Jacob: Our New Edge Maker

Jacob begins work on his longhouse with the assistance of a fellow Edge Maker. 
Picture taken by the Edge faculty.

Midway into October, I (Jonathan Bisson) was running dorm supervision at Kildonan.  I was helping students settle down after sports, holding conversations on classes, and otherwise keeping the peace.  While taking one of my rounds, I happened to run into Jacob.  After niceties, he explained that he had sought me out to discuss the possibility of his joining Edge at the beginning of the second quarter.  He wished to reassure me that he found his classes engaging and challenging, but he went on to stress that he had devised a definitive plan for an individualized course of study.  He did not wish to wait to pursue it.  Impressed by Jacob's self-advocacy, I recommended that he contact the entire Edge Team in order to continue the conversation.  I then moved on my way, already planning the discussion I would have with my fellow advisors.

Jacob beat me to it, however.  Again demonstrating impressive self-resolve, he arrived in the Edge Team's office the very next day ready to speak with us.  During our conversation, he unveiled the focus of his potential Edge work:  outdoor adventure and Nature.  He announced that he wished to study individuals who live/journey in the woods, stressing that he could compare Henry David Thoreau (of Walden) and Bill Bryson (of A Walk in the Woods) to Chris McCandless (á la Into the Wild).  Feeling great excitement as a community, the Edge Team and Jacob concluded the meeting with the understanding that the latter would contact Dr. Taft (our Academic Dean) in order to initiate the change.  Jacob left with the approval of the team, but I could not help but feel a little anxious as to whether he would proceed through all of the appropriate steps before the end of the quarter.

Fortunately, my fears were unfounded.  When I paused to check in with Jacob thereafter, he shared tidbits of highlights from his ongoing conversations with Dr. Taft.  Not too long afterward, she and Jacob contacted the Edge Team and requested a meeting to discuss his membership.  With his tutor present, we decided upon two classes that he could drop, rearranged his tutoring block, and spoke at length about Jacob's fascination with Nature relative to survivalism and his pending ascension to Eagle Scout.  Jacob also assured us that his parents approved of his involvement, and various communications later revealed that the family was indeed on-board.  Seeing no obstacles in our way, we adjourned the meeting.  We moved out of the first quarter, welcoming Jacob to our community two and a half weeks ago.

A still from Yves Simoneau's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007).  Gall
(Eric Schweig), Sitting Bull (August Schellenberg), and One Bull as Nathan
Chasing Horse (Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse) pictured above.  Photo
from Annabel Reyes/HBO, taken from www.tvguide.com.

In retrospect, I marvel at the introductory week Jacob designed for himself! Largely shunning feelings of shyness and uncertainty, he hit the ground running on his first day by announcing that he would investigate Native Americans.  More specifically, he explained, he would create a timeline of various indigenous people's interactions with European settlers.  Immediately grasping the collaborative nature of the program, he worked with the Edge faculty to investigate the documentary The Canary Effect.  Feeling shocked by the nature of the policies that the U.S. government has handed down to indigenous peoples, he spurred himself to further develop his understanding using the film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007).  By mid-week, he stressed that he was evaluating the relationship between Native Americans and Christopher Columbus.  He also commenced an investigation into the early climate of the Americas so that he might better understand the workings of local Native American and European communities.  He has not stopped there, either.  He concluded his week by creating a longhouse in the hope that he would better understand the dwellings of Native American tribes living in the Northeastern regions of the soon-to-be country.  He also created a log in which he compared Native Americans to Medieval Europe in their approaches to natural resources and expansion.

Jacob's cross-cultural study.  Photo taken by the Edge faculty.

Ultimately, Jacob has embraced the program wholeheartedly.  He has designed a number of interesting pursuits for himself, and he has evinced no fear or hesitation in developing these.  No less importantly, he has conducted himself professionally during every step of the process that has led him to the present.  He demonstrated personal resolve by initiating the conversation concerning his membership, and he acted professionally by promptly initiating and maintaining regular communication with the Edge Team and Dr. Taft.  We at Edge are excited to have you as an Edge Maker, Jacob, and we look forward to seeing you flourish in the future!

