We have a long weekend ahead of us to prepare for the final exhibition season which begins with Zak Kline on Tuesday at 9:30 am. Zak’s new album will be released in a few weeks. In which you will hear the benefits of working hard, showing up to a continuously developing creative practice, and having professional songwriters and sound engineers on your team. Thank you Colin McCaffrey, Roger Grow, and Francesca Blanchard for working with Zak this year. Thank you all mentors! There was a robust team of mentors working with Pilot students this year and we had the chance to thank them at our annual Mentor Appreciation Night on the 9th of May. One of the many Pilot mottos - independent does not mean alone - is exemplified in student's connections to their mentors, advisors, families, and friends. Learning and growing is a business of connection and a major part of any Pilot student’s success is building relationships with people that share their passions. And now one from the TGIF archives written by Chris Blackburn on May 25th, 2012. What does it mean to be done?One thing this week, and the mass of final things that loom as the year ends, has me thinking about is the conversation between process and product. The music concerts that I saw were certainly product oriented: the singers were faced with that one chance to perform the song, after which it was done. But as individual singers they were not done: there will be more music in all of their lives, and their work will necessarily continue to improve and grow. The concert was a moment in time. As the Pilot students approach final exhibitions, this is what I’m thinking about: are we looking for some kind of polished performance, or the documentation of progress over time? I tend to stand on the side of the process-oriented exhibition. Show me evidence of growth over time and I will believe that you have learned. Show me a product only, and how do I know whether you have grown? When we focus too much on product, there is a tendency to play it safe – what if I take too big a risk and the thing is a mess by the time it is supposed to be done? But of course when we focus too much on process, we omit the opportunity to ever finish anything, and can devolve to just wallowing in the mess. Where then is there proof of progress? If all I had was a bunch of drawings, my treehouse project would not be nearly as satisfying as it is now, perched in the tree. But there’s no roof… [...] Every morning I look out of the mud room window and am amazed that the treehouse still hangs in the trees, level and secure. The thing started as a conversation, moved through planning phases and some false starts and a long challenging time (ready, fire, aim!), and now is an undeniably real thing that may well have a roof on it after this weekend. Every morning I walk in to school and look through the door of classroom 111 and am amazed that the Pilot exists. There are the couches and computers, the tables with the various project parts [paintings, ginger tea, dance moves, video tutorials, tiny house photographs], every day a bit different. I meet with individuals, pairs, the whole group, sometimes amazed at the steps that are taken, sometimes frustrated by the halting pace of progress. I’m grateful and a little in shock that this thing is real, still. The Same but Always a little Different Every time I look at that archive I am amazed. This model of learning has been getting polished over the years, yes. Every student brings something totally unique to this experience, yes. But for the most part we are using the 3 R’s of education and it keeps working: rigor, relevance, and relationships win again and again. This feels like the way education should be. It's less and less shocking all the time.
Doing this Pilot work full time has allowed me to commit to it in a new way and also see some things that I didn’t really notice before. Mostly, it is very close to the end of the year and overall, people are still pretty jazzed about their projects. More evidence of this in the email I sent out to Pilot students today, there may be some information in there that is good for you too, especially in the links: Dear Pilot students: Here is a list of reminders that will take you through exhibition season. I see you still working hard and caring deeply about your work. I see all of us wanting it to be summer but still happy doing the work that we get to do. This is a teachers dream. Really. I've had such a wonderful experience working with all of you this year. Let's finish things well. Narratives & Portfolio:
Show up:
Be nice:
Be well!!! amyK (in true Chris Blackburn fashion there will be no images today! The last TGIF of the year will have all the beautiful photo documentation from exhibitions. Stay tuned.)
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Thanks to Ellen Dorsey for connecting us with the Berlin Elementary School teachers and students! We went last Friday to talk with students that have been doing Genius Hour (which is like mini Pilot for one hour a week). Hopefully we will be able to meet them one or twice more this school year to talk with them about their projects. Noah did a little DEEP aerobics practice with them, you can see here. Right after this, in a moment of knowing that my message has been passed on, Karli and Izzy told the kids a little more about their relationship to personalized learning. Karli let them in on a secret, that when you’re learning about the things that you care about, you’re really just learning about yourself and they ways that you are good at learning. Izzy chimed in to add that it’s really important to know who you are, to understand your passions and what is important to you. Learn about those things that matter. That was their message. I excitedly sat in the back room thinking... my work is done! But of course it isn’t really. We have finalized our semester 2 exhibition schedule and there three weeks until exhibition season begins! And we have a new class of Pilot students ready to join us next year. A couple other things to look out for before then:
And now, for the fast track to the end of the school year. Enjoy the ride.
