Happy New Year (2016)!

Happy New Year to our Edge Makers, their families, the Kildonan community, and YOU...all of our loyal followers.  Together let's make 2016 a fantastic year!

~ The Edge Team

7th Annual Academic and Art Expo

The Edge Team would like to thank parents, family members, and - of course - the Edge Makers themselves in helping to make December 18th's 7th Annual Academic and Art Expo a hit.  We saw students offer a variety of compelling presentations:  artwork, a poetry reading, a survey concerning science fiction, a guided review of scientific research, a "magical" experiment in music theater, an analysis of PTSD diagnostic tests, a presentation on entrepreneurship, cupcakes, a demonstration of a hard drive in operation, offerings of Japanese food, an overview of the history of the Native American tribes of North America, and a discussion on composting and sustainability.  Thank you, everyone, for continuing to push this community within @KildonanSchool to explore ever more innovative and fascinating interdisciplinary work.

For those students, families, and readers who missed the event, please consult the accompanying photos (above and below).  All images taken by the Edge Team.

Happy Holidays!

Nate Investigates Rage Against the Machine

A graphic celebrating Rage Against the Machine
(RATM).  Image located at aopinionatedman.com.

A longtime member of Kildonan's music program, Nate entered Edge intending to expand his awareness of international genres.  More specifically, he wished to devote himself to the study of Maracatu, an Afro-Brazillian fusion.  In addition to researching Brazilian instruments and the origins of the genre,  Nate designed a course of study that proved heavily hands-on.  He consulted rhythms in various books, negotiated an agreement with Kildonan's music faculty that allowed him to practice in the music building (on genuine Maracatu instruments, no less), and played Samba rhythms with the Edge Team.  His investigation into Maracatu culminated in a visit to Maracatu New York, a Brooklyn-based Maracatu ensemble led by percussionist Scott Kettner (@scottkettner).  While in NYC, Nate recorded the group at work, interviewed Scott and Catherine Taft about the ensemble and musical influences, and learned to tune a drum.  He returned to campus feeling elated and ready to continue pursuing Maracatu.

And yet...something began to change for Nate not long after his homecoming.  He lost the interest to practice drumming, instead focusing his attention on the fact that Maracatu players of antiquity parodied rulers during their performances.  While he at first presented this information as a small detail during a conversation with the Edge Team, he eventually used it as a pivot point to alter his entire topic within the program.  Indeed, this satire allowed him to unite his passion for music with another longstanding interest:  politics.

This dual topic saw him begin to explore the environmental activism inherent in the late Pete Seeger's songs, but it also allowed him (more recently) to begin to examine the political underpinnings of Pussy Riot.  Nestled between those two, perhaps, rests Rage Against a Machine (RATM), a Los Angeles-based rap metal band that used music to blast the American media and the foreign policy of the United States government.  Wishing to reflect upon this group, Nate produced a writing assignment that we now share with you. (NOTE:  In order to present Nate's words in their unadulterated form, we The Edge Team have not modified the piece beyond those revisions we conducted with him.)

- - -

So this year in Edge I have been looking for connections with politics and music. Earlier, in the 1960s, there were more protest songs directed towards Vietnam or attacking the government. I started looking and I knew that there was a lot of aggression with music towards the government in the 1960s but I wanted to look at something more modern. I was personally always a fan of the group Rage Against the Machine. I new that they had a deep understanding of the political world around them in there music, so I worked from there and found that all the band members had a shockingly high understanding of the flaws in the government.

Tom Morello.  Image located
at en.wikipedia.org.

Rage Against the Machine is one of the most politically driven bands of our generation. They wrote and sang music about their frustrations towards the government more then once. But for you to see the meaning behind there music you need to take a look deep in to the band it self.

Tom Morello is the guitar player for Rage. He has a deep understanding of the world around him due to his family's political surroundings. The roots of politics start with his father Ngethe Njoroge, who was the first Kenyan ambassador to the U.S. Tom Morello carried on with his knowledge of politics to study social problems at Harvard and got his B.A. degree in social studies when he was there.

Zacarias De La Rocha.  Image
located on Zach's Twitter profile.

Zacarias Manuel de la Rocha is the lead singer of Rage. He has a strong view against the political system, and that is seen repeatedly in the lyrics he has written as the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine. But he has a great education like Tom Morello did. Zach attended the University of California at Irvine where he earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology.

Tom and Zach were the driving force in Rage Against the Machine. But if you look at Rage, you would not think that they were successful in the real world. We almost look at the book by the cover, or profile them, and then think less of them. But I think that was the point they where trying to make: to show people that they are underestimating the deeper meanings of their songs and what they were singing and talking about. They had solid ground to stand on with their views and I think that helped them, being as successful as they were.

