One of the great design elements of MC2 is the time available to work with the students to come to an understanding of the material. In the traditional high school, with its goal of covering the curriculum assigned, there’s less time to sit down and meet with students. Even when we do sit down and [...]
If we stop and think about what we need a citizen in a democracy to be able to do, it doesn’t take too much brainstorming before we get to the idea of “speak in public.” There’s far more to being a citizen than a secret ballot, and sometimes it’s not enough to question authority—sometimes it’s [...]
Thursday, August 8 was another of my standard shifts at Ritz Camera—not very different than any other shift in twelve years. Like usual, it started at 5, and I expected a quiet evening.
My cell phone rang a little past 5:30. My wife doesn’t call unless it’s important. My wife doesn’t cry unless it’s disaster.
And she [...]
By now, it’s probably only those on the far side of the moon who haven’t received some word about the tuberculosis at MRHS. It’s hardly any news at all.
Which, when you stop and think about it, is the news.
Communication is the backbone of everything that happens in education. At its most obvious, when communication [...]
For an economics course I’m teaching this semester, the primary text the kids read through will be Thomas Friedman’s The Earth is Flat. It’s a fascinating read, especially given the economic situation in which the nation is finding itself.
The main point—something picked up by the New York Times—is that the American economy is, perhaps, finally [...]
Anyone with eyes to see has noticed the signs in Monadnock’s hallways for peer mediation. It’s a wonderful idea, and it’s been used successfully in hundreds of other schools. MC2 does something similar (we call them either “Students in Action” or teachers will help set up and facilitate a “win-win¹“, though the latter often doesn’t [...]
Today was a good day. For those stuck in an office somewhere, I pity you. For those fortunate enough to have lunch duty¹, it meant a cup of coffee outside while the more adventurous and energy-filled of the sixth period lunch population lolled in the sun or played hack-sack.
I like lunch duty, though [...]
Talk about “on the rise.”
Tuesdays vote was a win for education in every way. The budget passed, which was a marvelous thing to see in a district used to voting for the default. In a vacuum, I would worry the towns had once again merely voted by their wallets, choosing the smaller of the two [...]
Today Keene, Monadnock, and various other towns and districts vote for the coming school year’s budget, town officers, and the various warrant articles and other decisions citizens make in a democracy. For Monadnock, at least, there’s far less at stake than last year, and the mood is far more calm.
Last year I wrote at this [...]
It’s Winterim at MC2, which has always been one of the most enjoyable parts of the school year. For one week we put aside everything else—all the normal parts of the day¹—and focus on one learning experience. It’s a targeted, immersive learning opportunity.
As last year, I’m working with a number of students to create [...]
It’s been awhile.
After any hiatus, especially an unplanned one, there’s always a certain difficulty in getting back into the swing of things. February was full of changes—to put it mildly—and though some of the changes were certainly good things for me and my family, others were much more difficult and for more people.
But that was [...]
It dawned on me earlier today that I missed the two-year birthday for More Coffee Please. Since January 2, 2007, there have been 255 posts and 309 comments—as well as 31,025 caught by the spam filter, and a few dozen more from individuals who like to hide in the shadows.
There have been 3,617 separate visitors [...]
It’s been a busy week, both at school and for me, personally. Plus, there’s really no need to write when others do the job so very well.
I’m referring to the letter in the Sentinel highlighting how solid the NECAP results were. It echoes my comments here, but with a nice breakdown of exactly what the [...]
Last Tuesday was the inauguration. Whatever anyone’s personal feelings about the result of the election, there was little doubt that Mr. Obama was most definitely the choice of MRHS students. In the mock election at the start of the year, the former senator from Illinois defeated his Republican rival by a wide margin—which, if nothing [...]
The best part of School Board meetings is the hour before it begins.
If anyone hasn’t dropped by to see the Public Relations committee in action, they should do so. It’s rare to find such a positive group of people in action—and I was impressed with what I saw. Several men and women who were dedicated [...]
I was awakened at 6:30am this morning by a student who needed help on a research paper.¹ In this case, the student wanted to run the conclusion by me, and thankfully, it was pretty good.
The student who sent me a frantic email at 1:30, “Can you look at my paper!” was much less fortunate. [...]
Any parent of a MRHS senior—or anyone who knows a Monadnock senior—knows that the last month or so has been consumed by the “dreaded” senior project research paper.
In addition to being a graduation requirement, it’s also the midterm grade for semester-long senior English electives. To say there’s a great deal riding on it is an [...]
There is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man—with human flesh.¹
A close second is realizing one’s education didn’t do the job.
I bumped into this on Friday. A student at MRHS is doing an education related project, and was stuck. Given the focus of [...]
Today, despite the weather, was another graduation Gateway at MC2. In many ways, it was the end of an era, the last of the initial students who began at the school when it was new, before there were checklists, formats, procedures, and the cutting-edge educational program the school has become.
No part of this was easy. [...]
I spent the early part of the weekend taking senior photos for one of my kids at MRHS. She and a friend dragged me all around Creation, which was an entirely enjoyable and pleasant way to spend the morning while my wife had to work.
However, as we drove towards Harrisville, we passed the site of [...]