The fire was not quite warm enough for those that neglected to read their email to receive the message that we would be heading outside for Seminar on Monday. Luckily, Wyatt knows that if you just let the shivers pass through you will feel warmer than keeping your body tense against the cold. We listened to Naomi Shihab Nye reflect on her belief that you are living in a poem. You are living in a poem, “when you think, when you’re in a very quiet place, when you’re remembering, when you’re savoring an image, when you’re allowing your mind calmly to leap from one thought to another — that’s a poem. That’s what a poem does.” So yes, we may all in fact have the ability to be poets. It’s just that only a few of us are brave enough to write down what we are thinking when we are remembering, leaping, and being quiet. Shihab Nye encourages us all to write more regularly. “Very rarely do you hear anyone say they write things down and feel worse. It's an act that helps you, preserves you, energizes you in the very doing of it.” Take her advice. I have made a pinky swear with Izzy to schedule more writing into my week starting now. What might work for you? Another exhibition season came to a close and many of you wrote eloquently, recounting the hours you’ve spent engaged in your work. Over the next six or seven weeks it is even more important to write things down, so you don’t lose it all in a blur of the mad dash to graduation and the end of the school year. It’s going to go very quickly. Keep a journal in your pocket. And maybe some tissues. As Karli warned us in Zak’s exhibition, “Crying is for quarter four”. New! Pilot stickers will be here when you get back from break! Narrative and Exhibition excerpts: Arthur: I also read more about the history of English. I learned a lot more about the phonology and writing system of Old English (sometimes abbreviated to OE), which was spoken around 1000 years ago. Here is a recording I made of myself speaking an Old English text that was in the book I was reading. I’m going to go through this poem to talk about the phonology of Old English. Cameron: I have drafted and refined it as much as I can, and I have finally come to a plot that I feel good about presenting. My learning style is draft, revise, draft, revise, draft, revise, give up for a week or so, draft it again, draft it again, scrap it, start something new, go back, revise, draft, revise, and then it’s finished. Kind of ridiculous, no? I think my best work comes out of it that way though. And I will always, always continue to create. Thank you. Conor: I felt much more pressure to produce art due to the therapeutic benefits which it offers me. A place to both escape and address my problems or emotions simultaneously. This isn’t intended as an excuse. I could have made reflection and response more of a priority but my organizational problems and distracted headspace hindered this area of growth for me greatly. Realizing this, I have recently started to address it more. Scott: The violence in us/ will never cease so much pent up anger searching desperately for a release you claim to have power but you still can't face the fight you hide like a coward hope that helps you sleep at night Sage: I am deep in Through Indian Eyes - a giant textbook that does not feel like a book at all. I am no longer reading a book, but leaping into a time machine. I am no longer in the Pilot room, I am digging a deep, narrow trench that will provide water for the Hohokam tribe. I am on a mountain side, placing a bead in the spot where I just harvested the aromatic medicinal herb ginseng. I am sitting cross legged in a sweat lodge surrounded by kind, strong, oppressed people while the heat lulls me into a peaceful trance… Hunter: Something I can truly say I am proud of not just for this year of pilot but also the year of 2018 in general is my self discovery. I have gone through something of a mental transformation this year. To compare, It felt like that of being trapped in an airtight bag for a week, and finally piercing through. I’m learning how to feel again and I’m learning how to process those feelings through. 1: Take 1 minute to recognize how you are feeling in the given moment. 2: Feel that feeling (this is the most important step! If you don’t allow yourself to feel and acknowledge, it will only build up! 3: Begin to write about the feeling. Don’t worry about structure, focus on capturing the emotion that you are feeling. Write down any thoughts that fly through your mind whilst writing. 4: Finally, let go of the feeling and emotion and carry on with the rest of your day. Zak: Since starting my weekly writing band I have been doing really good work: lyrics,music reviews, and blog posts. Having that time set aside reminds me that writing is an important part of my study, and it reminds me that in the great scheme of things, I do have time for writing. I often forget to write because I tell myself, ‘you have other things to do!’In reality, writing is so much doing, it takes so much of the work out of other tasks, and allows a learner to process in a more holistic manner. The writing band has deeply enriched the projects I’ve been working on, and I will maintain this practice through the year. Kristina: Beware ! Everything I write is both true and not true Language enforces the illusion of