HonorsGradU

November 5, 2018November 5, 2018

Inquiry Into SDG’s: Responsible Consumption & Production

This is a series of provocations designed to provide resources for students to inquire into the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. For more, click here.

The concept of responsible consumption and production especially weighs on my mind this time of year as the holiday season approaches. Kath Murdoch recently shared an excellent post by George Monbiot that you may have seen since it was published in 2012. If not, be sure to check it out! One line that stood out to me in particular:

“…very rich people in Vietnam are now sprinkling ground rhino horn on their food or snorting it like cocaine to display their wealth. It’s grotesque, but it scarcely differs from what almost everyone in industrialised nations is doing: trashing the living world through pointless consumption.”

How might sharing this provocation spark more thoughtful consumption & production for our students? Use these resources to find out!

Resource #1: PYP Exhibition Staging from Sam Sherratt’s class: “Keep it simple, clear, and environmentally responsible. “

Resource #2: Lego artwork by Nathan Sawaya (Pop art series & Metamorphosis series)

Resource #3: Sustainable Brands 2018 from Nice and Simple

Resource #4: The Most Sustainable Jeans by Parallel Studio

Resource #5: Sustainable Furniture by People for Smarter Cities

Resource #6: The Lorax by Dr. Suess

Provocation Questions:

What is production?
What is consumption?
What makes production or consumption sustainable?
What is our responsibility to produce and consume in a sustainable manner?
How does sustainable production/consumption compare with unsustainable production/consumption?
How does being responsible consumers help us better connect as human beings?

November 2, 2018November 1, 2018

Reorganized Pages for Easier Navigation!

2 years ago, I came up with a blog posting topic schedule that consisted of 3 main categories of inquiry, TeacherMom, and Learning through Reflecting posts.

I wrote:

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about making this kind of commitment. I know there will be days or even weeks where it just doesn’t happen. But since I want to continue to model important learner qualities to my students (current small ones and future bigger ones), I refuse to let fear of failure keep me from taking a chance that might help me grow and improve.”

I am so glad I took that chance–it has been an incredible experience for me to push myself to curate resources, notice connections, and reflect as a professional. I feel certain that if I did not set up these goals for myself, my personal professional learning would fall by the wayside in these years while I’m away from the classroom.

Now, as these posts have accumulated, I realize it’s getting a little cumbersome for readers (or even myself) to revisit older posts. So I’m pleased to announce that the pages for each of the 3 categories have been reorganized, with posts grouped by sub-concepts on each page. I would love feedback–what is easier about these pages? What would make navigation even simpler?

Inquiry Posts

#TeacherMom Posts

Learning through Reflecting Posts

Thank you so much to all those who have encouraged me over these years of blogging!

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

October 31, 2018October 30, 2018

What the computer assessment doesn’t know about what my preschooler knows #TeacherMom

Turns out my son loves the online preschool we signed up for this year. And I’m glad. Not out of relief that I don’t have to coax him (I was definitely prepared to drop it in a heartbeat before I ever used one of those motivational badges they mail out). But because it’s simply a pleasure to watch him enjoy learning.

He loves the the dancing letters, the rhymes, the songs.

But there is one thing that he does not enjoy: the tests. In fact, I recently watched him go through a brief alphabet assessment, clicking the bottom right choice for every single letter.

The program seems unable to detect the growth I perceive. After all, its assessment does not know…

…that he loves to practice making letters with his body.

…that he walks around sounding out the phonemes for various objects around the house.

…that he often turns his toys into letters or numbers and eagerly shows them to me.

…that he is actually starting to read (he seems to know the sounds letters make better than the names of the letters themselves).

So no matter how slowly the charts might curve upward on his data reports, I know the truth that more is happening than is being measured.

The fact remains that tests simply can’t pick up on growth indicators that trained humans can. We must be careful not to place too much weight (and certainly not too much anxiety regarding our kids’ growth) in what those computers “know.” Focus instead on emphasizing the learning you observe!

October 29, 2018March 20, 2019

Inquiry into SDGs: Sustainable Cities & Communities

This is a series of provocations designed to provide resources for students to inquire into the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. For more, click here.

