Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 24, 2011)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            I am very excited about how our 6^th - 8^th grade students performed during our trip to Gettysburg. We are talking a lot about excellence these days, and in every way our students were excellent last Thursday. 

On a wet and cold battlefield where the 6^th Wisconsin overwhelmed Confederate forces in a railroad cut, our students walked and marched in their footsteps, covering the 300 yards from the base of Seminary Ridge to the railroad cut, which remains there today.  The students were impressed with the experience, and I think many of them felt some measure of what it must have been like for the 490 or so Union troops who began the assault.  It was also impressive to see them look back over that battlefield and picture the 220 soldiers who did not complete the 300-yard, 45-minute journey.

The experiential process for these students began days prior at school, where they were familiarized with the 6^th Wisconsin and practiced the drill and ceremony that were required in order to perform as a cohesive unit.  They familiarized themselves with the qualities of leadership that resulted in this decisive victory and impressed the park ranger with their extensive knowledge of the Civil War and leadership.

Later in the day, a different guide took us to several other sites where the students experienced numerous authentic activities of the period, such as loading and firing a cannon and mimicking the most decisive battle of Gettysburg, Pickett’s Charge.  Going from site to site, our guide, a professor of Civil War history, quizzed our students on many aspects of the war, including important names, places and dates.

As the students dismounted the bus to explore Little Round Top, our guide pulled me aside and asked about our school.  He was curious about our students.  “Why is it that they can have such an understanding and knowledge about this place?” he asked.  I outlined our curriculum and our approach to learning.  I explained that we give our students the time and space to learn and delve deeply into our understandings.  I told him about our theme studies approach and how we encourage independent research and projects so that our students will come away from each theme as learners, curious to continue their exploration of the theme and all that it contains.

When the students were back on the bus and we were headed back to the visitor center, our guide complimented our students, saying that he was very impressed with them and that he had included many aspects of his talk that he would have saved for college or high school students.  He was genuinely impressed.  I was, too.  Our students were attentive, participatory, and anxious to ask thoughtful, provoking questions.  In every way our students displayed excellence.  I am very proud of them and teachers like Mr. Fletcher, whose passion for history excites students and arms them with understandings that demonstrate its importance.

“Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.” -  George Eliot

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 17, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from October 17, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            Who are we?  With the upcoming Open House event on Saturday, it is important that our message to prospective families is accurate and consistent.  We enjoy talking about the fact that we allow our students to develop “deep smarts” and that we are not constricted by a state-mandated curriculum that is “a mile wide and an inch deep.”  Indeed, we do allow our students to find areas of interest and to explore them in depth with the objective of having them become curious, reflective learners.  I should mention that we do reference the state curriculum a great deal because our students ultimately end up in public school at the high school level.  But unlike public schools, we are not constrained by the Voluntary State Curriculum.  We can pause along its K-8 highway to create projects and experiences for our children for which the VSC has little time allotted.  We are happy with our ability to make these kinds of choices for students.

            When we talk to others about our classes being multi-aged, do we all know what we are talking about?  Is it simply that we group students of different ages together because we like the idea of kids at different grade levels together?  Actually, there is a lot of research to support the idea of multi-age grouping.  One article can be found at http://www.multiage-education.com/multiagen-b/themulticlass.html, which is a web site for multi-age education and at which other information on the subject can be found.  When this school was started in the basement of a church, the whole school was one group of just a few children.  As the school grew, the founders saw the advantages of the multi-age concept and continued to form classes in this way.  In the article referenced above, the author states:  “A common belief is that multiage classrooms benefit the younger age group, but short-change the older students. This couldn't be further from the truth! From my experience as a multiage teacher and mother, it is the oldest age group that benefits the most in a multiage class. They have the benefit of continuing their learning with the same teacher, of developing leadership positions within the class community and of reflecting on their academic progress as they revisit basic concepts with their younger classmates. The more advanced student is freed from the constraints of a graded curriculum when the teacher is designing a program from a child centered perspective. At the same time, children that would struggle in a traditional graded classroom experience success when given more choice  in the level of daily activities. An experienced multiage teacher learns to provide a balance of challenge and success for all students.”