After looking into the band, you should take a look at what was going on in the late 1990s. The economy was booming with the launch of the internet. And the American people were doing well and unemployment was at 4% (which is really low compared to today). There was a blunder at the end with President Bill Clinton. In the late 1990s he had an affair with a coworker in the White House and it was leaked to the press. At first he decided he had no involvement with the affair and was put in front of Congress for a hearing. They found him in his lies, so the president gave it up and told the truth.

During this time people had no trust in politicians and their politics and there was anger. With this, you can see how Rage put their stamp on this tense climate.

- - -

We at Edge are grateful to have you as an Edge Maker, Nate, and we look forward to seeing you flourish in the future! We also applaud your diligence in editing, as you have helped us usher in the first student blog post this year.

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish all of our Edge Makers, their families, the Kildonan community, and our PLN / readers a Happy Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for YOU!

~ The Edge Team

Picture located at sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com.

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!

Marcus, Tim, Winston: Collaborating on Japan

A map of Japan, pictured above.  Image taken from
 topics-on-japan.blogspot.com.

It all began with Marcus.  After spending a year examining game design, and in anticipation of a journey to Spain with a group of peers, he elected to study multiculturalism as his topic.  He declared a plan to examine Japan, Germany, Italy, Brazil, India, and China.  He chose Japan as his first area of focus, and very quickly he learned that he could direct all of his attention towards that one country.  Namely, he wished to learn why anime stems from the country.  He also desired to research Japan's role during World War I and World War II as well as the ideology guiding an emperor's perceived immortality ("Mandate of Heaven").  Feeling motiviated to answer these questions, he was off.

Enter Tim.  He began the year interested in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and quantum computing.  After studying graphene as a sophomore and drones as a junior, he devised a dual topic that could help him answer questions that he has been considering for the past two years:

• What is the difference between a human and a machine? 
• How do "smart" machines (drones, A.I.) think and learn relative to humans? 
• If machines can streamline work and production, can they also manipulate physical reality at the atomic level? 

In order to pursue these inquiries, Tim began watching various science fiction movies such as Ex Machina and Transcendence.  He explored those films as springboards into more complex theories such as machine learning.  Noting that Japan played a role within the world of each movie, intrigued by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Moto's "uncanny valley" theory, and inspired by Haruki Murakami (@harukimurakami_)'s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World, Tim came to focus his attention on Japan.  The answers to his questions must lie with that country, he postulated, so he set off to learn the Japanese language.

Then came Winston.  Winston began the year by committing himself to the psychology of horror.  Fascinated by the mechanics of the genre, he labored to differentiate the terms "horror" and "terror."  After listening to 911 calls on YouTube and looking into the synopses of movies such as Tale of Two Sisters, however, Winston came to a realization:  he had progressed down a rabbit hole that no longer accorded to his interests.  A longtime fan and amateur critic of manga, he chose instead to devote himself to anime and Japanese culture.

He did not take long to recognize that Tim and Marcus were pursuing a similar interest.  And so the partnership was born.

A screenshot of a Japanese lesson for English speakers via duolingo.  Image
taken from www.japantimes.co.jp.

Tim and Marcus started to spend significant portions of their time together.  The former created flashcards of Japanese characters and their English definitions, and the latter listened to Japanese language CDs.  They shared their resources so that both could study the language through multiple modalities.  Over time, Tim began to research language acquisition programs such as duolingo as well as tutors that could benefit all three students.  He continued to create flashcards, but his administrative role left Marcus to find a new partner in Winston.  Marcus soon abandoned his CD in order to probe Winston's vast knowledge of Japanese honorifics.  Indeed, having acquired a substantial vocabulary through his reading, Winston frequently tutored Marcus in proper addresses.  In turn, because Marcus often disagreed with Winston's translations, the two conducted spirited debates in which they argued the meaning of certain words.  They then researched one another's arguments, hoping to catch one another in the act of a misinterpretation.

A dramatization of a hikikomori.  Image taken from www.dailymail.co.uk.

The three boys also conducted (and gradually pooled their resources from) independent explorations.  Marcus, for instance, shared preliminary insights gleaned from painting a flag bearing "The Rising Sun."  He also skimmed the surface of various cultural "artifacts," honing his attention toward The Rape of Nanking and the 100,000 trees planted at the Meiji Shrine. Winston, on the other hand, felt fascinated by the Japanese practice of adult adoptions.  During a particular morning with the Edge faculty, he spent close to an hour situating the disgrace experienced by biological sons relative to the cultural phenomenon of hikikomori (young Japanese men who spend months to years in social isolation within their bedrooms).  Marcus then turned his attention to Japanese pop music, thereby inspiring Winston to explore game shows and commercials that he in turn shared with Tim during a raucous few afternoons.

