Blogs on Student Engagement

Too often people assume that young people and their experiences should exist separate from the world of adults. Youth often internalize these unspoken beliefs and begin to view their own ideas and their own realities as "less than." We believe that one way to shift this dynamic is to make powerful, artistic and insightful student work visible to the public. During the past school year we worked with our students to design and install a public art project near our school in Center City Philadelphia that showcases youth identity and young people's social insights.

Edward Charles Francis Publius de Bono is a bona fide genius. The author, inventor, Rhodes scholar and Nobel prize-nominated economist graduated from college at age 15. In the field of education and business, he is famous for originating the term lateral thinking. In his spare time, he also wrote Six Thinking Hats and several other books on creativity. Of all his contributions to the field of education, there is one critical thinking method that I use in classes more than any other: the PMI, a brainstorming model built on the categories of plus, minus and interesting.

In my post, How an Ocean's Journey Inspires One School, I highlighted the worldwide voyage of the Hokule'a, a replica of an ancient double-hulled voyaging canoe and encouraged teachers and students to follow the journey. I also promised periodic updates and resources. Here is the first update and link to resources for students and teachers across the world:

The power of nature was felt throughout the Northeast last night, as devastating Hurricane Sandy hammered the East Coast. For students and teachers looking to help out, the Huffington Post published this list of ways you can lend a hand.

Now, as students ask about the cause and effect of the storm -- here are a couple of resources to help guide the classroom discussion. We'll start with a special hurricane episode of Sesame Street for younger students.