separation To have a word is to take apart inhibit Wyatt: At the end of the day, when I look down upon my dirty calloused hands I see a story behind them. I can feel the rubber grip of the hand saw, the tingly cold from the metal stapler or the splintered edges of the roof’s rafters. I can smell the mud from this mornings rainfall and the raw flesh on my palm from the pointy tips of toolbelt nails. But of all the things I see progress towards a final goal, a days work which puts me one day closer to the end. And while I smile, reminiscing about where I began and where I now am, I remember I’m not finished, these hands still have another quarters worth of work to do. Gräe: The plant that really got me, however, is the Onion. Onions were already cool to me when I read about them in the book, because we had used them in herb school for the fire cider we made. Onion’s native rage is unknown. The chemical released when an onion is cut is called thiopropanal-s-oxide, which is what makes your eyes water. The greeks named it unio, and Egyptians worshiped it, even painted it in gold on the walls of pyramids and inside of coffins. It was said that if a person carried an onion on the left side of their body it would ward off disease. Burning onions in a fire is a charm against bad luck, dreaming of onions brings good luck. The onion has had many names over the time it has existed. In old English is was jibbles, in French it is ciboule, in German it’s zweibel, and in Sanskrit it is ushna. Parker: The camera is something that’s often neglected in 2D animation, usually being neglected to the occasion panning shot or a zoom in or out. I can understand why, to fully animate the camera, several new perspectives would be needed, turning any project into something much closer to a nightmare. However, I believe that the artistic possibilities that arise make up for this hardship. With characters being shown from even more angles, they truly start to take up a 3D space, and begin to feel much more tangible. Even 2D backgrounds can be drawn to create the illusion of being 3D, such as with the work of Paul Heaston, who’s 360 degree environment drawings are truly amazing. Izzy: How to grow a healthy Izzy:
Madison: After being a part of Branching Out for the first semester, I decided to continue my study of the chakras for a proficiency in the Science standards. I am doing this by connecting the eastern idea of the chakras to the western view of the body. The western view including, the nervous and endocrine systems. Some parts of this portion of my study have been easy and others have been challenging. For example, the nervous system in the physical body mirrors the nadis in the subtle body. However, I have recently been looking at Ida and Pingala, two of the major nadis, and seeing if there is a further connection there. As I move forward with this I think it will become more and more about my personal interpretation. Karli: La semana pasada hice una baile a una canción de español. Quiero mucho estoy encontrando más oportunidades que permíteme a oír y hablar la lengua. Quiero ser menos dependiente en buscando para palabras en mi teléfono. Saco notas de palabras que no sé durante almuerzo con Izzy, la clase de español, y Nada. Haciendo pruebas de vocabulario para mí con suerte será una buena manera de solidificar este significado. Noah: This quarter I have thought a lot about what it is to work with others. I have come to the conclusion that the answer is almost always compromise. Say what you need, listen to the answer, repeat until satisfactory for both parties. Hold your tongue if possible. Speak only if you have something concrete to say. Leave space for others. Grace: This past Monday we celebrated the life and passing of those that have touched us in our school community. It’s been a year since my friend and co-worker Laure left us and I thought it would be a good day to use her memory to honor the good parts of ourselves, and to thank those that have gotten us this far. We wrote two letters, one highlighting our strengths, the other to the people that have helped us achieve these strengths and guided us along the way. I now give you the opening to Arthur’s second letter: A letter to the emotional, social, and practical amelioration of Arthur Anderson as it was granted to him consciously or unconsciously by other animate beings. Brilliant. As for the rest of my update, I will let the students do the talking. I have pulled quotes from their blogs from the past few weeks. Proof that it's really take care of business time. We are in the 3rd quarter sweet spot at the moment. Everyone has the gears in motion. There are four and half school weeks until the next exhibitions and we've got a lot of momentum to keep going until we pause again for another point of reflection. Enjoy learning a little bit about each of their projects and have a wonderful weekend!
Sage: I have a ton of sources. I am anticipating a challenge ahead for me is going to be separating bias from truth and fact. I am very interested in the economy, I do not know much about economics and I am excited to learn more. I am thinking about tying economics into my study in Q4. I am also considering studying climate change through geography in Q4; using maps to show and analyze how climate change is impacting different areas.