I am astonished by some of the figures associated with this global goal. Right now, 3.5 billion people live in cities, which is half of our global population. By 2050, that figure is expected to reach 6.5 billion, which would be 2/3 of our population. It is clearly a pressing need to consider how we can design our urban spaces in more sustainable ways.

This week’s provocations are meant to help students consider what it means for a city to be sustainable.

Resource #1: Bicycle Rush Hour via The Kid Should See This

Resource #2: What is Public Life? by Gehl Institute

Resource #3: A Taste of Vienna by Film Spektakel

Resource #4: Gentrification by Word of the Day

Resource #5: “The Little House” by Virginia Lee Burton

Resource #6: The Promise by Nicola Davies

Provocation Questions:

What makes a city pleasant to live in?
What makes a city pleasant to move around in?
What do you notice about cities that are pleasant to walk or ride bikes around?
What does it mean for something to be be sustainable?
What is the connection between a pleasant city and a sustainable one?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

October 26, 2018October 25, 2018

10 Books of Wishes

For kids, wishes hold power. So much of life seems beyond their control: where they live, what they wear, who they meet. Among so much uncertainty, it’s a comforting hope to hold tight to a wish.

In Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson’s latest picture book, “Carmela Full of Wishes,” Carmela doesn’t realize just how many important wishes she holds in her heart until she finds a dandelion.

There are so many elements in this read that I found lovely. The details of Carmela’s neighborhood. The papel picado, Mexican folk art, that beautifully illustrates her wishes. The jingling bracelets that capture the essence of childhood joy (that can’t be diminished even by an irritable — and likely care-worn — brother). The way that it keeps readers wondering about Carmela’s wish and her life.

Also, I just have to share this gorgeous case design beneath the dust jacket!

I asked my kids if they could remember whose style it was, and they knew it was the same illustrator that created the video, “What is Music,” that they love so much (Funny coincidence: I included both Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson in my summer post, “18 Best Videos to Get to Know Children’s Authors & Illustrators”).

For your readers that are full of wishes, here are 9 other books of wishes I’d recommend!

#2: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

#3: When’s My Birthday by Julie Fogliano & Christian Robinson

#4: I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld

#5: We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen (I’m starting to wonder how this book somehow manages to get on just about every one of my lists…I regret nothing.)

#6: The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller & Frank Morrison

#7: It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton

#8: Mr. Rabbit & the Lovely Present by Charlotte Zolotow & Maruice Sendak

#9: Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie & Yuyi Morales

#10: Pigeon Books by Mo Willems

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

October 24, 2018

Intentionally Cultivating Abundant, Intrinsic Learning #TeacherMom

I wonder how often I’ll be surprised at the abundance of learning that can happen for kids without the personal intervention of adults.

The latest episode occurred when my 8 year-old asked Google to show her a picture of the solar system so she could create her own LEGO model. This launched when she decided to build a spaceship, which got her thinking, “where will the spaceship land? It’s more fun if there’s a place for the person to land and explore!”

Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Can you tell which is which?

Her exploration was packed with play, discovery, pleasure, energy, and joy.

All this was all fueled by her own delighted fervor to learn. No assignment. No sticker chart. No carrot and stick.

While this learning venture was all her own, there have been intentional steps toward a culture of intrinsic learning. Steps like…

…saying no to reading programs that would get in the way of self-selected reading.

…setting up a learning environment with invitations to explore.

…intentional language (“what amazing science you’re exploring!” “your interesting connections really make me think.”)

…discussing independent time-management & balance.

…second-guessing my agenda before second-guessing her developmental readiness.

…treasuring play. As written in a recent Washington Post article,

“the art of the joy of childhood is doing things because they anchor you to the moment, not because they will reap future benefits or rewards. There is a sense of mindfulness children feel when they play that so many of us long for as adults.”

Leaving a child to their own learning devices still actually does involve quite a lot of effort on our part. Sometimes the things to which we say “No” are just as important as the things to which we say “Yes.” As I’ve shared before, in the words of Seth Godin,

“If it’s work, they try to figure out how to do less, and if it’s art, they try to figure out how to do more.”

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto