Saturday, February 21, 2009

Sam & Josh Productions: "Grey Wolves"

OK, OK...these are my grandsons, Sam and Josh, ages 8 & & respectively, and they made this video almost entirely by themselves....with a little help from their homeschool teacher, their mom and my daughter. But truth be told, a lot of kids can do this these days. 

Tell me. Generally speaking, who do you think understands these concepts of nature's predators better? Someone who can correctly answer 10 multiple choice questions, or someone who can re-present an engaging video on what they've researched and learned?

For myself, I opt for the latter. Tell me what YOU think! 



Sunday, February 8, 2009

There's No Place Like School!

That was a line I thought I would never hear as a teacher. But I did, and it came from one of our students at the Saturn School of Tomorrow, an innovative reform effort back in the early 90's. We tried to bring the best of what we knew that would help more kids learn more all into one school, put the kids largely in charge of their own learning, and have them show us what they knew, what they were learning, and what they had yet to learn. 

The school was so unique we were visited by then President George H. W. Bush, who recognized us for what we were trying to do. The school, sadly, no longer exists, but the students and faculty cast many ripples across the pond of educational change, and those effects are still being felt today. Changing a school is hard, and so is changing the classroom. But you can make small changes that work, and keep adding to them. Before you know it, more students may be learning even more. Good luck!

Here's a link to the video the Saturn students made back then and in their own words. Don't forget to listen for the last line.