Who wouldn't want a clean slate especially with how the world is today but the fact remains I want a clean slate Conor: This weekend I have started writing a more abstract and philosophical portion of my essay about decisions. I've now reached a friction point where I realize that I have lots of big concepts which I would love to be able to express in concise English, but don't quite know how. I have reached out to Chris asking for some help with this. I feel like I'm gaining something by asking for input/suggestions, even though inner me is mad because they want to be able to do this on their own. Parker: Anyway, I had a moment. A good moment. By changing the topic of my essay to comparing and contrasting MGM and Warner Bros. Animation studios and their work (mostly Tom and Jerry and looney tunes) I could still make a compare contrast essay with much easier to understand topics. Noah: Make a list of the things you have let fall through the cracks. Noah shared with me the new animation by Don Hertsfeldt called WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE TWO: THE BURDEN OF OTHER PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS. I have since had Kristina and Parker watch it also. I suggested it to Conor as well. I recommend both episode one and two, you can purchase them on vimeo! Thanks and appreciation to Noah for always sharing the good stuff. Madison: TRYING TO FALL ASLEEP THOUGHTS ON THE UNIVERSE In traditional chinese medicine theres is this idea of yin and yang. Yin and Yang are opposites. Yin is the moon, feminine side of things, softer, earth, cold, winter, death, structure, small, etc. Yang is the sun, masculine, heaven, day, warmth, summer, ridgid, function, life, large, etc. The idea is that nothing in this universe is yin or yang; everything is a combination of both. What makes things different is the combination of yin and yang. Some things might be 50-50. Some might be 40-60. Some might be 30-70. Some might be 20-80, and etc. Izzy: Cuando cambiando a inglés, hablamos de apariencia en comparación con identidad y como los no es la cosa igual. Cuando siento avergonzada que no tengo apariencia más oscuro o no estoy bastante "mexicana", necesito recordar el aspecto no es el identidad.
Gräe: Today I went with what felt right. [...] I found a great podcast about archetypes that is perfect for my study and have been listening to that. The first episode I listened to was about archetypes in the new Wonder Woman movie, and even though I haven't seen it, it moved me to feel much more respect and adoration for this amazing balanced character. Grace: I am currently on Bill Vicars ASL Lesson 43. I practiced by going along with the video and writing down the sentences and doing it for memory later. Arthur: Then there are letters that are out of use, like wynn, (ƿ) which represented [w], eth (ð) and thorn (þ), which represented modern th, and yogh (ȝ), which mostly represented a voiced velar fricative. That sounds like this. I don't know all the details, but I understand that modern gh as it's used in high, fight, and enough represents what used to be a yogh. As you can see, I get to learn a lot of new things every week.
It's SO wonderful. Be well, amyK Real failure would be stopping. Completely. No work, no output, no input, no consumption. - NWM Personalized Learning Summit Success We’ve been preparing for the summit for a few months now. They did it! It was such a pleasure to see students have the opportunity to gather together and share what they know with each other. The event was busy, like festival where you know you are always missing something and you just have to choose where to be and commit to it. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, our bus driver was wonderful, Karen Lieberman, Kim McKellar and handful of CBL, Branching Out and Alt-Path students joined in on the fun. About 100 students from seven different schools came together for the first time. It doesn’t get much better than being a part of building a community of engaged, happy, independent learners.
Ben T. Matchstick came in during lunch to talk about his progress creating Pin Box 3000 with his business partner Pete Talbot. He spoke about the path he has traveled in creating this cardboard, gravity powered, pinball machine. I was there for some of his early explorations as they often appeared at Langdon Street Cafe when I moved to Montpelier ten years ago. From then to now - he’s manufacturing thousands of these games for people all over the world. The road to this kind of success, he says, has not been and never will be a straight line. There are always ups and downs (for those of you at Conor’s exhibition you’ll recall that he shared the same sentiment) and that when you have a big dream, you are going to encounter a big obstacle. There seems to be consistency in highs and lows both improving over time. Pretty soon your low point was your previous high point. Your ability to reach that dream despite adversity depends on many factors, but perseverance is certainly one of them. Observations from the learning summit on Friday:
Circle Back Let me remind you how this experience was a great demonstration of the circle of courage. I observed a great balance of the four points, belonging, independence, mastery, and generosity, at the summit. I keep coming back to this wisdom and find it showing up in many places. Recently, I started a course where I will be learning how to foster resilience and create trauma informed school communities. The circle of courage is there too. A balance between these four things is essential for growth, as growth requires being brave enough to try something new. I remind you of this in case you find yourself stuck. Ask yourself these kinds of questions: Have I really dug in and learned more about this topic? Have I reached out to others and found a community of people that care about this too? Have I reflected on my needs and advocated for them? Have I given back? Shared my learning experience with others?