            The author references “experienced multiage teachers.”  Given our long history with this type of grouping, I don’t think you are going to find too many staffs that are more experienced with this concept  than ours.

            Finally, I would like to thank the parents who came to the Adjunct Back to School Night.  These 15 parents were able to hear directly from the teachers who teach our Keystone programs and came away with a better understanding of their value to the overall program.  I am sorry that more parents with concerns were unable to make it.  We also had our first parent meeting on Thursday last, attended by seven parents who were there to ask questions and suggest ideas.  Although poorly attended, we had a good discussion and it is hoped that at least some small portion of our parent community came away with some useful information.  Perhaps more of you will be able to attend our next get-together.

            “When your children reach adolescence, they fire you as parent. You’ve got to scramble to get rehired as a consultant.” - Mike Riera       

At some point, your children will find ways to keep you out of the schoolhouse.  Come now while you still can.           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 10, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from October 10, 2011.

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            One powerful aspect of the GreenMount School community is that our parents   model the importance of being involved in school.  In a 1992 article in Educational Leadership, an “involved” parent is defined as one that demonstrates two key elements.

“First, parents are supportive. They encourage their children and they are sympathetic, reassuring, and understanding. They show a high level of commitment to their children and their education.

Second, parents are active. They are doing something that is observable. This combination of parent   commitment and active participation is what makes an “involved” parent.”

            I think the most important part of this definition is the “observable” part.  I have often said that the most important thing you can do as parents is to be seen in the school and to participate in school-sponsored events or events that are organized for the school community.  I heard that the family camping trip was a huge success.  The children who were there this past weekend witnessed their parents modeling that community spirit.  This is a lesson in life!  Also, when your children see you participating in co-op activities, they recognize that you place a high value on supporting the school and on working to make it the best place possible for learning.

Actually, I think that most kids don’t give this much thought.  What?  As I think about it, it seems probable that our students have just come to expect parents to be involved.  At GMS it has become part of their culture — part of their value system.  Wait a minute, I’m going to interrupt some students to ask them about parent involvement…..

Okay, I asked some students across the hall what they thought about parent involvement.  As I suspected, they don’t give it much thought.  However, when I asked them what they would think if parents were not in the school a lot, they said it would be “weird.”  One student remarked that she would be disappointed if substitutes were not parents.  She said that she feels comfortable and safe when parents are in the classrooms.  As we work to create an ethic of excellence in our school, we can learn from the ethic of parent involvement.  It’s part of who we are, and it is expected.  And that’s exactly where we want to be with excellent work.  It’s who we are and it is expected.

            Now, a word from our sponsor this week: the Co-op Corner.  The first trimester ends in six weeks.  At that time, every parent should have completed at least 10 hours of co-op work.  Please contact Ms. Elaine to review your job preferences or to make a job assignment.  There’s always plenty to do in a schoolhouse where 98 students and 17 adults spend a large portion of their day.

Announcements: 

There will be a meeting of those parents wanting to contribute to our current theme on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.  If you have some Civil War knowledge or information to share, please feel free to join us.

Please don’t forget Adjunct Back to School Night tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. (agenda attached).  Our adjunct teachers are eager to explain their programs to you, and I hope you will come to show your support for them.

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege  to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.” - George Bernard Shaw

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 4, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from October 4, 2011.

 

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            We held our weekly morning meeting with the students today because of the field trip yesterday.  We had a good discussion reflecting on the field trip and talking about excellence in the context of it.  Students were able to point out how they were excellent in that they felt that they were attentive and showed respect to the park rangers and others who gave presentations.  One of our younger students pointed out that the presenter at Ford’s Theater was excellent because he was interesting and knew what he was talking about.  This prompted another discussion about how that presenter came to be so knowledgeable and effective.  The students got the idea that it takes practice and doing something many times in order to be able to achieve excellence.  It was easy to relate that idea to school work and working things over many times in order to achieve an excellent product.  Our students are fortunate to be at GreenMount, where they have “the time and space to learn” and the ability to work on several iterations of a product.

