The Rookery

  Dan pointing out the effect of photosynthesis. Tuesday's STEM day was a great chance for the Herons to learn about a broad swath of fields – the afternoon afforded us a chance to dive more deeply (quite literally) into a single field.  Dan Hernandez came to teach the Herons…

The Herons at the entrance to the ropes course. As a teacher, I preach constantly about the need for failure as a part of the learning cycle. "If it's not hard, you're not learning." "When you mess up and fix it the learning sticks more than if you just get…

One of the challenges of writing a blog is that often, in a single day, there will be two or three things that I could write an entry about.  (This problem is compounded in January when all of my writing energy goes into narratives.)  By the time I peep my…

Herons at the end of the Silk Road My very favorite thing about culminating events is that I'm not in charge.  About a week before the big day, something subtly shifts and the ideas start to come too fast for me to keep up with.  Students begin to make things…

What makes learning truly memorable?  What will students take away from our work that will still be with them a year from now?  When they graduate?  When they have kids in school themselves? I was struck by a conversation last Friday at Special Persons' Day.  The Herons were interviewing our…

The Herons are reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 for our read aloud right now.  The author, Christopher Paul Curtis, creates utterly believable characters who are part of a warm, loving family.  Parts of the story are roll on the floor, crying funny.  But other parts are hard…really hard. The…

Last week, the Herons entered Xi'an and the long awaited secret of silk was finally theirs.  They received silk cocoons and the tools they needed to process the Filling the white board with what we've learned cocoons and get them ready to spin into thread.  It was the end of…

Making Faloodeh in Merv The Herons stand at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, contemplating the more well traveled but longer northern route or the riskier, shorter southern route to Dunhang, possibly the last stop on their journey.  They have still not discovered the secret of silk, but sense that…

A chickadee welcomes students. As I walked out of the school last Friday, I was greeted by this cheery chickadee – peeking out of a nest in the planters that welcome children to school every day.  Liz had been at it again.  Quietly and without fail, she changes our planters…

A recent math conversation made possible by math fluency. Today I went out driving with my sixteen year old son.  It is fair to say this is not yet his favorite activity.  (I was the one who added that "yet" — he is pretty sure it will never be something…