Life Among the Elms

An "A" for Effort

The other day I was trying to get our coat closet tidied up before the end of the day.  "O.K.   I'm giving out sector grades for neatness...coat closet Sector 1 gets a, let's see, A+, A, A-, B+, B..."  I went down a grade for every item I picked up.

The Elms sprinted to the coat closet.  In no time flat, the shoes were lined up, the mouldering lunches were thrown out, the label-less mittens claimed.  "What grade did we get?  What grade did we get?" they chorused.

I was taken aback.  Perhaps I shouldn't have been.  I had meant it tongue-in-cheek, and the Elms' response was tongue-in-cheek...mostly.  But boy, did they hop to it.  That silly little carrot was a prize they wanted. 

The letter grade is such a powerful image in our society.  I've had prospective kindergarten parents ask me how they'll know how their child is doing if we don't get grades at our school.  And yet, a grade says so very, very little.  Not only is it not a nuanced measure of a child, it's also an arbitrary goal, one subject to the whims and imperfection of the instructor.

We spend a lot of time and energy helping students develop an internal sense of their strengths and opportunities.  We help them experience the joys and rewards of doing your best work because it is your best work.  We look for chances for students to do work which makes an authentic impact -- teaching others, providing service, even changing one's understanding of the world.

And then they leave us.  Many Elms alumni have told me about their "A"s in middle school (indeed, many, many Prairie Creekers are on the honor roll).  I congratulate them and ask if they were challenged.  There's sometimes an awkward pause..."no."  My only hope is that deep down they still know when they are learning and when they're not; that deep down they feel excited when they are challenged and empty when they're not.  

I can only hope that in six or ten years, when the grades stop and they have to look internally for the motivation to have a great life -- they'll be able to find it.  As we say in the Elms, always do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

The Sloth is Scratching!

We had a great field trip to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory.  Many thanks to Michele Reese, Jennifer Sawyer, Kim Loecher and Janine Nelson for making the trip possible.

The Rain Forest Encounter exhibit isn't large but it is dense with species and information.  We focused on finding symbiotic, commensal and parasitic relationships among animals in the rain forest.  Here is a small sample of what we discovered:  Strangler Figs, Bromeliads, Epiphytes, Pacu, Leaf Cutting Ants, Sloths, Acacia Trees, Macaw Palms, Brazil Nuts, Agouti, Poison Tree Frogs, and Staghorn ferns.  In addition, we had some great conversations about human cultivation.  

We found cocoa trees, bananas, papayas, cassavas, all spice, panama hat palms, and sugar cane.  Do these plants have a symbiotic relationship with us?  At first the Elms thought we didn't -- it's hard to imagine ourselves in the same role as a black pacu who eats fruits during the Amazon floods and then distributes the seeds.  But then someone pondered out loud, "Well, it's definitely good for us...and since we plant the seeds it's definitely good for them..."  The tide turned.  We, too, are actors in the environment.

We stopped for a lunch break and to listen to the inauguration.  The Elms were very interested in the Constitutional mandates surrounding the transfer of power.  One looked at his watch, a little worried, "Michelle, it's 12:04 -- who's been president for the last four minutes?"  (I found out later -- Obama was even though he hadn't taken the oath.)  The kids were silent during the two oaths (even standing when Senator Feinstein said, "Everybody please stand."  Then, a few minutes into the speech, the sloth started to move very, very slowly to a new limb on its tree.  Our historical moment had passed (unless you count sloth scratching as historic.)

We're All In it Together

The New York Times published an article a few weeks ago about the new trend:  Parent/Teacher/Student conferences.  It seems Prairie Creek is well ahead of the curve.  The article in part finds that involving the students in conferences not only aids communication, it also makes the child a partner in his or her learning.  I don't say this often, but, "duh."  

No one can force a child to learn -- a child must be open to learning. A child must feel that what they are doing has value and meaning.  They must understand why they are being taught what they are being taught.  I've found that a very powerful way to do this is to have the children see their work in the classroom in a very serious way.  Your child's presentation of his or her work is an important part of this.  We talk about conferences using business-like language.  Students are responsible for showing you their work, their strengths and their opportunities.  They spend time reflecting on what they've done so far and what they'd like to accomplish.

In the past, your child may have shown you work that they found interesting or were proud of.  Your child's presentation in this year's conference will include work from across our curriculum and will highlight how your child sees himself or herself as a learner.

Not only are conferences a great opportunity for your child (and you) to reflect on the year so far, but I get to write a narrative, too.  Believe it or not, there is not a bit of sarcasm in that "get to."  I love writing narratives.  I love sitting down and really, really thinking about a child for an extended period of time.  In the hub-bub of the classroom, such a focused reflection is a gift to me.  Every time I write a narrative, I realize something new and gain more clarity in my teaching.  Narratives are one of the most valuable things I do to help myself become a better teacher.

I'm really looking forward to our meeting.

Let it Ring from Every Village

Thank you for bringing your children out on a cold Friday night to participate in Arts for Martin.  ARTech has posted a photo album including pictures of the Elms.  Until I sat in the audience, watching the Elms and Tamaracks perform and then watching them watch the rest of the tribute, I don't think I fully understood the importance of the event.  