During Exhibition Weeks Wow. We tried to spread exhibitions over three weeks but we ended up with 12 out of 16 of them in the last week. If feels like I haven’t meet with people for regular meetings in so long (and it has been since last year!). I am very pleased with the results of this cycle of presentations and looking forward to what unfolds as the days grow longer. I hope you’re making good use of the 9 hours and nine minutes of daylight today. Attending exhibitions has been extra special for me this year. Yes, this is the seventh year of the Pilot program and I believe that I have attended more than 300 exhibitions. Being that I am all in now, the stakes have risen for me. I am not squeezing in these presentations in the middle of preparing for the art show (which looks amazing by the way!), and grading and considering the work of all my other fifty students. This is it for me. I can tell that it’s making a difference in my ability to focus on this work, and therefore you are all are doing better too. Everyone showed up, was very present and honest with their work, and demonstrated where they are at and where they are going. Amazingly enough, I am the only person that cried this exhibition round! And it was for joy! Congratulations everyone. You are all exactly where you need to be and you are primed to step forward. Trust that and go! Recalling Aphrodite’s Cloud In 2012 I began contributing to TGIF. Chris gave me a column that we called Aphrodite’s Cloud and I wrote some insights from my early days in independent learning land. Here is the entry from the 19th of January in 2012. [Insert Pilot student’s name here] and I have found ourselves in the woods stoking the same fire. Through their Pilot study, they feel as though the line between school and life has vanished. I continue into the second semester of this school year with the intention to continue to blur the line between my life as an artist and my life as a teacher. [Insert Pilot student’s name here]’s study is a clear example of how rich and fulfilling it can be into integrate what you love into what you do, every day. As we gather the kindling that will provide the heat that makes the second semester start ablaze… remember. We choose what goes into the fire. The warmth that emanates has the power to change those around us. xo aphrodite I know, I keep writing about what happened in the past. Do you see how it’s not really in the past though? The foundation of learning this way doesn’t ever really change because it is in its purest form and it is really simple. Find something that you love. Love it to the point where you can feel it in your body, kind of love. You will then be inclined to find a way to know more about it: you’ll read, find and talk to people that care about the same thing, write about it, listen to an interviews, watch a films, make a drawings. You get the idea. Good learning requires passion, people, and perseverance. When you care, you are more likely to show up. When you care, you are less likely to give up. Keep doing this. Feedback! To and From Pilot Students If you haven’t already, you will be receiving a mid-year feedback form from me in your inbox very soon. By Tuesday at the latest. I will be asking you to reflect on this response to your work in our next advisor meeting, so read it, and if it gives you any insight about how to move forward, make note of it. Also I would like to hear from you about how I am doing. Mid-year feedback is really helpful to me because I can try implementing it right away and not forget about it as I swim the summer away. Please fill out this form at your earliest convenience: Pilot Advisors Mid-Year Feedback Spoiler Alert - we will be talking about this next part in Seminar on Wednesday. Band one now, 8:15. Call me crazy to drive to Portsmouth on Monday night to see Alex Cameron. But I am in my mid-30s and I don’t have children so I guess it is a luxury I can afford. And sleeping only 4 hours on Monday night during a big exhibition week when I am already kind of sick? It was absolutely worth it. Alex Cameron is on tour for his second record Forced Witness and the show was incredible. The dance moves that man creates in his 32” by 37” inch Levi’s are so majestic-elastic. He is exquisitely tall. I read the label on his black jeans standing in the front row. After the show, I had the good fortune to meet him. I shook his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, I am Amy. I really appreciate the work you’re making so much. Thank you for making it”. To which he replied, “You’re welcome. You know, I really think about it all the time, it’s really important to me.” I responded, “You know, I can tell.” We talked about the way that he writes about his projects, which he says, happens when the album is complete. I praised him in particular for what he wrote about Jumping the Shark, his first record. I told him that I was going to share these paragraphs (below) with my students because I often talk about the importance of thinking about failure differently, as part of the learning process. Think about this. More to come on Wednesday. My name is Alex Cameron and I won't waste your time. When you're talking about me and my business partner, Roy Molloy, you're talking about the online cowboys in the wild-west days of the World Wide Web. And if you want to know what we're