Truth be told, this partnership will not last forever.  Two of the students are already considering switching their topics away from Japan, so the three spend less and less time together these days.  However, partnerships ebb and flow within the world beyond high school.  By coming together briefly for a time, Marcus, Tim, and Winston experienced the joy, the stagnation, and the bittersweet loss that comes from collaborating successfully.  Indeed, partnerships need not last in order to prove meaningful.  By building a stockpile of resources all their own, the three students developed inquiries par excellence.  They generated understandings of Japanese culture that proved - and continue to prove - far more comprehensive than those that they could have created were they working alone.

- & -

As we wrote within our "Our New Name" post (June 1, 2015), we chose to abandon the name "Independent Project" in favor of Edge for a number of reasons.  One of our more significant motives concerned the nature of "independence" within the program:

As one student pointed out, the IPians do not work "independently."  Yes, they launch individual pursuits that take them in directions that are, in a sense, theirs and theirs alone.  That said, this student went on, the IPians are always collaborating with one another, always learning from and supporting each other as they move forward.  In this way, the community members are very much "dependent."

We in the program could not in good faith maintain our previous name because it would preserve a false philosophy.  It would send a message to those students involved that they must erect silos to keep themselves "independent."  Therefore, we switched names.

Perhaps responding to our decision, Marcus, Tim, and Winston students spent the beginning of this year methodically demolishing their silos.

Most Likely to Succeed @ The Kildonan School

Poster for Most Likely to Succeed.  Promotional
advertisement provided and shared by permission
of mltsfilm.org.

Having completed the first month of the 2015-2016 school year, the students of The Kildonan School have realized a fundamental fact:  we (the faculty) spend a vast amount of time discovering how they learn best.  Our pupils engage in innumerable conversations with tutors, subject matter faculty, and administrators to design those conditions under which they can receive the greatest academic benefit.  In focusing on education at the individual level, the community ensures that our students experience success while developing their particular learning strengths.

Despite the benefits of this process, we occasionally forget to extend these specific thoughts toward larger questions.  Because they concern the nature and design of education on a fundamental level, these queries also deserve our attention:

• "What is school for?"
• "What does school look like right now? 
• "Going forward, what can school be? What should it be?"
• "What do students need to know in the 21st century?"
• "If we can agree that students need to know something, how should they learn that content/skill?"

Cover of Most Likely to Succeed (print version). 
Image located at amazon.com through
The Global Achievement Gap.

Fortunately, we did not need to invent the wheel in order to probe this conversation on-campus.  Spurred by an insightful analysis of 21st century learning that he co-authored with Dr. Tony Wagner (@DrTonyWagner), Expert in Residence at Harvard University's Innovation Lab (@innovationlab), entrepreneur Ted Dintersmith (@dintersmith) teamed up with American filmmaker Greg Whiteley to create a fresh perspective on American education in the form of a documentary:  Most Likely to Succeed (@MLTSfilm).  After MLtS gained recognition at notable festivals such as Sundance and Tribeca, interested educators, administrators, community members, and entrepreneurs began a movement to spur screenings (and conversations on innovation within education) nationwide.  Passionate about the philosophy contained within the film and excited to bring the conversation to the Mid-Hudson Valley, Kildonan signed up and applied for a screening during the summer.

Fast-forward to Friday, October 9th:  the beginning of "Parents' Weekend."  During this annual celebration, parents and family members join faculty and administrators in celebrating student work, raising money for the school, and discussing student progress.  This year, after observing all of their children's classes and meditating upon the day's information over a communal meal, parents and families sat down with administrators, students, and faculty to watch Most Likely to Succeed in its entirety.  Eighty-seven individuals brought eighty-seven different educational perspectives with them to our screening.  Though our distinctions remained to color our impressions of the documentary, they nevertheless fell away due to a shared sense of earnestness.  Indeed, our common threads, already exposed by the day's preceding events, tightened and manifested as an expectant hush.

(What occurs within the film, you may wonder? For that, we refer you to mltsfilm.org to request your own screening.)

Faculty, students, alumni, and administrator representatives on the MLtS panel. 
Picture taken and owned by The Kildonan School.

At the conclusion of the film, representatives of administrators, students, faculty, and alumni came together as a panel to help the community reflect upon the documentary.  They began by discussing their own school-based experiences with dyslexia as well as their thoughts towards the future of education.  They then meditated upon Kildonan's programs using the film as a lens.  They highlighted the innovative, project-based learning (PBL) approaches practiced by the Kodiaks and Middle Years Program (MYP).  Additionally, because a majority of the panel members are (or have been) affiliates of Edge, the panel then switched gears to consider questions of 21st century learning using the program as a reference point.  We explored questions concerning self-directed learning, interdisciplinary content, organic collaboration, marketability to colleges, and the future of the program in relation to Kildonan and its Orton-Gillingham (OG)-based tutoring approach.

