Last year, and the year before, Max was a part of the Pilot program. He was here for me when I was on parental leave, caring for an infant. I, in turn, got to be here for him and help him learn the ropes of running a program like the Pilot. One that allows for freedom to learn what you want, but creates a structure that works for each individual. At the end of last school year Max got a job running the Big Picture Program at South Burlington High School. Last Tuesday, we took a bus up there to visit him and have a day of student-led workshops with our two programs. At this time of year we hope that students have found a structure that really works for them. Some are still realizing that they really should be organizing their time and using a planner, yes. But others are really rolling. Writing thousands of words, organizing events, making, thinking. We took this trip to highlight how it’s been going and to see a bit of the similarities and differences that personalizing learning in two different schools in Vermont can bring. In the morning, after some comradery exercises lead by Max and Maddie, Avery gave us a short presentation on the difference between perfectionism and excellence as pertains to their years and years of flute playing. As pertains to wanting to be very good at something but not allowing perfect to be the goal. Avery guided us to understand more about WHY we are doing the project that we are doing. When we have more choice – should the choice not have more internal motivation wrapped in it? After a pizza lunch we had an afternoon with student workshops. Knives taught people how to make zines (say zeeens, people, like mag-a-zine), Eli looked at storytelling and poetry, some made music and did character development with the BP students leading. We got on the bus, a little late, and headed back to U-32 with just enough time to miss the busses (for some, sorry Annaliese). Pilot students saw that they have quite a bit more freedom to choose how they go about their project work. Big Picture students have freedom to choose what topic they study but the structure is a bit more there. For better or worse. It all depends on the human learning. And now... for a break. Short as it maybe, the fall is a long haul and this will be our first five days off in a row. I hope that you find some restoration over next week and that you get to be with those that you love and the people that support you. The holidays create a great opportunity for joy and belonging for some and for others it can be quite the opposite. Remember to reach out when you can to people that might need a friend at this time.
And listen to some good music too! I’ve been listening to the song The World Turned Upside Down by Billy Bragg a lot. I like Billy Bragg quite a bit but I would not choose to listen to this song several times a day without it being requested by my kid. He got into it simply because the lyrics contain the word “diggers” and therefore “play digger song” is a common request. Luckily we already owned the 45 – so it’s to abide his request at home. With this daily listening I’ve been paying attention to the lyrics in a way that I haven’t before. Today in Seminar we are going to have a brief discussion about a section of these lyrics that seem to have a particular connection with our impending holiday. Give a listen and let us know what you think. In summary and to say it with a bit of levity: humans can be very silly. Have an excellent break -- we will be back with more updates in December as the end of the semester approaches. Be well, amyK
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To update you on our progress this week, I present you with quotes from Q1 Narratives. I’m learning, which is the most important thing in the whole world to me. At school, I was not learning. In Pilot, I am. - AB I know that I can usually do 3 things every (school) day. That is the right amount. – AC I started out my first project on the patriarchy not really knowing what I was going to do. I knew, and still know that there is much I don’t understand about the patriarchy. I began thinking of much more detailed, complicated projects for myself to do. I still want to do those bigger projects, but starting out with something based on how the patriarchy affects everyone in their daily lives is a bit too ambitious, especially because I couldn’t say where it came from or why. - KD The broader possibilities, while also quite scary, are very freeing. - AE I can’t get this out of my head. Watching this made me understand how I can be a performance artist. It finally clicked in my head- what performance art is. Lines of poetry started popping in my head about a week after I first watched the excerpt. Along with the words came the feeling of the movement Bill T Jones used in that moment I described. I can see in my head what my first real performance piece is going to be, and I’ve started writing down the foundation of the performance. It’s so thrilling having an idea that I know I can turn into something powerful that no one else can quite comprehend yet. I’m so excited to see what I create for the rest of this year! - EF But aside from all of that I actually enjoyed writing this essay, and I think it's definitely because I had the freedom to write about something I am genuinely interested in so it doesn't feel like a burden to do all the research. In leui of being unrealistic, I certainly had challenges, and that's ok. Even though it wasn't a snap of my fingers and suddenly I loved writing and did it with complete ease, It was still progress. - RG Most glass has a melting temperature of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit but most glass artists keep a furnace around 100-200 degrees above this as a minimum because the molten glass cools rapidly as soon as it leaves the furnace. The importance of an enamel kiln is that it stops the glass from cracking or outright exploding. -RI The wooden alarm clock on my bedside table is set to go off at 4:45 am. My blue cargo pants and gray t-shirt are laid out on my dresser. My baby blue water bottle sits next to the sink ready to be filled with ice cold water. My deodorant and toothbrush are strewn across the bathroom counter. My backpack waits by the door fully packed for the long day ahead. Every little detail from my outfit to my keys is set up and ready for my first day. The email is sent, and the plans are made. - NK She taught us that uterus misalignment can be a cause of menstrual cramps, a little-known fact that everyone should know because so many people assume that period pain is normal when it is not - a little discomfort can be fine, but pain is not good, it usually means uterus misalignment or a medical issue. The connection between uterus misalignment and cramps is not very well known because there has not been funded medical research, because our country has not prioritized the education of or research of women’s health. - M L-M My other part of French is reading. I have been reading Heartstopper in french which is one of my favorite books. At first it was really hard because I would look up any word that I didn’t know and it wasn’t really going anywhere. Then I realized that If I had the english book to compare to then that worked a lot better. Ever since then it has been moving a lot faster. I also have just stopped getting hung up on every word, instead I just read and piece things together as I go and check the english version if I need to. - UL Finding time to research and practice became harder and harder. The good thing was as soon as she found the lack of time she found a mentor and worked a lot with Christopher from ORCA media who was easier to follow along with than a research video. She learned through the challenges of time management when it was for someone else than herself. - WM As well as communicating more clearly with my content advisors throughout my project, it is my goal to talk about my learning more with friends and family, and perhaps other teachers and community members around me. Each person has knowledge to share, and I feel each time I discuss my learning with someone else, (even my 7 year old brother!), I receive new clarity on how I am to go about it. - LM But now that I know how to not know, it's almost a reassurance. A reassurance that if something doesn't work I can just back out and turn a different direction. - CS I want to paint using my body, I want to dance and improve my flexibility and learn how to trust myself, I want to show the deeper meaning behind literature, I want to speak up, and I want to cook, and write, and create some music, and so many other things. I want to. I can. I will. - RS A second mug sits beside the rat cup. I am not sure where it came from…I may have stolen it from Leela’s desk, this one is full of writing prompts. When I feel stuck with my writing, I just pick a prompt and start writing. I don’t always try to make a complete story and I never edit these pieces, but it helps me to get something down on paper. - ET We will be going on a field trip on November 14th to the Big Picture School in South Burlington. Stay tuned for our next update after that! Be well, amyK |
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