Summer is a time to recharge batteries and find new inspiration. I hope your family is able to relax and recharge. I read this article (The Trouble With Online Education) recently and felt that it had surprising parallels to our work at Prairie Creek. It's about on-line education and is written by a college professor, but he stresses the importance of knowing one's students. He quotes a colleague who said, “You don’t just teach students, you have to learn ’em too.”
That learning is what I most look forward to as I think about September. Most central to my work as a teacher is really knowing my students — knowing when to push, when to encourage, and when to leave things to simmer for a while. I need to know what they like, how they approach challenges, and what their strengths are. Without that knowledge, I am nothing but a technician relating information. But once I know a student, I can teach.
I read the biographies you write about your child with care and watch very closely as we move through our first days. I am gathering information constantly in both formal and informal ways. I feel very lucky to work at a school where children are much more than a collection of data points (although we use data, too!) I'm very much looking forward to learning your children.
The Rookery 
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