really about just look at all the things you wish you'd done differently. All the things you stopped yourself from doing on account of the fear of failure, or rejection. Weigh that up against your ambitions. Think about your work ethic. We're reclaiming failure as an act of progress. An act of learning. Something to celebrate. A word's meaning can change depending on who utters the thing; and so we present characters - shapes are morphed and stories are delivered. This is a collection of 4-minute tales written to provide you with insight into the inner workings of failed ambitions and self-destruction. Unedited, uncensored, and without inhibition. I've learned to reveal what I want to unlearn. I cast a light on the darkness and in doing so understand love and compassion. Fear is to be confronted, and to learn strictly requires failure - over and over. Celebrate failure with 'Jumping the Shark' . Yes, he did say he wished he could have done the Pilot program when he was in high school. He meant it. More on that later too. That's enough for now. And if you've read this far you deserve a prize. Have a great long weekend. Congratulations again, we’re halfway through the year! Be well, amyK Hello all. This episode finds us deep in December, graced by [frost and] snow to lighten the dark, again rolling to the end of a busy week.* The Board Meeting I asked some Pilot students to attend the board meeting with me last Wednesday evening. It was an important one and we were joined by about 45 other teachers and community members. There is always concern when the belt needs to get tighter -- for us, for my colleagues, for the way it may impact students overall. The Pilot is a beautiful limb on the learning tree and it does look different than all the others. If we were facing cuts to programming I felt I needed to be there to express how I see it. To make sure our special branch gets to keep growing. We walked into the board meeting before it began and the room was pretty full already, not many open seats available for the taking. In a passing moment, Scott Thompson walked passed me and said, “You have nothing to worry about”, with a smile. Why do I have nothing to worry about? Does he know that I don’t find worrying productive? That's not it. It must be that everyone is really seeing the value of allowing students to personalize their path and find joy in what they are learning. I certainly do. With Scott’s statement I got a sense of relief, not only for myself but for all of us. It looks as though we might get through this budget season without any reductions to the faculty and staff that support our students. It feels like the community at large understands the value and purpose of the Pilot. Not having to prove ourselves relevant and being allowed to just dig in and do the good work is a really good feeling. These images above were created in Seminar this week. I asked students to think about their learning as electricity or water. The things that we are made of tend to follow the past of least resistance. But what happens when you want to make a change? This question will be one among many others that we address during the exhibition season. It is starting on Tuesday morning with Izzy Poulson at 9:35am! Next week, Exhibitions We return next week to find the end of this first semester of our projects staring us in the face. Narratives and exhibitions, the whole big deal of the end of the first half. We have created some strong standards and expectations for the end of the semester. It’s a lot of work. I see you all working hard and I appreciate it so much. Karli Robertson is sitting next to me as I ponder the news of the past two weeks. She is writing her narrative. Sometimes she takes a deep breath. Then she looks at her computer with a grimacing face. Then she puts on her jacket, yawns, smiles a little, looks at me, and keeps typing. Here is the schedule: Pilot Semester 1 Exhibitions, all are invited to attend! If you are a parent or guardian or lover of learning please join us for any of these exhibitions. It's so good for these learners to get feedback from a wide audience. Join us, and oh! Bring $5 --- Conor says he is charging admission to anyone he did not invite personally. And so we go, into the dark of the solstice time, the cloudy, snowy, sunny third week of December. When I write again I will have so much to say to you! The days will be lengthening, the encounters will be fresh, and the exhibitions will be almost complete! For now, though, allow me to retreat into the warm embrace of my family in Michigan, of some holidays with my friends, some time away from all this. We all have earned it. Best to you all, if not next week, see you next year, amyK * Some of the words in this week’s TGIF are from TGIFs of Pilots past. See if you can find the Chrisisms. This is Noah. Amy and I are driving to Philadelphia, both for her to visit an old friend and for us to take a class with one of my favorite artists*. Because I don't drive, and because it's a TGIF Friday, this TGIF is being penned by me in the passenger seat with Amy's input. This time of year in the Pilot is one of my favorites. Almost all the semester 1 exhibitions are scheduled, they'll take place both before break and after break, for students who have lots of conventional exams, and for those who want more time to finalize project