            We also discussed the first part of our Second Pillar (Civility) and the idea of “being aware of our impact on others.”  The children were spot on when describing this attribute of a GreenMount student.  They gave several examples, such as not talking while others are speaking and being safe on the playground.  The idea of being respectful of others was generated from that conversation.

            Can you believe that all this was discussed in just 10 minutes?  Ask your child sometime about the morning meeting.  I would like to get some feedback as to how the students feel about these times together.

            In an effort to keep lines of communication open and ideas flowing freely, I am scheduling four parent meetings during which you will have the opportunity to discuss issues with the administration and to bring ideas and expertise to the table.  We will stagger these meetings morning and evening to give everyone the best possibility of attending at a time that is good for them.  Our first meeting will be a on the morning of October 13 at 8:30 a.m.  This will be an open discussion with no agenda or specific items to be discussed.  Parents will generate the agenda.  Subsequently, we will ask room parents to contact the parents in their homerooms and provide us with a list of items to be discussed.  This way, if a parent is unable to attend, their question, suggestion, or concern will be heard.  After each meeting, minutes will be distributed to all families for your review.  I hope that these meetings will be as productive as they have been in the past, addressing your needs and helping us to provide the best possible educational experience for your children.

“It is a fact that in the right formation, the lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone.” - Author Unknown

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 26, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 26, 2011.

 

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            This morning, at our Monday Morning Meeting, I talked to the students about being active listeners and engaged learners, which are numbers 3 and 4, respectively, under our Academic Pillars.  I received some good responses and even though it was Monday morning, they were, in fact, being active listeners.  Some students defined active listening as using your mind to think about what you are hearing.  Another student mentioned that to demonstrate active listening you should be quiet and make eye contact with the speaker.  Still another student pointed out that active listening is also showing respect.  These excellent comments came from students at all levels from kindergarten to middle school.  I was very proud of how they are developing these core learning behaviors.

            When talking about engaged learning, several students gave examples of when they have felt engaged and interested in what they were learning.  Teachers also chimed in with examples of times when they saw children engaged.  It was a very good 10-minute meeting.

            Somewhat apropos of this is an interesting article that a parent sent to me this morning.  It is based on research that was done comparing the achievement of students in a very exclusive private school to that of students from low-income families.  I will need to read this again for more detail, but the result of the research was that, while the “rich kids” did well academically and got into great schools, they often floundered and ended up dropping out, whereas the “poor kids” who got to college had a much better shot at graduating.  Though surprising, it is understandable when you realize that those low-income families really had to work hard and persevere in order to get their children into college in the first place.  The research showed that while the private school kids had a great deal of support, it was that enabling that may have led them to crash the first time they had to survive on their own.  The students from the low-income families knew what it meant to work hard and overcome obstacles so that when they faced them in college, they were able to handle them. According to the researchers, all of this exemplifies the importance of character. Students with strong character will live happier, more productive lives and be able to handle those problems that life throws at us from time to time.

So where does GreenMount fit into this scheme of things?  We are very diverse, with families of many income levels and a school where we value many of the character traits that lead our students to become independent learners.  We focus on many of the character traits mentioned in the article through our Pillars.  It is good to know that in many ways we are teaching our students that to struggle and fail occasionally (and what to do next) is going to help them as they become more and more independent people.  It will also be a good idea for us to keep the idea of character education, as we have and to perhaps use some of the ideas from the article to enrich our efforts.

            My thanks to parents who share their ideas and research as we continue to find ways to make our program at GMS better each day.

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.” - Alan Simpson

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 19, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 19, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            There must be a high-pressure system over us today.  Students, parents, AND teachers were just shuffling in as we began the day among many yawns and sighs. And this is our first full week of school!  Later, however, I visited every classroom, and things are chugging along quite nicely.