Have a thought on Jacob's journey? A resource for his investigation? Please post in the comments below!

Tess: An Agent of Change

An ambitious and assertive young woman, Tess began to think about her Edge work during the summer.  She was beginning her senior year, after all, and she told us that her work had to "matter," that she had to find a route that would prepare her for college.

A board detailing various psychological trials and assigned experimenters. 
Graphic from "Research Fraud Case Raises Concerns Over Ethics
of Psychology Research" at researchethicsblog.com.

Through intense self-reflection, she found just the right path.  Upon arriving back at Kildonan, she submitted an unconventional proposal to The Edge Team.  Within, she detailed her desire to embark on an internship at The New School for Social Research in New York City, NY during her second semester.  More specifically, she would work under The Center for Attachment Research, a division within the institute "engaged in the application of attachment theory to clinical and developmental research questions concerning child, parent, and family development" (per the Center's "Who We Are" page).  Tess went on to detail the particular skills she would perform as part of a research team.  She also addressed logistical matters, explaining how she would satisfy Kidonan's credit scheme by studying literature, history, science, and mathematics.  The opportunity sounded exciting, and the document proved a strong working draft.  To better understand the internship, however, the Edge Team needed answers:  "What is attachment theory, anyway? And how will this opportunity relate to the work you will accomplish within the program during the first semester?"

So the revision process began.

Over the next three weeks, Tess met with The Edge Team on a biweekly basis to discuss suggestions for editing.  During these meetings, she admitted that she did not understand attachment theory.  She therefore updated her proposal, stressing within that she would direct her Edge work toward the study of the model in addition to self-psychoanalysis, the history of psychology, and other topics.  We also examined (and The Edge Team modeled) the nuances of APA citation as well as the difference between in-text citations and paraphrasing.  Finally, spurred to remain accountable to Kildonan during her semester abroad, Tess devised a video log and began to seek out a mentor.  In the log, she proposed, she could answer set questions (while maintaining confidentiality procedures, of course) and thereby demonstrate the evolution of her understanding.  With a mentor to supervise her, too, she could better understand the data she recorded and have a point person who would facilitate communication between The New School and Kildonan.

Image taken from Kelly Scott's "Why Should I Do an Internship?"
via www.northeastern.edu.  Linked through http://byuinternships.org/.

The editing process was not short.  Because of the nature of her request, she put her piece through six to seven rounds of revision.  Last week, however, she submitted a draft that proved thoughtful of all the topics we had discussed across our meetings.  It possessed proper APA citations, a copy of the form for her video log, and a more comprehensive union of her work within Edge, Kildonan's credit scheme, and her research duties.  This draft, Tess concluded, was ready for the Academic Dean.  We agreed, so the piece is now on its way to formal review.

Tess should be proud of her document.  Yes, she will likely need to engage another few rounds of revision following her meeting with Dr. Taft, so the process is not quite complete.  Nevertheless, celebration is in order due to the effort that she exerted to revamp her draft so thoroughly.

At several moments, Tess felt discouraged.  She occasionally resisted our suggestions, stressing that they missed the larger picture of her internship.  However, these periods were always short-lived.  Tess overcame them every time, buoyed not only by her individual request but also by a simple fact:  never before in the school's history has a student submitted a proposal for an internship that would bear academic credit.  In this sense, then, Tess is a revolutionary, an agent of change.  She endures...not only for herself but also for all the students (with varied requests) who will come after her.

Annabel: Our Reflections on an "Edge Maker"

Annabel at work on her drawing.

The dust has now settled; we are into the second week.  Our learners have been abuzz in establishing their own learning spaces, cementing new friendships and collaborative networks, and acquiring necessary equipment and materials.   With richly diverse interests ranging across art and happiness, architecture, psychology, film trailer production, memory, recycling, Japanese, artificial intelligence (AI), horror, genetics and science fiction, nanoscience, international music/Maracatu, automotive engineering, criminal justice and baking, American military, and forensic science, our students will engage many learning opportunities over the coming year.  Having met with every one of them, the Edge Team could not feel more excited, more honored, to share the next months with our sixteen "Edge Makers."

