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In Defense of Failure
We don’t want perfectionists, we want risk-takers who will fail and learn from their mistakes. I want our students to make mistakes and [gasp, shudder,] even fail. Making mistakes is a great way to learn. Learning is disorganized, perhaps messy, and not linear. And yet, mainstream education presents curriculum in a manner and sequence that presumes a linear path of learning, leading students to seek perfection. At The Sycamore School, we regularly present students with challenging problems or tasks and ask that they go outside of their comfort zone to try something new. For example, one student is making a water wheel out of two LPs, lots of carpenters glue and a pencil. One of our teachers often warns, “the first model will be rough, but the next time you do it, you’ll know what to avoid and the process will go much more smoothly.” We teach students to value academic feedback.…
You are not SOL at The Sycamore School, Reprise
Last year, when our school was being developed, we blogged about the SOLs. Now that we are are open and our students are thriving, and we have practical experience in authentic assessment, we felt the subject deserved another post. The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) are the Virginia public school’s standardized testing program that sets learning and achievement expectations for core subjects. The SOL Test is a minimum competency test designed to assess whether students have mastered the basic concepts of a core subject area. The evolution of the SOLs is a story of how a well-intentioned educational tool has undermined authentic learning. The SOL learning strands themselves are not “bad.” SOL standards can serve as a pacing guide, to ensure that teachers cover the basic tenants of biology, algebra or Spanish I. It’s the SOL test that is problematic. Many school systems mandate teaching to a test. Schools have…
Spring Fever Leadership
What to do when a fun activity turns into a gripe fest? Turn to leadership. I’m not sure if it was due to spring fever, or typical adolescent waxing and waning maturity, but our students’ behavior reminded me of children who get dessert every day and then start to complain about the flavor of ice cream being offered. But instead of dessert, our students were griping about field trips. Since we are committed to experiential learning, we aren’t going to take away field trips; instead, we put the students in charge of running the trips. At the beginning of each week, we ask for a volunteer student leader who is responsible for organizing the logistics of the trip. We’ve already chosen the destination (which correlates to our curriculum) but how we get there and the details of how we organize our group are up to the trip leader. Our leader…
Problem-Based Learning Summer Camp
Problem-based learning is exemplified at our Rube Goldberg Machine Summer Camp. A Rube Goldberg machine is a simple machine comprised of common items that perform a simple task in a deliberately complicated manner. Rube Goldberg machines include many aspects of physics, energy, and energy transfer, all working together in a chain reaction. The machine is named after American cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg (1883–1970). Campers will research, envision and build Rube Goldberg Machines individually or in teams. Each day, they will be presented with a different scientific feature they need to incorporate into their machine. Campers are encouraged collaborate and problem solve, to try different ideas, knowing it will take several tries before they’re successful. We believe making mistakes is an essential part of learning and we empower students to push themselves, think creatively and take risks.
Even the open house is hands-on!
“I learned more in two hours than I do all day at school!”* *Incoming TSS student Students and their families are invited to participate in our hands-on open house on June 14th from 6pm-8pm. The Sycamore School is an experiential, problem-based learning secondary school with no homework for our middle schoolers! Explore The Sycamore School’s innovative, experiential approach to education at our June family open house. Students and families curious about how we do school differently can explore problem based learning in 3 consecutive 30-minute “pop up” classrooms – giving prospective students a taste of what it’s like to learn at The Sycamore School. Parents will have ample opportunity to observe student activities as well as hear from staff about the school and our curriculum. Families are encouraged to attend for the entire event. Please register so that we can accommodate all participants. Please note: the open house is held…
Even the open house is hands-on!
“I learned more in two hours than I do all day at school!”* *Incoming TSS student Students and their families are invited to participate in our hands-on open house on June 14th from 6pm-8pm. The Sycamore School is an experiential, problem-based learning secondary school with no homework for our middle schoolers! Explore The Sycamore School’s innovative, experiential approach to education at our June family open house. Students and families curious about how we do school differently can explore problem based learning in 3 consecutive 30-minute “pop up” classrooms – giving prospective students a taste of what it’s like to learn at The Sycamore School. Parents will have ample opportunity to observe student activities as well as hear from staff about the school and our curriculum. Families are encouraged to attend for the entire event. Please register so that we can accommodate all participants. Please note: the open house is held…
Becoming A Founding Family at The Sycamore School
What does it mean to be a Founding Family? The Sycamore School is currently recruiting Founding Families to join our school for the 2017/18 school year. While we understand that it takes a certain leap of faith to place your child a new school, our first families are not choosing The Sycamore School on a whim. Our Founding Families have decided that The Sycamore School is a great fit for their students and their family, by attending information sessions, asking important questions, and meeting with our Head of School for a private interview. Our founding families include parents who are concerned about their child’s learning, or their child’s social development, or both. These parents are willing to try something different and are committed to supporting a school that is the right fit for their child. Being a founding family takes some courage; we recognize that you’re putting your trust in…