work, respectively. All of us are feeling the pressure** and because of this I've always found it to be one of the most most productive periods of time in the Pilot year. We're in a sweet spot, where our projects are defined and we've done the footwork and are engaging deeply with the meat of it all, but we still have a few weeks to be deeply focused before we give our exhibitions. We've also settled into each other a a community, we know who, doing projects that relate to ours and who we can reach out to for information in areas that we aren't working in. We are seeing the work that our peers have been talking about all year start to form and develop***. It's wonderful, everybody is struggling and triumphant. This year one of Amy's goals has been to make Pilot students more involved with the community. A few weeks ago in seminar Ellen came and helped facilitate a fishbowl discussion about how we, in the Pilot, could benefit the school/local communities. This past Monday in seminar Meg Allison and Amy gave us all a wring prompt****:
"What Problem Do You Want To Solve?" I know that much of my work recently has focused on social awareness and examining my own privilege as a gay white man, so it wasn't a big step for me to go from my projects to answering this question. But upon talking to Amy about other's answers it seems like most everyone was able to make this jump. Asking Pilot students this question is different form asking other people, we all have passions and are pursing them*****, which intrinsically creates version of us who have problems that we care about and that we want to solve. And while writing learning plans and the like doesn't really touch on how our studies are changing the world, we are at least comfortable theorizing and talking about how they do. Amy's intention of Pilot involvement in outside communities of may not have manifested in real life yet, it is influencing the culture of the Pilot, we are becoming more and more aware of our relation to the outside world, and how we can build each other up. "My system's in mint condition, the power's up on my transistors, work and fine - no glitches, plug me in and flip some switches, Pull up in docking position, Pop the hatch and hit ignition, B- B- Burn out baby, Ready for Demolition‚" The Exhibition Cycle, Described by Robyn, the Swedish Pop Star****** Semester exhibitions are open to all, and Amy will be sending out the schedule early next week, so feel free to (i.e.. please do) come and support all of us crazy Pilot kids! *Amy is the best teacher ever. **but maybe Cameron the most, he thought his exhibition was on December 5th, when, in actuality it is in January. *** And compete! Check out Zak's new Album here! ****We also watched Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. *****Not that other people don't have passions, it's just that passion is a prerequisite to Pilot. ******In this situation 'demolition' means killing the end of the Pilot semester. **∂*¬*÷ * Ce*±*"*ê Overview I am happy to say that I am not conferencing with any of you today! But not because we didn’t need to talk about the great work you’ve been doing. It’s that we’ve already completed a deep level of reflection and looking at your work as a team. Thanks to parents and guardians for completing the three legged stool (student, advisors/mentors, and family) that makes this approach to learning strong. I can already see how the exhibition and narrative writing has helped students go deeper into their work. I am writing today in the same format that I’ve used for each student’s quarter one review. Those have been handed to most students already and I will be sending those reflections out to parents soon as well. This week in Seminar, we reflected on the Circle of Courage that asks us to think how well we are balanced the areas of independence, belonging, mastery, and generosity. This is one of my favorite Seminars of the year. I’ve gathered information about this philosophy from Starr Commonwealth but it was first created by Native and First Nations cultures. Starr says, “This unique model integrates the cultural wisdom of tribal peoples, the practice wisdom of professional pioneers with troubled youth, and findings of modern youth development research.” I find that this model is best used proactively -- instead of waiting for trouble to arise, just consider how well you have these four attributes balanced. Revisiting this idea often is important. I had students reflect on the questions contained in the slideshow for two minutes each, that was about ten minutes in total. We then shared out about that experience and it was one of the most moving circles we’ve had all year. Miranda told me later that day that she almost had to get up and leave because we was overwhelmed by the depth of emotion that was present. In case you were wondering... it takes a lot of courage to learn this way. One of the themes of the coming month will be figuring out how to give back to the U-32 community with the work that we do. I know that Kayla has been trying really hard to find a way to volunteer to spend time with elders, many students are primed to be mentors for Branching Out Middle School students next semester. We're still thinking on it. One of my goals? Bring more mindfulness to our school district. Highlights:
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