Due to time constraints, we adjourned the screening to a complimentary sale of Wagner and Dintersmith's book (graciously supplied by a local bookstore, Oblong Books and Music).  However, as with any good film or striking news story, the conversations did not end there; they took on a life of their own.  More than one Kildonan parent has expressed gratitude for the film, claiming that it has helped them align themselves with the School's vision, maintain faith in the face of the college application process, and even negotiate parent-teacher conferences with Kildonan staff more effectively.  The immediate school community has seen changes, too.  One junior has cited the film as his inspiration in electing to join Edge.  A freshman, too, felt inspired to ask his Science teacher to continue working on a project because he wished to present the very best product (to himself and his parents).

Image of High Tech High student at work.  Promotional advertisement provided
and shared by permission of mltsfilm.org.

As our community continues to feel the positive reverberations of this film, let's thank everyone involved in this event.  Thank you panel members for your participation; your words towards the film, towards the strategies that allow your dyslexia to work to your advantage, and towards your educational histories served as great pivot points for discussions between students, faculty, and parents.  Thank you, Dr. Mary Taft and Kevin Pendergast, for assisting the book sale and supporting this project from its inception.  Thank you, Admissions Staff and Logistics, for helping to embed this event within an already busy day; we could not have done this without you! Thank you, Oblong Books and Music, for facilitating the purchase of books for the event and thereby extending the message of MLtS across media.  The entire MLtS staff (Nora Parent, in particular) have proven endlessly generous in helping us negotiate the finer details of the screening; thank you for your aspirations and your film! Finally, thank YOU...the student, the parent, the faculty member, the administrator, the staff member, or the reader for proving brave enough to advocate for a new vision of education.

Have thoughts on the movie? Please post in the comments section below!

(P.S. Curious to see the film yourself? If you would like to host your own screening, please sign-up via mltsfilm.org.  If you would like to purchase Wagner and Dintersmith's book, we refer you first to the proper page on Oblong's site.)

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...

New Edge / IP Blog!

Welcome back! We invite the Kildonan community and our other readers to join the Edge / IP program for another yearlong journey.  The 2015-2016 academic year is underway, and buoyed by a new name, new students, and several new faculty members, we look forward to sharing the work ahead.

In order to best tell the coming story, the Edge /​ IP program has decided to embrace novelty with one additional feature:  we have launched a new blog via Blogger! Our profile boasts topic- and student-related labels on every post, a subscribe-by-email option, Twitter and Pinterest widgets, miscellaneous information about the program, and ALL posts published over the previous two years (sorted by month).  Ultimately, it has never been easier for faculty, parents, students, and interested individuals to stay up-to-date on all Edge /​ IP matters.

Please explore the site around you.  Remember to fill out the "Follow by Email" slot at right to receive regular updates.  We look forward to working with you over the coming year!

Best wishes,

The Edge Team

FINAL: Trey Presents His Cartoon

Trey designed this year's work in order to transform the pursuit that he began last year.  After exploring the psychology of sound during the 2013-2014 year, he turned his gaze to sound design and ProTools (@AvidProTools) during 2014-2015.  This focus saw him spend little time in the IP building.  Partnering with one of Kildonan's music instructors Michael Klvana, Trey carved out a workspace for himself in the music building.  He received prompts from Klvana as part of a sound design class, but due to flexibility in his schedule, Trey devoted entire portions of his day to the projects.

What was he working on?

(1) A remix of David Bowie's "Changes." 

As published in a previous blog post, Trey expressed interest in revamping this classic Bowie song.  Inspired by Macklemore (@macklemore), he set off to create his own rendition of "Changes" by injecting rap breaks infused with hip hop.  He proved voracious in his approach, for he scoured the campus for local talent.  He brought in student trombonists, consulted faculty musicians for guitar, and even called upon a student rapper for the main line.  Trey ran into scheduling difficulties with his on-campus musicians, however, and at that point the process halted indefinitely.  He attempted to reach out to professionals in NYC, but these efforts did not yield results.  For now, then, the project is at a standstill; perhaps he will be able to revisit it while at Full Sail.

(2) A jazz line overlaid with dubstep.

As he said before to the IP faculty, Trey has a penchant for jazz and big band.  What if, he posed, he designed a music mash-up combining these styles with electronic/​dubstep? He made in-roads into this pursuit, but this too remains a work that he can revisit only post-Kildonan.

(3) An updated black and white cartoon.

This project constituted the bulk of Trey's work.  One day Mr. Klvana approached the sound design class and posed that they select a clip and replace some of the sounds with their own.  After hunting on the Internet for some time, Trey discovered Disney (@Disney)'s "Mickey Mouse:  Mickey's Mechanical Man."  Released on June 17, 1933, this black and white cartoon saw Mickey Mouse (per his original animation) create a robot and enter him into a boxing match with a gorilla, "Kongo Killer."  This clip possessed interesting sounds, so Trey selected this piece as the one that he would revamp.  To see the original clip, click here.