Let us begin, then, by focusing on one of these.  Enter Annabel, a student who in some ways embodies the reason why Kildonan conceived the program in the first place.

During a recent interview, Annabel described her past experiences of learning in traditional classroom settings as "terrifying."  Classes themselves were not the problem, she said, and Kildonan's teachers and students in particular offered regular support.  No, avoiding a blanket statement, Annabel insisted that classes did not work for her specifically.  While in a classroom, she went on to explain, she felt as if she were sinking into her chair and not collecting information.  She wanted something different.  She wanted something that could help her learn.

Rewind one year and enter the Personal Project.  As the culmination of 10th grade (as well as the capping project of the MYP curriculum), Kildonan students engage in a yearlong pursuit of their choosing for about three hours per week.  Annabel launched an intensive examination into the tropes of Nickelodeon's Avatar:  The Last Airbender.  While enmeshed in studying the natural elements and the show's narrative influences, she concluded that this was the kind of learning environment in which she needed to stay.  Pushing this thought further, she concluded that Edge, if it were anything like the Personal Project, would constitute the majority of her studies in the coming year.

Annabel's drawing:  pen, ink, tape, paper
Drawing fragments moving toward a cohesive image.  In progress...

Fast-forward to the present.  Across all three meetings we have had with her last week, Annabel speaks passionately about the work that lies ahead for her.  Now selectively engaged in educational settings other than the classroom, she discloses that she feels safe to learn for the first time.  No longer in possession of the same guidance provided by teachers, she feels unfettered and ready to innovate.  With conviction in her voice, she articulates her desire to solve problems for herself.  She speaks about the present - the next two years - as a crucial period during which she will test and develop the skills to respond to life's problems independently.  Indeed, she has begun this necessary work already by creating a notebook system to help her organize her thoughts and her work, a learning space according to those conditions that will best support her explorations, and artwork that is perhaps reflective of her evolution as a thinker and young woman.  In all, she evinces intense motivation as well as the follow-through to act upon her interests; her curiosity proves vast, and she possesses the capacity to formulate complex, meaningful questions.

Though her year's work will ultimately be concerned with her proclaimed interests (utopias, dystopias, chaos, apocalypses, post-apocalypses, DNA, RNA, bases, and genetics), the real work - not unlike the "project" that each student will undertake, actually - will be herself.  Our role as the Edge Team, then, is to help her on this journey, to acknowledge her voice and create the conditions in which she will succeed (or "tilt the landscape," per Gever Tulley (@gever)).

Annabel is only one of our sixteen "Edge Makers."  Sixteen students with stories of their own, intellectual passions waiting to bear fruit, and dreams to enact.  What a rigorous, moving year it will be...

David Flink Visits Kildonan and IP

David Flink (@DaveFlink) is a sort of celebrity in the LD world.  He approaches dyslexia from a mindset of pride, and due in part to this upbeat mentality, he earned a Bachelor’s degrees with honors in Education and Psychology from Brown University and a Master’s degree in Disability Studies in Education from Columbia University.  More notably, still, he co-founded the organization Eye-to-Eye while still a student in 1998.  As reported on the program's website, Eye-to-Eye (@E2ENational) strives to develop:

...a network of youth mentoring programs run by and for those with learning differences, and [organizes] advocates to support the full inclusion of people with learning disabilities and ADHD in all aspects of society.

Kildonan prides itself on having worked with David to create the first high school chapter of Eye-to-Eye in the nation.  It was a pleasure, then, to have David attend Founders' Day and mingle with assembled students, faculty, parents, grandparents, and relatives.

During his time on-campus, David gave a riveting keynote speech.  Using a humorous story, he shared kernels of advice for our dyslexic students:  self-advocacy, transparency and acceptance of one's LD, and a graceful sense of humor and patience.  He also provided a book signing in celebration of his first text, Thinking Differently.  Composed as a semi-autobiography, this book speaks directly to parents to help them understand dyslexia, successfully advocate for their children, and instill independence in them.

Finally, David toured the IP building.  He traveled between students, stopping to speak with Bull about his octopus, Clancy on nanomedicine, and Piterson on his wooden skeleton.  Ultimately, he expressed admiration for the program.  He asserted not only that IP's model could encompass an entire school but also that it should support the learning of all students, LD and otherwise.

Thank you, David, for visiting Kildonan!

Please post in the comments section below.

Description of images:  David Flink touring the IP building with Karl Oppenheimer, Sandy Charlap, and IP students.  All photos taken by the IP faculty with permission of David Flink.

"This Is Genius," by Ryan Lotocki

What follows is a spoken word poem by student Ryan Lotocki (filmed by: Nick Stroczkowski and Kurt Schlewitt).  Rather than provide an introduction for this video, we will remain silent and allow it to speak for itself.

What did you think? Please post in the comments section.  * If you would like to consult a transcript, please see below: *

---

School Sucks. Now don’t get me wrong I believe everyone should have a general education. But when I know how to solve quadratic equations with imaginary roots graphically and am not sure how that applies to life… Or better yet, learned Cleopatra slept around, but never heard the history of my own city- you've failed. Now I’m not trying to sound cruel, but we live in a generation that would much rather smoke a joint then show up to school and to be honest, I’m tired of placing all the blame on them. I mean are we just pawns in a chess game waiting to accept their fate? Could the whole point of High School simply be just to graduate? You tell us to follow our dreams but have a plan B and don’t you see? The more you try to protect the children in this way, the more you reject the gifts they are trying to portray. See, school is a project in which students never get the chance to project their abilities. Having to follow a curriculum and take required classes, while stereo-typically the kid with high grades and glasses will make it into college and is more intelligent. Well, how about the student whose “Ingenious”, “In ordinary”, “Innovative”, “Intellectual”, “Incalculable”, “Inquisitive”, and has good intentions to change the world with his passion. I believe educating him would be something along the lines of ineluctable.

Take a musician for example: See to him, a score on a math exam will never mean as much as the score in front of him. Why waste his time trying to count and measure when he can already count each measure with just the tap of his foot- See this is genius; watch as the bow grazes against the instrument and his fingers pluck and pull at each string appropriately that creates a sound that just makes his body sway. But if he is controlled by a bell that just rings I guess you could say the school’s pulling his strings.

Or how about the cook with only a seventh grade reading level. If his ingredient list is not written in MLA format I think he’ll do just fine. Does his grammar matter when where you choose to dine is on the line and I’m not talking about margin. But when it comes to margarine and butter he actually knows the difference. He couldn't care less about the sophisticated words coming out of his mouth and more about the food going into yours- See this is genius. And if that doesn't fill the Hunger Games appetite you couldn't even think the Grapes of Wrath might.

Some Brilliance is as simplistic as hitting a ball. It doesn't matter if her science grade is an atrocity because I've never seen anyone spike a ball with so much strength, precision, and velocity, and the only elements she need know are those of speed and surprise, but to her parents’ eyes sports are just a waste of time- See this is genius. Practicing for so long she has little time to study for chemistry the only question remaining is, why can’t you be more like your sister Emily? What’s the matter? Kind of ironic though because like life, when it comes to school versus education every things the matter.

Putting children on an assembly line that has checkpoints. Where there only goal is to get us from point A to point Z but if we only get to F then we've failed. Plus our values and gifts are locked up and jailed. And why do we take tests? To tell us we’re wrong? It’s a number, not my wife. There is so much more to life than a grade in a book and what even of the SAT I just took. Because we all receive a number or a grade if you will, but our answers are locked up in vaults. Was the point to learn, or the thrill? And Common Core won’t solve anything so take a chill pill. We are not here to memorize facts but figure our future; and if the future holds taking a test to see who’s the best I want no part in that, there’s a fact. Now while I’m speaking to adults, I’m relating to the youth. I’m not pointing out your faults, but showing you the truth. Stop labeling us by standards and put us all on an even playing field. But let us choose our positions based on our passions, values, and where we can be proactive. Make schooling less multiple choice and more... Interactive. Because maybe your exponential at math, but that’s not how he functions because we all don’t have the same mechanics. Or possibly, you rock at science but in her opinion she’d rather not fill her head with space.

