From the Director’s Chair November 2008
Posted by lsnl in : From the Director's Chair, November 2008"I want the new President to stop war!"
The past six weeks have percolated with more excitement than we could have possibly predicted! October brought several incredible division-wide events: three unique Peace Partner projects, the creation of a wire dragon….and who could have guessed that our high-spirited parade in Halloween costumes would be followed soon after by a Center City filled with phloats and phanatics? (In Lower School, most children remained on campus and had the option to watch the parade in the library; however, about 100 children spent the day downtown with their parents.)
Soon thereafter, as Election Day neared and anticipation mounted, faculty members engaged children in learning about the democratic process: third through fifth grades participated in a state-wide mock election, using a computer voting station in the library; meanwhile, younger children discussed and recorded their thoughts about the qualities that would make someone a good president. An illustrated compilation from Sonia Duprez' second grade class described many hopes; one nascent second grade economist remarked: "I want the president to lower gas prices and make the stock market go up." Many children expressed concern that our future president be concerned about the environment, as in this example: "Presidents…should care about the earth and stop people from littering." Most striking was the fact that almost all children expressed a desire for a more peaceful world, as this child emphasizes with a final exclamation point, "I want the new President to stop war!"
PEACE PARTNER PROJECTS: Given our emphasis on peace this year, I'd like to circle back to the Peace Partner projects. For many years, children have walked with their "buddy classes" to Meeting for Worship. This year, we expanded this relationship by creating Peace Partner Projects.
Kindergarten and third grade teachers designed an activity that integrated the kindergarten study of trees with the third grade study of the First People of Pennsylvania, the Lenni Lenape. To connect these two strands, children learned about a Native American tradition that upholds the pine tree as a symbol of peace. After gathering together under the tree that the kindergarten had planted on their playground, the peace partners walked back to their classrooms in pairs to read books about peace in small groups and then discuss their thoughts. Afterwards, the partners made posters with symbols, pictures and messages about peace.
First and fourth graders discussed how they could use their hands to create peace. Then the partners traced each other's hands, wrote messages, decorated their hands, and then cut them out. With fingertips of partners touching, all the hands were glued into a giant peace sign, which is hanging in the upstairs link of the Lower School. The emphasis on "productive work with one's hands" is a longstanding emphasis in Quaker belief and practice, and can be found in the 17th century writings of early Friends, such as William Penn and George Fox.
Second and fifth graders are planning to hold a peace vigil for Lower School prior to a future Meeting for Worship. As a first step to prepare for this vigil, partners gathered and created posters filled with messages about peace. On the day of the vigil, which will take place on a day when we have Meeting for Worship in the Meeting Room, the second and fifth grade students will create a passageway, and the rest of the Lower School community will walk through and experience this silent testimony to peace. Silent vigils have long been an important aspect of Quaker practice, as a way to express concern, harmoniously and powerfully, during times of war or in response to other violent actions.
As we continue to shepherd our children's growth during this historic time, we remember and celebrate William Penn's important words, "Let us then try what love can do." I hope you agree that there is much to celebrate in the important learning that happens each day in our Lower School, as our children grow in their understanding of how to use their hands, hearts, and minds productively to share in the creation of a more peaceful world.
Janet Chance
Director of Lower School
Note: Thank you to Naveena Bembry, Sonia Duprez, Vicki Miles, Judi Morrow, Maria-Odilia Romeu, Lyndsy Rosenfeld, and Carol Spadaro for contributing to this newsletter.
From the Director’s Chair September 2008
Posted by lsnl in : From the Director's Chair, September 2008Well, I think extra recess would take away some of our sadness…
As I wandered down the first floor corridor yesterday, intending to observe several different classes in action, I suddenly happened upon that elusive and unforgettable experience: the teachable moment. Children were seated in a circle, legs criss-cross, while teacher Judi Morrow elicited ideas from the group.
Let’s write cards to make her feel better.
Umm…I think we need to have a funeral.
Hermy III, the class hermit crab, had succumbed after a short but fatal illness, and each child offered ideas for providing solace to their classmate, the girl (known in local parlance as Hermy III’s “mom”) who had contributed her pet to the school. This being second grade, the ideas continued….and became increasingly more creative.
Maybe we could share our thoughts about Hermy III out loud, and explain what she meant to each of us, and what we liked about her.
How about having an extra recess time?
Yes, I was a bit skeptical about that last one, too. But Judi, in a masterful and respectful way, checked with our recess advocate to discover the reasons behind his idea. In so doing, she helped him to know that each voice would be trusted—that she would listen for his “best self.”
Well, I think extra recess would take away some of our sadness…it’d make us feel better to do something fun.
As Judi shepherded the listening and sharing process along, she reminded them of the importance of noticing their feelings, finding a meaningful way to grieve, and then moving on. There was plenty of space for the full range of feelings: from those who were sobbing to those whose sense of loss was momentary. And the children’s kindness emerged clearly and resonantly as they reached for and discovered words to affirm each other. After a few moments of deliberation, the children decided that writing cards would be the best way to express themselves and console Hermy III’s mom.
This fall, as I come to know and observe the work of our faculty, I continually find that patient attention is being given to the spiritual and ethical growth of children even—or especially—when the circumstances take us by surprise.
I’m delighted and honored to be part of this caring community—and I thank you for making me feel so welcome.
Janet Chance
Director of Lower School
Note: Cards for Hermy III were crafted by members of the class and will serve as eulogies at the interment, which will be held off campus in a private ceremony.
From the Director’s Chair March 2008
Posted by lsnl in : From the Director's Chair, March 2008… the criteria for a great school is a relationship between teachers and learners that works to build the intellectual skills of all kids.
What Makes Penn Charter So Great?
My recent professional thinking has centered on some of the commonalities in terms of what makes the difference between a “good” school and a “great” school. Deborah Meir, educator and author of In Schools We Trust, raises up the notion that the criteria for a great school is the relationship between teachers and learners that works to build the intellectual skills of all kids. This concept resonates with me as I think about the principles and progress we have made in the Lower School over the past decade. I am asked by many prospective and current families, “What makes Penn Charter so great?”
First, it is a school that is safe. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests that, first and foremost, 
all humans need to feel safe to get their needs met. Creating safety for kids with a diversity of histories and goals means more than just making them physically safe – it includes helping them to feel safe from ridicule and embarrassment.
Second, it is a school that makes for successful learning because it provides a good balance between support for teachers and support for children. This means not only the ratio of teachers to students but also the range of expertise available to kids — other adults, older students and students with different skills and abilities, not to mention varied learning tools (computers, books, real-life learning experiences). The ways are varied: small classes, older students working with younger ones, adult volunteers, interdisciplinary learning, and strong relationships with teachers and parents.
Third, it is a school that makes it possible to share learning expertise. The addition of the learning support team in the Lower School provides support for teachers, and, in the end, this benefits kids. The learning support team, comprised of a learning specialist, counselor and learning center coordinator, share their expertise in the classroom by working with students, adapting curriculum for learning differences, and by collaborating with teachers and parents.
Fourth: It is a school that is guided by research on how young children learn. This ensures that the curriculum is developmentally appropriate and child-centered.
Fifth, it is a school that offers plenty of time for ideas to grow and asks students to reflect on their thinking. Reflection is part of Quaker practice and is beneficial to all students and adults in the community.
Sixth, it is a school built around a model that learning should be engaging and fun. Engagement and pleasure help focus the mind, keep one persevering and encourage repeated practice. Children’s interests and experiences should find a way into the curriculum. By sharing interests and experiences, children can learn from each other.
Seventh, it is a school that believes in teaching children to care for themselves and others. Social skills are just as important as academic skills and they are stressed in Responsive Classroom practices and supported by the work of our counselor in conjunction with the teachers in the school.
Eighth, it is a school that values the diversity in the community and values parents as partners in learning. All students learn more when they feel valued and supported at home and in school.