Once he had made his decision, Trey set off on a sustained process of sound engineering.  He was kind enough, too, to invite the IP faculty to his workspace so that we could begin to comprehend his process.  Separated in a small room, Trey manipulated ProTools on a desktop computer with his laptop, a microphone, and various instruments positioned nearby.  Viewing multiple lines of sound at once, Trey would highlight particular sections of the original clip and then begin to fashion his own in a parallel sequence.  He consulted banks of sound via public domain for more obscure noises, but he also did not hesitate to create his own when these searches proved fruitless.  Indeed, Trey was a veteran in this process after creating an original composition entitled "Sound Art" last year; therefore, he set about crafting his own sounds with gusto.

After months of work - on the very last day of school, no less - Trey approached the IP community ready to present his piece.  He gathered the students and his family in "The Makers' Space" and launched into a guided viewing.

Experience the presentation for yourselves by clicking here. 

(NOTE:  Please increase your volume.)

Ultimately, the Edge /​ IP faculty believe that Trey succeeded in modernizing the clip.  By inserting a heavy metal line underneath and by stressing effects that resembled actual punches, he evoked an atmosphere more honest to an actual boxing match.  In this way, as Ms. Charlap wisely pointed out during the follow-up Q&​A, Trey encouraged the cartoon to avoid shying away from the violence that it conveys visually.  He stripped away the comic score underneath and did away with Disney's reluctance to entertain violence; instead, he highlighted the latter as the central focus of his piece.

Trey produced an insightful, entertaining cartoon that allowed him to share his evolving understanding of ProTools and sound design.  In this way, he fused his two years within IP into a larger tract along which he will continue to travel once he reaches Full Sail University (@FullSail) in September.  We are proud of the progress and maturation that Trey has facilitated for himself over the past two years, and we encourage you to celebrate his work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Descriptions of images:  An album cover of David Bowie's "Changes," top-left (located at www.rockpeaks.com).  Upper-mid sees a shot from "Mickey's Mechanical Man" (located at drgrobsanimationreview.com).  Pictured at lower-mid is a screenshot of ProTools (located at www.lennonbus.org).  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over the images preceding or Disney's cartoon.  Bottom left shows Trey beginning his presentation; photo taken by the IP faculty.

FINAL: Jonathan - Geometric Designs, Exhibit, and Portfolio

Jonathan did not relent in the final months of school.  By systematizing those conditions that allowed him to develop his artistic eye and organizational system, he assured himself a strong end to an already productive year.  

After attending One Spark and co-writing a blog post with the IP faculty, he began to conclude two of his pursuits:  his geometric drawings and his photography.  Regarding the former, he produced such designs by secluding himself within "The Makers' Space" for hours on end.  As his art teacher and IP advisor Ms. Charlap remarks:

It was fascinating to watch him engage in his process of activating a picture plane with thoughtfully chosen geometric forms created along a horizontal grid.  His approach was organized and systematic, yet he managed to produce images that felt intuitive and organic. Each drawing became the catalyst for the one that followed. He sought out and was open to critiques of his work, taking in outside opinions while ultimately trusting his judgment.

Jonathan produced this series deliberately and precisely, and we hope that he will continue to expore his geometric sensibilities - as well as his need for precision - as he enters college.

On his own initiative, Jonathan also spent significant portions of time cataloguing and organizing his photographs.  He demonstrated his interest in that process throughout the year, tirelessly combing through - and editing, where appropriate - shots that he had taken the previous day or week.  Now, however, he found additional reasons to conduct such work.  First, he organized photographs for a one-man exhibit in "The Makers' Space" during Founders' Day.  Although he was unable to attend the event, students, family, friends, and faculty responded to his work positively.  In addition, he selected and sequenced photos to create an online portfolio via Blogger.com (@Blogger).  This portal will allow future peers, employers, and any interested individuals to appreciate some of his most representative work without the restrictions of location or time.  To check out these pieces for yourself, please click here.  Be sure to check back, as Jonathan will doubtless expand the page in the months ahead!

The Edge /​ IP faculty are proud of Jonathan for his gains in organization and maturity, and we are inspired by the effort he exerted - and continues to exert - in preparation for his freshman year at Columbia College Chicago (@ColumbiaChi).  We invite you to celebrate his work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Description of image:  Top left, a photo of one of Jonathan's geometric drawings.  Middle right, a screenshot of Jonathan's online portfolio (jonathanevansphotography.blogspot.com).  Kildonan and its Edge /​ IP program claim no ownership over the graphics above.

FINAL: Tim Diversifies His Pursuits

Tim could have chosen to conclude his IP work in April.  Why? After facilitating writing assignments for himself, he discovered a love for the craft and realized that his writing could effect advocacy and change.  He then went about assembling his fellow IPians and developing a comprehensive Keynote for a presentation to Kildonan's Board of Trustees.  This address allowed him to celebrate IP, educate the Kildonan community on the approach, and begin to push for an independent fund for the program.  More importantly, the ensuing conversation offered him a natural scenario in which to practice his public speaking, a skill that he attributes to IP and its varied forums.  To repeat, Tim might have chosen to conclude his year's work with this event.  In so doing, he would have left the year with a strong arc/​portfolio.