What they saw might have surprised them; it did, in fact surprise me -- A community of people honoring Dr. King and his work in a very personal, very emotional way.  Our kids saw how important the legacy of Dr. King still is, even in our little corner of the world.  In the faces of the other performers, they saw how much his work and love and death changed this nation.

Textbooks and classroom conversations can only go so far to help students understand the Civil Rights Movement and America's long struggle with racism and slavery.  On Friday, when they were surrounded by voices singing, "We shall overcome.  Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome," the Elms got to see and feel how one man moved the nation to strive to come to a better place.

Many thanks to Bob Gregory-Bjorklund for organizing and leading the event and to Rachel Geffers for preparing the Elms and Tamaracks so beautifully.  

The full quotation from which the title of this entry is taken is from MLK's 1968 speech, "I Have a Dream": 

 "...when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
                Free at last! Free at last!/Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Let There be Light

Today we launched electricity with what might seem to be a simple task:  take a battery, a paperclip and a flashlight bulb and make light.

Forty five minutes into the project and there were only two bulbs lit.  It turns out that the force that powers almost every part of our daily is pretty mysterious.  Students worked in pairs planning a trial, sketching it and then recording their results.  ("The wire is so hot!" was among the most common.)  Eventually, through  trial and error and then attempts guided by their observations, all of the groups created a circuit.

Before we began, we talked about the importance of careful recording as scientists, citing Thomas Edison's attempt to find the right material to make electric lights.  Many of the students knew the quotation, "I have not failed.  I've just found 10,00 ways that don't work."  (I'm still trying to confirm the exact words -- if anyone knows a trustworthy source, I'd be indebted.)  If one doesn't keep careful notes, one is never sure where one has already been.

In the days ahead, we'll formalize the discovery we made today -- learning about open and closed circuits, electrons, charges, parallel and series circuits and voltage.  We'll also explore the relationship between electricity and magnetism.  For right now -- Shhhh.  Much of our work will be posed as challenges such as "make a circuit where I can disconnect one bulb and the other one will stay lit."  All of the elms could have built a circuit following directions I gave them.  The value came from the many ways they tried and failed.  Now they really know what a circuit is because they've discovered what a  circuit isn't.

There's also exciting news on our Northfield First initiative.  It looks like the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation is interested in working with us on our project.  A quick update:  the Elms were worried when a rumor circulated that Tiny's might close.  Upon further investigation, we've discovered many downtown businesses are closing or struggling.  Never ones to wring their hands from the sidelines, the Elms decided they wanted to do something.  The posters for local store fronts  are looking great.  We contacted the NDDC about our idea and they are enthusiastic.  We have a draft petition ready to go and we're going to invite our friends from Carleton, ARTech, Washington Street Academy, and possibly Mr. Cohrs NHS class to join us.  We welcome any suggestions you all have to make our project stronger.

On Thin Ice

Despite the terrible snow conditions, I decided that today should be the first day for cross country skiing in the elms.  Usually, I'm lucky if I get everyone into skis the first time we go out (and I'm also lucky if my fingers haven't become completely numb trying to help 20 kids into their bindings.)  Today we were all off and skiing within 20 minutes and next time it will be much faster.  The snow/ice was terrible for real cross country skiing but it was great for turning our little sledding hill into our own ski resort.  Alas, we didn't have a ski lift -- perhaps an opportunity for a pully project.  Hmmm.

I love skiing with children.  They are fearless in the face of new sensations and skills.  When we moved to Minnesota, my husband and I had never skiied but went out and bought cross country sets because, well, it seemed like the Minnesota thing to do.  The first time I went cross country skiing I ended up screaming in disgust, "Walking is so much easier!  This is stupid."  I then took off my skis and hiked back home, almost crying in frustration.  But today I had several students who were on skis for the first time.  They fell, sure.  They struggled to get up.  They fell again.  And again.  But, on the way to putting away our skis I heard one say, "That was awesome!"  Other students exclaimed that it felt easier than it had before -- they were finally getting the hang of it.  If only we could all learn new things so gracefully.

On the subject of ice, there are several large ice rinks being cleared on the playground.  As I watched today, students from every grade were crawling around together pushing snow to the edge of icy clearings.  I love it when these types of large, organic projects emerge on the playground.  It's when I see all the work we do in our social curriculum come naturally into play.  Older kids help younger kids, problems emerge and are solved.  Everyone feels important.  It's a great thing to see.

We are working on an exploration of pentominoes in math.  Pentominoes are five squares that share at least one whole side with another square.  The first day we discovered just how many of these shapes there are (12) and today we used our spacial skills to imagine which ones could be folded into boxes.  All of this work was done in groups and students had to explain their thinking to groupmates so that everyone reached consensus.  Tomorrow, students will try to cut boxes apart into pentominoes -- each student making one cut per box.  The key is being able to talk about one's reasoning.  If you don't already have a set, pentominoes make a great gift.  The central challenge is to make as large a rectangle as possible by interlocking the pieces.

And, yes, the careful observer will notice that the ski picture is one from last year and a large excavator now stands where we once skiied.  I forgot to bring out our camera today.  Next time we'll get some action shots.