Last October I attended the biennial Progressive Education Network National Conference. Jennine and I facilitated a workshop on block building entitled, “Building Community Beyond the Classroom With Blocks.” Over spring break, I returned to my conference notes with the intent of reviewing what I learned and reconnecting with what and who inspired me. It was delightful to reacquaint myself with the various workshops and keynote speakers. Below is a gem from each session that I particularly enjoyed digging up. Rediscovering these insights invited me to make connections to my own context. (Westland!)
Educator Dr. Liza Talusan - “Identity conscious practice: Who we are impacts how we act, interact, and view the world. Talking about identity doesn’t have to be divisive.”
Recently at Westland, consultant and thought leader Monique Marshall worked with about 35 parents and staff to explore equity, inclusion, belonging, and storytelling. What struck me was that within the two-hour time frame, I had at least five meaningful conversations, because we were given the opportunity to share about our lives and uncover parts of our identity that might be complex and invisible on an average day. Even though we were invited to talk about potentially divisive topics (socio-economic background, race, parenting, etc.), I observed us growing closer through story, reflection, and even silence. Yes, talking about identity doesn’t have to be divisive. It can be totally beautiful as we seek deep understanding of the ways we are different and the ways we share meaningful similarities as humans. After the event, parents shared with me that they want more – and that they are ready to continue to take on hard topics that strengthen our community and bring us closer to one another in these divisive times.
Math Educator Dr. José Vilson - “Creativity requires divergence.”
If creativity requires divergence, divergence requires safety and the support of teachers in order for children to take intellectual and creative risks. Recently, I was observing the Group One classroom, and I was struck by the language used to support the children’s literacy work. Here is a sampling of direct teacher quotes:
“You got this!”
“You have a plan.”
“Ah! I’m hearing another connection.”
“Keep stretching!”
“We have been working on that! Do you remember?”
These statements and questions drew out perseverance and an increased self-awareness for the children in order to grow their risk-taking, curiosity, and excitement for their writing and reading. Watching the teachers, I observed an impressive attunement to the Group’s needs and each individual’s academic needs, interests, abilities, learning styles, and personalities. This attunement creates the safety that is the departure point for creativity and divergent thinking.
Artists and Art Educators Jason Blair, Stephanie Rond, and Cynthia Amoah - “Kids want to slow down. Boredom leads to playfulness.”
I am going to beat this drum. Play is the work! Children’s most important work is play! They must have time and space to slow down, meander, look under a rock, figure out what to do when they are bored, invent a game, explain why something is unfair to a peer on their own, jump off of a structure that’s a little too high, practice handstands, play four-square, build with the outdoor blocks, save a bee, walk a friend to the office for an ice pack, sit one out because they feel like being alone, create a fairy potion, practice a jump shot, swing, slide, time themselves hula hooping, wait their turn, sprint, call timeout, experience freedom, make up a new 4-square rule, climb, crawl, chase, and lose sense of time. With boredom and with play, children learn invaluable social-emotional skills, and again they benefit from learning how far they can test their limits and take risks. These are essential ingredients of creativity. (See above!)
Children’s Book Author and Storyteller Peter Reynolds - “To document your thinking one way is to write it, another is to draw it.”
I am brought to the opening letter in Westland’s 75th anniversary commemorative book, Play is the Work: “To understand an idea, a child may need to build it or act it, paint it or sing it, laugh it or graph it, as well as read and write about it.” And this is only the beginning, right? To understand how food gets to the table, Group Two designs and produces a restaurant. To understand a city, Group Three is building their own. To understand the needs of a community, Group Six sends surveys to find out what is needed for their next woodworking project. And, yes, to learn all of the states in the U.S., Group Four sings the states! Having the opportunity to show what they know and are able to do through multiple modalities is what we mean by experiential and hands-on learning in our mission statement.
Researcher and Author Mara Krechevsky - “Children are citizens. From birth children are not ‘future citizens’ or ‘citizens in training.’ They are citizens who have contributions to make.”
Last week I had the pleasure of being the main audience to the Group Five children as they read aloud, each of them, their persuasive essays on what they would like to see improved at Westland. From “Westland should celebrate holidays,” to “We should appreciate Will more,” to “One of the hot lunches should feature dumplings,” each of their ideas was important to them. It was powerful to hear the children express their voices.
The Group Five teachers and I will work to see how to move forward with these initiatives. (Some are even underway!) I am struck by the children’s sense of agency. Their process was respectful and engaged. They listened attentively to each other as each of them read; they sought the most persuasive techniques to convey their theses, to back up their theses with evidence, and to analyze their evidence; they reflected on their individual and collective values; and they lit up when they received in-depth feedback and explored what might be possible next steps. I witnessed their skills as writers and orators in action. I also saw them as citizens of Westland in the now – connected to themselves and interests, connected to each other, and connected to their school.
The Learning Cycle - All of this reflection has me going back to a recent staff meeting where a committee consisting of two teachers, Jennine, and I presented a document we crafted over the course of a year entitled, “What is a Culmination?” The dialogue that ensued brought to mind a graphic that my predecessor Scott Moran often shared about the learning cycle at Westland. (See below.)
Westland’s learning cycle creates the conditions for building the habits of lifelong learning. For children to remain lifelong learners, they must have the opportunity to experience an open, respectful environment marked by a sense of belonging, so that they can take risks and practice divergent thinking. They must have ample time and space for play. They must have the opportunity to ask questions and apply their learning in various ways, as young scholars and as citizens who care about the common good. Throughout the learning cycle, reflection and examining what they know is a regular practice. It's a cycle, which makes it a lifelong, neverending endeavor.
I once again circle back to my learning at the PEN Conference. That’s the way lifelong learning goes: we examine what we know, ask questions and research, and show what we know. The last keynote speaker, Mara Krechevsky, defined a cooperative learning group as, “A collection of people who are emotionally, intellectually, and aesthetically engaged in solving problems, creating products, and making meaning in which each person learns autonomously.” That’s Westland. That’s what we are all together – children, teachers, parents/guardians, and staff cycling through in this way. We are a collection of people engaged together making meaning. We are part of a learning cycle learning about ourselves, each other, and the world around us in order to make it a better place… and us better as we do so.