But he chose not to do this.  Therefore, he - and his pursuits - proved even stronger at year's end.

Per our article announcing "Edge," Tim chose to spend the remainder of his year expanding upon his learning "process."  This final push saw him begin many smaller projects that will undoubtedly inform his Edge work next year as well as his upcoming college application process.  During the final month and a half or so, Tim explored:

(1) Blogging.  Not long before designing his presentation to the Board of Trustees, Tim worked with his tutor to create a blog "Exploring Current Events" via Blogger.com (@Blogger).  This profile serves a dual purpose.  It allows him, on one hand, to continue to develop his writing skills and to practice strategies such as audience awareness, digital literacy, research, and proofreading.  On the other hand, this blog also encourages him to extend his IP work to the Internet and share his thoughts with a larger community.  Tim has reflected upon topics ranging from the limitations of dyslexia empowerment, Steve Jobs and his approach to business, Greece's request for $300 billion of Germany, and Elon Musk (@elonmusk)'s challenge to utility companies with his "Powerwall."  Please be sure to check out Tim's blog, as he is likely to continue this profile when school resumes in September.

(2) Hard Drive Deconstruction.  During the final month of school, Tim began to dissect a hard drive in order to understand its mechanics.  He felt particularly interested in how an actuator reads the disk in addition to how a hard drive's retrieval system compares to that of a floppy disk.  Tim and the IP faculty enjoyed various conversations on the defragging process and viruses.  Ultimately, Tim proved relentless in analyzing the machine.  He even used his accidents as learning experiences, such as when - after cracking one of the magnets in the hard drive - he began to study neodymium.

(3) Networking.  Early in May, IP received a visitor in the person of Evan Donovan, a Kildonan alumnus ('13) who created a personal IP-esque structure before the program even existed.  While visiting, he and the IP faculty happened to begin speaking about 3D printers.  His college possesses two of the devices, he explained, and he uses them in order to print out the body and parts for drones.  He went on to to say more, and before he made much headway, we called in Tim to participate.  The two students lost track of the IP faculty and held a heady conversation concerning rotor databases and drone designs.  Ultimately, Evan recommended that Tim purchase a $75-$120 practice drone of the hobby variety; such a device, he assured the latter, could help him learn the basics of flight without the cost of a top-notch machine.  He also offered that he and Tim get together over the summer in order to troubleshoot the latter's drone work.  Tim readily agreed.  This evolving partnership bodes well for Tim's work next year (drone specific or otherwise).

(4) Quantum Physics and Fusion.  Tim gave the IP faculty a pleasant surprise when he approached them one day with the request to explore quantum physics.  He assured us that this branch of his studies would constitute only one week's worth of study, but fortunately, he has immersed himself in this discipline to a depth much greater than he originally expected.  During Founders' Day, for instance, he replicated the "Double-Slit Experiment" (not unlike Khaled) and went on to speak towards theories he was researching.  He felt particularly inspired by quantum computing and quantum entanglement theory for their ability to revolutionize computer effectiveness.  This interest aligned nicely with the in-roads that he forged into Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (@LockheedMartin), a company that is attempting to build a prototype that harnesses the power of fusion for commercial and defense ventures (see the video below).

Thank you, Tim, for continuing to diversify your work as a true polymath! We are proud of your progress and maturation this year, and we encourage our readers to celebrate with us by posting in the comments section below.

Descriptions of images:  A screenshot of Tim's blog, top-right (located at exploringcurrentevents.blogspot.com).  Middle left finds an graphic of a hard drive (located at www.datarecoverydublin.ie).  A hobbyist's drone, pictured at middle right (located at www.hcn.org).  Bottom left sees a graphic rendering of quantum computing (located at www.slate.com).  Kildonan and its Edge / IP program claim no ownership over the media above.

FINAL: Piterson Completes a Half-Skeleton

Piterson began to feel the effects of senioritis as winter gave way to spring.  He was visiting his skeleton less frequently, so he saw his sculpting progress begin to slow.  He was cognizant of this change, too, for he spoke of it during one of his many check-ins with the IP faculty.  "OK," the team responded.  "What do you feel like you still need to accomplish while here? How do you want to leave?"

This moment of guided self-reflection proved the necessary component to spur Piterson.  Immediately following this conversation, he renegotiated his IP work schedule in order to grant himself time to visit his skeleton every day.  Soon we saw very little of him at all, for he began to spend several hours of the morning as well as the entire afternoon in "The Makers' Space."

Piterson made tremendous strides with his newfound discipline.  At one point during the spring, he approached the IP team because he was having difficulties with the smoothness of a portion of the pelvis (although he did not know the name of the bone, he was referring to the lilac fossa).  We suggested posterboard material, but Piterson configured an inventive (and more aesthetic) workaround using a variety of materials.  He bent supple twigs gradually in order to form a curved frame; using this piece as an outline, he then mapped and cut plywood to form the lilac fossa.  He glued this to the outline and repeated the process for the second half of the pelvis.