            Also this morning, I had a good discussion about excellence with the students at the Monday Morning Meeting.  We talked about the first bulleted item under the Academic Pillar, which states, “put forth my best effort.”  How many times have we, as teachers and parents, told our children to “do your best” and “try to do your best”?  What does that mean?  As adults, we understand that if kids or adults give something their best effort, it is likely that they will be successful.  Just like many of you have reached some pinnacle of success, you can look back and see that the success is based largely on the effort – the time and energy you put into your goals that led to success.  But was it simply a matter of doing your best, or was it more than that?  At some point, did you realize that your work had to be more than just a result of your best effort?  Did your best effort result in excellence? 

            Today, we talked about the fact that sometimes we call our work our best effort just to be done with it and move on to the next thing.  Sometimes, our “best effort” is simply just getting things done.  The students admitted that, sometimes, something they acknowledged as their best effort may not have actually been excellent.  Then the conversation led to a discussion of what it means to have done excellent work.  One student said that excellent work shows that you are committed; that you are determined to “do your best.” Another said that excellent work demonstrates that you care about what you do.  Ms. Elaine added that excellent work requires many revisions as she described her attempts to draw the Lorax, a favorite Dr. Seuss character.  The analogy was a good one because her final product, not yet completed to her satisfaction, will show a commitment to getting it right and her caring for producing something that is excellent.

            So, how are our students to be led to think consistently about creating excellent work?  First, they need the vocabulary to understand what we are talking about and then they need the tools to do the job.  Parents built an excellent deck for our learning cottage.  They were committed to quality, cared about the final product, and were willing to do things over until they reached their goal.  Our staff is working to develop the language of excellence that we all can speak.  Today, that language came from the students.  Let’s all talk about being committed to quality work.  Let’s all talk about caring about that which we produce. And let’s all be willing to refine our work until it is indeed excellent.  If parents and teachers are all speaking the same language, and if we are all providing our students with the tools they need, excellence will become the standard that is not just a word, but an ethic.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” - Mario Andretti

“Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.” - Benjamin Franklin

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 12, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 12, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            In last week’s message, I mentioned the book that our staff read, An Ethic of Excellence Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger.  It occurred to me that it might be very interesting if some parents also read the book and then came together at school to discuss it.  Our staff discussions are very engaging and the ideas are flying around.  I think it would be helpful if parents had the opportunity to join the conversation as well.  We have so many knowledgeable parents, some of whom are educators themselves, who could add to our process as we unfold the ideas presented in the book.  Additionally, as this is the fifth year of our current vision document, it is time to revisit that vision to see if we are on course.  So, let me know if you are interested, and I will arrange some times at school when we can get together to have a “book talk” and possibly contribute significantly to the direction of the school.

            One of the things that Ron Berger discusses in his book is the idea of creating a culture of craftsmanship.  In his small school, children work and rework projects and other assignments until they are considered excellent (by the student) and worthy of publication or display.  When you were in school and your teacher asked you to try again and to do another draft of a piece of writing, what did that mean to you?  It usually meant that your first draft wasn’t good enough.  And how did you feel about that?  In Berger’s school, the culture of craftsmanship is part of every student’s mind set. There is no such thing as a second draft; they know and accept the fact that their first draft will need revision.  In fact, they expect to have four or more drafts before their work is excellent.  And what happens in between drafts is learning – learning by critique, not only from the teacher, but from classmates as well. I thought about that and realized that in my writing, I often have three or four drafts.  Even a two-line email gets at least two reads before I hit “send.”  Of course, sometimes there are still mistakes, which is why it is important to have another set of eyes review correspondence that is especially important.  The administrative staff does this for each other often.  So, consider joining us as we explore the ways to create this culture in our school, a place where I believe we are already leaps and bounds ahead of the conventional thinking about excellence.

            Speaking of excellence, I will say that most of our teachers are well beyond their first draft as professionals.  However, we all know that each of us needs to improve.  Some say that there is nothing new under the sun in education.  I say that teaching and learning is always new and exciting.  If we are to continue to create learners at GMS, we must grow with them as adult learners, reading books, trying new ideas, and using research and outside resources to improve our craft.  As we work to build a culture of craftsmanship with students, we will do the same as educators.  I’m so excited about this year!

“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

Cheers,

Steve