tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6418170811056417833.post5605677055911458418..comments2009-05-31T18:21:09.645-07:00Comments on Details Detailed: Back to BloggingSusan Finehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04913441530773536105noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6418170811056417833.post-58415846024115177832007-05-31T04:05:00.000-07:002007-05-31T04:05:00.000-07:00Susan,I always thought about (and never did anythi...Susan,<BR/><BR/>I always thought about (and never did anything about) the private/public school connection. Here were the ideas that I never implemented but have thought might be interesting. <BR/><BR/>I wanted to set up a type of pen-pal relationship between seventh grade (or any grade) classes with one at a public school. Now I think it might be interesting to do a blog-type discussion where students had an assignment to write a blog once a week and comment on at least two blogs from the corresponding class (when I was teaching it was a slower email process). <BR/><BR/>This pen-pal relationship could also lead to a shared research/writing project. Each class would be given a topic and a research partner (or larger group) to pursue the research. Students would write individual essays/presentations/whatever but the research would be shared and discussed via blog/email. <BR/><BR/>Also, book groups and discussions could happen via email/blog.<BR/><BR/>Obviously, class time would have to be given for such work, as both classes would need access to computers always.<BR/><BR/>Most of my ideas are virtual connections, as I think finding the time to meet in person can be time-consuming and resource-consuming. The groups wold probably have to meet once a quarter/trimester.<BR/><BR/>Are there any computer shares out in the world where schools have access to those $100 laptops that are currently being made?<BR/><BR/>Obviously, my ideas are for a writing/reading program, but I think they could translate into other disciplines as well.<BR/><BR/>So, these are my early morning musings as I wait for my little cuties to wake up. I'm not anxious for their wake up, mind you, just waiting for it.<BR/><BR/>I love that you're blogging, Susan. What a great way to share ideas. I look forward to your next post.<BR/><BR/>RachelRachel B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09699736467410510602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6418170811056417833.post-18726049138894151142007-05-24T14:46:00.000-07:002007-05-24T14:46:00.000-07:00Susan, Great that you are blogging and then off to...Susan, <BR/><BR/>Great that you are blogging and then off to your reunion. Andrew and I love reunions! There's such value in stopping to reflect on life then and now. I hope you have a grand time!<BR/><BR/>I just checked out your friend's writing (and song) about moving to the Storefront School. His change sounds like the change of a lifetime--awesome! His story feels like one of the truly inspiring kind that so many of us think about in moments of social consciousness (between laundry and children and work--when NPR speaks up from the background). Fleeting moments that are usually dismissed in the name of finances, inconvenience, or some other lame feeling of impossibility. <BR/><BR/>The topic of technology and private/public schools has been in the backs of our minds since we switched to Waldorf--where technology is literally unplugged. We left the public school that had every possible technology resource available to go to a school with none of those things. The classrooms are full of storytelling, coloring with block crayons, shaping forms in bees wax, sounding out times tables with beanbags, walking geometric figures in chalk on the floor--those are some of the tools Abby and Georgia's teachers use to teach. Other schools would use computers and calculators for some of the same lessons. <BR/><BR/>We were able to veer from convention with the security of giving our children some balance at home. Our three are blessed/cursed with two parents who by professions are strapped to computers and technology. Our girls pick up key-strokes by osmosis even when we shoo them outside to play in the sunshine. <BR/><BR/>Even so, as a Waldorf parent, I appreciate the importance of strong technology programs in schools--especially for students who don't have the balance at home. (For our own children, we just want the technology to enter the picture a little later.) <BR/><BR/>I laid out curriculum years ago for an afterschool technology program used throughout the L.A. Public Schools. To see older students comfortable and capable with computers under the lead of inspiring teachers was so hopeful and exciting! Particularly when they didn't have computers and resources in their homes. How brilliant that your friend will carry his enthusiasm and know-how to a school where his teaching will make such a profound difference.<BR/><BR/>I have to get back to laying out this manuscript on my desk about literacy practices in preschool. I am forever reminded through my work and our personal unconventional school choice, that there are so many ways to look at the same issues in education. And so many perspectives come from the heart.<BR/><BR/>SarahSarah Morrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14219511310632104764noreply@blogger.com