Throughout his process, Piterson launched intensive research with a heightened sense of precision. He evinced exemplary visual acuity and engineering by translating a 2D image into a 3D piece.  Perhaps he best applied these skills while wrestling with the textures of the spine.  Using various computer programs to project and rotate images on a large flatscreen TV, he noticed that the posterior view revealed two different shapes.  Although he did not know the names "cervical vertebrae" and "thoracic vertebrae," he concluded that the top bones (the former) were flatter and more rectangular while the bottom bones (the latter) were shaped almost like "W's" or teeth.  The top bones, too, appeared darker for their close approximity to one another.  Piterson therefore went about creating these two bones, using a dull cardboard for the top bones and a lighter plywood for the bottom.  He produced and connected his spine to the pelvis, creating a piece that startled the IP team for its beauty.


Piterson strove to complete the skeleton before he left.  The year ran out before he could target the skull, however, so he was only able to complete half of the skeleton.  True, he did not finish the project that he set for himself.  However, that fact does not, of course, invalidate the project that he did create or the process in which he engaged.  As the IP faculty and students cleaned up "The Makers' Space" at year-end, we happened to put together the parts of Piterson's skeleton in order to approximate its shape.  The finished piece was even more awe-inspiring than we had anticipated.  In that moment, as this humanoid figure taller than 6 feet was erected before us, faculty and students alike grasped Piterson's true progress.  These products transcended the definition of the "models" as which they were originally conceived; they now constituted true works of art. No less importantly, although Piterson did not know the names of every bone he handled, he nevertheless came to understand them - their shape, their relationship to the bones around them - for having fashioned them himself.

Piterson created a multi-faceted sculpture, but he also laid the groundwork for an anatomical knowledge that he will inevitably call upon as he pursues personal training in the future.  We are proud of his progress and maturation this year, and we invite you to celebrate his work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Description of images:  All photos taken by the IP faculty.

FINAL: Paige Explores Gamification

Paige demonstrated stellar tutoring instincts as she finished her phonics notebook.  She distilled her research into Orton-Gillingham by compiling  appropriate reading lists, and she looked to her own experience as a student to devise learning activities that visually exceeded the traditional emphasis on multi-sensory processing.  No less importantly, she did not lose sight of her intended  audience:  an elementary school student.  Early on she realized that she had to incorporate fun into her lessons:  "I started to think of the best way to make a student understand what I wanted to teach them. I wanted to make it fun because trying to teach a student - just sitting there, going over the rule - wouldn’t have been fun." She set off to bend her lessons towards a mock student's interests in order to build rapport and help solidify the lesson's content.

In order to reach these targets, Paige began to explore gamification.  According to The Engagement Alliance, this term refers to "the process of using game mechanics and game thinking in non-gaming contexts to engage users and to solve problems. Gamification leverages game design, loyalty program design and behavioral economics to create the optimal context for behavior change and successful outcomes."  If we break this definition down, gamification allows individuals to transform non-gaming scenarios using elements of games (e.g., points, tokens, virtual/​simulated reality, etc.).

As journalist and NYU (@nyuniversity) professor Adam Penenberg (@Penenberg) relates in a Forbes article, CEOs and companies have given this approach much attention in recent years so that they might improve employee competence and morale.  Indeed, as Penenberg relates, "Google (@google) engineers have been able to spend an in-house currency called 'Goobles' on server time—often a scarce resource at Google—or use it to bet on certain outcomes."  Microsoft (@Microsoft), too, "released a game, 'Ribbon Hero,' to teach users how to make better use of its Microsoft Office software."  In education, however, gamification is perhaps merely a new name for an old practice.  Teachers have long designed games in order to help students remember their timetables and alphabet, after all.  That said, their tools - and the applications for games - have changed with the advent of iPad classroom initiatves, MinecraftEdu (@MinecraftEdu), and video games more generally.

Paige began to design her Orton-Gillingham/phonics-based games with a healthy dose of design thinking.  She meditated upon their purpose and asked herself, "What should they accomplish?"  After concluding that the games would best serve her students in proving their understanding of a given language concept, she sequenced these recreations to the end of her chapters.  For the rest of the process, we invite you to consult Paige herself:

My first game [focused on] the rule of short and long vowels. At first I had no idea on what I was going to do. Then I thought I could make "Chutes and Ladders." After putting all the words [in], Mr. Bisson and I decided to play, but he wasn’t being himself. He was acting like a elementary tutoring student. He was all over the place. He was really excited and he wanted to get up and act some of the words out. This really showed me what my students might be like in class.