We are all sculpted in a different way. All made with different values, ideas, and clay; and if during my day, the only offered opportunity is continuity I could never get the chance to say: I am genius.

Nikhil Goyal: "Why Kids Hate School?" @ TEDxBFS (2012)

At the age of 19, activist and author Nikhil Goyal (@nikhilgoya_l) has accomplished no small amount.  An activist and champion of self-directed learning, Goyal has spoken at Google (@google), MIT (@MIT), Yale (@Yale), Stanford (@Stanford), and the University of Cambridge (@Cambridge_Uni).  He has appeared on various news stations, has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and has even authored the book One Size Does Not Fit All:  A Student's Assessment of School.  In this #TED Talk delivered at the Brooklyn Free School (#TEDxBFS) in 2012, Goyal begins by speaking about the shortcomings of school.  Although he is perhaps too strident and jumps from topic to topic using quotes, he does offer an organic vision of education that considers not only educators, administrators, and parents but also students themselves as its policymakers.

'Education is a process of living, not a preparation for future living.'  Let me say that one more time.  'Education is a process of living, not a preparation for future living.'  ... Because we have to get over this notion of education prep and move to life prep.  We have to create an educational society where learning is democratized and where kids are natural learners.  Where we're tinkering with the world.  Where they're changing things, they're pushing the human race forward.
...
Around the world today we're watching millions of young people that are under the age of twenty-five collectively protest for self-expression, transparency, and the sweet taste of freedom.  What we're doing to them is we're not giving them a voice.  We're not letting them speak out.  We're putting them on the sidelines.  What I like to say about public education is that we have 'the kids table' and we have 'the adults table.'  At the adults table, that's where all the decisions are made.  It's like Thanksgiving; we're separated.  And really, that's how it is.  We need to have one table where we have kids and adults.  What we offer, most importantly, kids, is a fresh perspective.

Thoughts? Please post in the comments section below.

Don Buckley: "Kildonan School students use design thinking to drive their own course of learning with faculty as support systems" (4/​30/​2014)

I’ve been teaching many design thinking workshops this year for NYSAIS (@NYSAISnow), helping faculty and administration understand how this creative problem solving process can be used in education. Most schools still follow a 19th century industrial model – the observation followed by a proposal to try some unproven system with the idea of preparing students for the 21st century. Design Thinking on the other hand is used as a problem solving methodology in many 21st century organizations. It’s always great to hear what people do with this creative problem solving process after they leave my workshop and head back to their schools to apply what they’ve  learned. Part of the Kildonan’s School (@KildonanSchool) curriculum is The Independent Project –  an inquiry-based, self-directed approach to learning. Here’s a great example of design thinking applied to engage students and deepen their learning:

Sandy from the Kildonan School relayed the following to me:

I got a lot out of your presentation and took one aspect of the work you did with us back to a program I initiated at my school.  It’s called the Independent Project, and students in the program drive their own course of learning with faculty as support systems, not teachers.  That has been an amazing experience for the kids because for the first time, they feel empowered by their minds and choices.  As to be expected, they also ran into “problems” being the at the helm of their own ships.  Using your template, I posed the ‘draw your problem‘ to them, and the results were remarkable and quite moving.