For these reasons and more, Penn Charter is certainly a unique place, and the Lower School is an exceptional program. The quest for improving educational practices will continue to grow and challenge educators for years to come. For now, let’s reflect on the pride we take in our program, and more meaningfully, in our children.
From the Directors’ Chair November 2007
Posted by lsnl in : November 2007 Edition, From the Director's ChairToday's curriculum is designed with the child in mind. It is student-centered, cognitive and social.
Principles of Effective Learning
As I think back to my school days, I am always aware that educational practices today focus on the whole child and an exciting body of new research on how children learn. The curriculum of the old days, or should I say old ways, was stagnant and mostly unchangeable. It was a body of knowledge that the child was to learn and regurgitate in the form of tests. The content-driven curriculum often neglected the child as well as the child’s development and experience. Today’s curriculum is designed with the child in mind. It is student-centered, cognitive and social (Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde, 2005).
A student-centered curriculum means that the best starting point for schooling is young people’s real interest; all across the curriculum, investigating students’ own questions should take precedence over studying just content. A student curriculum should be experimental, holistic, authentic and challenging.
A cognitive-focused curriculum means that the most powerful learning comes when children develop true understanding of concepts through higher-order thinking associated with various fields of inquiry and through self-monitoring of their thinking. A cognitive perspective includes a developmental, constructivist, expressive and reflective approach toward learning.
A social curriculum specifies that learning is always socially constructed and often interactive; teachers need to create classroom interactions that are meaningful and connected. This includes a collaborative and democratic model.
These principles of best practice in learning are central to learning at Penn Charter. We have framed this thinking as a direction for our Lower School teachers and provided the resources to foster this constellation of learning. You will discover how these best practices affect your child throughout the school year as you observe the practices in the classroom.
From the Learning Corner
This summer I read a book called How People Learn by John D. Bransford and Ann L. Brown and published by the Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning with additional material from the Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice and National Research Council (2000). It was especially interesting to me as the Lower School is moving to a much more contemporary view of learning. The book lists the Five Themes in Learning that are very helpful in understanding a contemporary view of learning.
1. Memory and structure of knowledge Memory has come to be understood as more than simple associations; evidence describes the structures that represent knowledge and meaning. Knowing how learners develop coherent structures of information has been particularly useful in understanding the nature of organized knowledge that underlies effective comprehension and thinking.
2. Analysis of problem solving and reasoning One of the most important influences on contemporary learning theory has been the basic research on expert learners. Learning theory can now account for how learners acquire skills to search a problem space and then use these general strategies in many problem-solving situations. There is a clear distinction between learned problem-solving skills in novice learners and the specialized expertise of individuals who have proficiency in particular subjects.
3. Early foundations The development of creative methodologies for assessing infants' responses in controlled research settings has done much to illuminate early learning. Scientific studies of infants and young children have revealed the relationships between children's learning predispositions and their emergent abilities to organize and coordinate information, make inferences, and discover strategies for problem solving. As a result, educators are rethinking the role of the skills and abilities children bring with them to school in order to take advantage of opportunities for learning in school.
4. Metacognitive processes and self-regulatory capabilities Individuals can be taught to regulate their behaviors, and these regulatory activities enable self-monitoring and executive control of one’s performance. The activities include such strategies as predicting outcomes, planning ahead, apportioning one's time, explaining to one’s self in order to improve understanding, noting failures to comprehend, and activating background knowledge.
5. Cultural experience and community participation Participation in social practice is a fundamental form of learning. Learning involves becoming attuned to the constraints and resources, the limits and possibilities that are involved in the practices of the community. Learning is promoted by social norms that value the search for understanding. Early learning is assisted by the supportive context of the family and the social environment through the kinds of activities in which adults engage with children. These activities have the effect of providing to toddlers the structure and interpretation of the culture's norms and rules, and these processes occur long before children enter school.
I hope these new ways of looking at learning are helpful to you as you begin to understand your child as a learner.
Nooha Ahmed-Lee
Lower School Director