The next game I made focused on soft-c. This one was a little harder to try to come up with. I first thought I was going to do a tic-tac-toe game, but I couldn’t [figure out] how to make it work. Then I came up with just putting the words up and down, moving around the board that way, rolling 1-6, and having to do something based on the number you got (such as if you rolled a 4, you had to name different types [of the word]). I played with Mr. Bisson again, and this time was a lot different. He was a student that just didn’t want to do anything. He was against playing the game or even reading the words. So, I had to be very patient and not force him to play the game. I also just needed to give him time. He started to warm up a little, but he was still hard to work with. This showed me that I don’t need to always stay on the lesson plan I have. I can get off it because some days they might just be having a bad day and just can’t work.

Paige not only designed games but also tested them and grasped the value of remaining flexible as a teacher.  Having facilitated these learning experiences for herself - and as a high school student no less - she has laid the groundwork for an insightful career in education.  We are proud of Paige's progress and maturation this year, and we invite you to celebrate her work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  A graphic rendering of gamification.  Picture found at gravity4.com.  Kildonan and its Edge / IP program claim no ownership over the photo above.

Description of 2nd and 3rd images:  Screenshots of Paige's games, taken by Paige and shared with the Edge / IP staff.

FINAL: Brad - The Antithesis of Senioritis

Leading up to graduation, many members of the Class of 2015 complained of senioritis.  Not Brad.  After rebounding from a period of procrastination in the late winter, he developed an inspiring work ethic.  He pushed towards year's end at full throttle, and at graduation he showed no sign of letting up.

Just what was Brad up to? On one hand, he continued the intensive process of crafting his fishing lures.  As his Edge and art teacher Sandy Charlap writes:

He researched the techniques and materials needed for making bucktail jigs for striper casting. He procured Heat and Drip Powder Paint and was pleased with the high gloss, one coat finish he was able to achieve on his jig heads. He was also working to perfect his technique for adding bucktail flairs to his jigs.

He used his hands and smaller tools in order to craft these pieces, but he also began to dramatically alter his process once he purchased a lathe.  He did not at first know how to use the machine, but he demonstrated initiative by setting up the device and teaching himself how to handle it.  He grew increasingly proficient on the machine, so much so that he began to drill longer vertical holes in order to craft larger lures.  Finally, he learned various techniques of lure construction from a specialist.  Every Friday for the last few weeks of the academic year, he left school early and traveled to a tackleshop on Long Island to apprentice with its owner.  By seeking out various working conditions, technologies, and mentors, Brad constructed an independent experience for himself that has allowed him to become a formidable specialist on the subject of lures.

On the other hand, Brad also fulfilled his vision for the end of the year by planning and executing a five-day fishing trip with a friend.  For more information on this subject, we refer you to Brad himself:

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"A few weekends ago I went fishing with my friend August as part of my IP project. We went fishing based on the moon and tide. Because I wrote a research paper on it, I used my paper as a guide on what days and times to fish.

"The only thing that I had to find out when I got home was where the fish were. One stop at the Rocky Point Fishing Stop put me on the right track. I went in with August and talked to Stan. He told me that there were monster blues at Smith’s Point under the Birge on the bay side. Later that night we geared up and headed out. We got to the beach at dark, and I felt ready to fish right away. I got one on the beach, but I lost 8 others by getting tangled up.

"The next day we went on a party boat out of Port Jeff for the opening day of the fluke season. It was terrible, plain and simple. I caught two small fish and one sea robin. In my opinion, it’s not looking good for the fluke season on the north shore for this year. Later that night we went to the beach and tried throwing plugs for a little while on the incoming tide. I was dead, though, so we gave it up after about an hour or two (the bugs were getting pretty bad, anyway).

"The next day we went back to Smith’s Point. I got there at about 11 or 12, and I fished until 5:30. The weather could not have been better, for there was not too much wind and a lot of cloud coverage. The only bad thing is that we missed the bite. For the rest of the day, it was pretty dead. I caught two other fish, but that was it.

"On Wednesday morning we got out at 5 and were out of the house by 6:15 in order to try and get in on the morning bite. We fished for an hour and a half. It was dead. There was nothing. That is when we saw people move to the other end of the beach. We went to check it out, and the fish were everywhere. On my first cast into the school, I caught a 12-pound blue fish. Shortly after I got him, August hooked his first blue fish from the surf.

"It was one of the best days of fishing I have ever had. I caught about 10 or 15 fish from 5 to 12 pounds. August had about 7 fish from 3 to 12 pounds each. In the end, we had to leave early because I had to catch a train back to school. Otherwise, we would have caught more fish. We left them biting."

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We are proud of Brad's progress and maturation this year! If you have thoughts to share on his work and/​or his description of the trip, please post in the comments section below.

Descriptions of images:  Brad holding his catch, top right.  Brad instructing his peers on how to fashion lures, middle left.  A view from the Great South Bay, bottom right.  Middle photo taken by the Edge /​ IP faculty.  Top and bottom photos taken by Brad during his fishing trip.