centered around the power of a teacher's influence in the lives of children and the heights he'd seen his own students reach under dire circumstances. In less than 20 words, "Every child deserves to have someone in their lives who is absolutely crazy about them." Often, El found that for his students those people were the teachers. Don't forget the power of your influence on the lives of your students
11/10/13
Lagniappe:
This week NY Times columnist Charles M. Blow devoted a column to the "passion" of parenting. As a single dad, Blow calls his mother a lot for advice, and she gives the advice, "parenting was a lot like giving a hug: It’s all about love and pressure and there is no one way to do it." (link to the full article)
11/3/13
Lagniappe:
Preparation for my Connections Coffee on Monday led me to a few different sources. I was both challenged and affirmed by the things I found. Please follow the link below for a brief selection of a few quotes and resources regarding Global IQ, culutural competency, and what it all looks like in schools - certainly at GCDS.
Link to Global Citizenship Resource
10/27/13
Lagniappe:
As we all spent time this week talking about the wonderful world of high expectations (some appropriate, some not so much), I love this quote from former college football coach Lou Holtz.
"I can't believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary."
10/20/13
Lagniappe:
Please find a link below to a story that child psychologist Michael Thompson tells on the power of parent conferences and the message we send as educators about the children in our care. It's a powerful commentary.
Michael Thompson - Say Something that Claims the Child
Please find below a link to a blog post regarding setting the environment for conferences by Erin Klein. It's got some ideas and might spark a few more.
Tips for Setting up Parent/Teacher Conferences
10/14/13
Lagniappe: I saw this article over the weekend in the NY Times and thought it was worth sharing. It's for anyone who spent time practicing scales or can't resist sitting down at an open keyboard now and then .... there are a few of us!
NYTimes: Is Music the Key to Success?
http://nyti.ms/1bmgIhl