The conversations between students and faculty as a result of their drawings were far more revealing and complex than verbal communication alone.  Their images brought depth to their understanding of their problems and opened up better pathways for verbal communication.  One student commented on the importance of recognizing, confronting, and grappling with her problem.  She felt without that process, she would not be able to move forward and grow in meaningful ways.  In some respects, it’s a new form of educational therapy!

http:/ ​/​donbuckleyblog.wordpress.com/​2014/​04/​30/​ killdonan-school-students-use-design-thinking-to-drive-their-own-course-of-learning-with-faculty-as-support-systems/ ​

"STOP STEALING DREAMS," by Seth Godin at TEDxYouth@BFS

Direct Marketing Hall of Fame inductee, author of 18 books, and creator of Yoyodyne and Squidoo (now known as HubPages), Seth Godin is a comprehensive thinker.  He speaks towards "post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything" in a blog (@ThisIsSethsBlog) that has become one of the most popular sites of its kind throughout the world (quoted content found on Godin's bio).  

In the following #TED Talk delivered at the Brooklyn Free School (#TEDxBFS) in 2012, Godin speaks toward what education is currently and how it needs to change.

It's up to each of us to make a difference.

For a post discussing Godin's "Reckless abandon (is neither)" blog post, please click here. 

The Power of Student Voice

At the end of IP Week, the students each presented their findings in two distinct ways: a Keynote in front of their home group and a visual exhibit for the entire school.  Overall, they experienced a lot of success; walking among the various projects, I was impressed by the multitude of topics and displays.  Most of the students seemed genuinely excited to show me what they had researched.

Perhaps the most important step of the entire process came when we asked the students to reflect on the experience of working independently.  After all, the goal of IP week was not a digression from traditional classes, but rather an opportunity for students and faculty to investigate how we, as a community, learn best.  The questions we posed forced the students to analyze, critique, and reflect upon the week in its entirety.  I truly believe that no piece of this process has been more enlightening than reading what the students had to say.

Delphine wrote:

The one thing that surprised me the most was the excitement I had for school... and the commitment I had.  I never once got bored and I got more work done then I have ever had before. Some people might say I seemed like a crazy person by the way I was running around. But that constant movement that I had made me the happiest I ever had been at school. My mind was racing with ideas and questions that I had to answer on my own and that's what surprised me the most.  

Other students talked about their increased levels of engagement and their excitement over their topics, like Dillon who said, “I didn’t know I could love school this much. Everyday I woke up I didn’t think I was going to school. I didn’t know I could love one certain thing this much.”

Not all the students had an easy time, however.  Some really struggled with the freedom and independence IP week offered.  Nevertheless, their reflections demonstrated an ability to recognize their learning needs.  Patrick wrote, “It was way overwhelming to me. I like the structure of a classroom and the guidance of a teacher's direction.”  In a school where teaching self-advocacy is a legitimate concern, our students’ ability to know their preferences and limitations when it comes to learning is of the highest importance.  In that way, experiencing failure is as beneficial as experiencing success.  For instance, Nicole reflected on how crucial her physical workspace was to her finished product, saying, “My favorite part of IP week was being able to stay in the art barn, an environment in which I work well.”  Tess wrote:

Two things I learned about myself during the duration of IP week are, one, that I can surprise myself. I like getting directions and following them; I wasn't sure how I was going to do when I had the opportunity to go about this as I please. I learned that I did okay. I also learned something about other people. I did not know that some people were interested in the same things that I was until I saw their project. This made me see them in a new light which I enjoyed.

But hearing what students got out of the week was not the only benefit of reading their reflections.  They all had worthwhile and inventive suggestions for improving a number of aspects of the project, from the schedule to the presentation requirements.  Filipa suggested changing “what we need to hand in at the end to a paper.   The student would have to write out their question and answer it and it would be optional to do a power point.”  August suggested having the week twice in a semester, “Instead of just having one week for the semester, you would have two separate IP weeks to become engulfed in a question.”  Nate suggested restructuring the schedule to allow for better focus, “My least favorite part about the IP week was how we had to split up the classes, like when I had IP the first period then right after I had math study hall... pretty much when you’re in the middle of your work and it gets cut off by another class.”

The feedback offered by our students will be pivotal in structuring another IP week in the spring and the full program next year.  After writing so much about what and how the students were learning, it feels great to be part of such a rigorous learning process myself.