The end of a school year is always somewhat tumultuous. While everyone is ready to be done, many seem unmoored and it can be difficult to facilitate closure. A high point last week was when my 12th graders submitted their Design Your Own Learning Projects. (Katrina Schwartz wrote a wonderful article about DYOL in the Fall […]Read Post ›
I believe that art and creative, real-world experiences should be part of education year-round but there is something particularly joyful and rejuvenating about this work in spring, when collective exhaustion is a dominant theme. While many students spent time during the school day taking our statewide standardized tests, we took time after school to begin installation of a […]Read Post ›
[Forgive me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, for using your book title for this post.] We did it! Of course, it rained. One group got kicked off their site two minutes before their performance. An SUV parked in the middle of another group’s site right as their performance was set to begin. Several other groups had to solve last minute crises […]Read Post ›
[Cross-posted on Edutopia] There is a sad truth about the way that most students learn to write: They become boring writers. To write with clarity and insight involves struggle (regardless of age). When faced with this challenge, many students are taught to detach from content, to analyze with sterile language, and to develop ideas within […]Read Post ›
I am so honored to once again be able to collaborate with the Leah Stein Dance Company as students create site-specific dance pieces for the Art in the Open Festival. The process is scary, challenging, quirky, and so much fun. We began with an intro workshop where students learned the process for creating this type of site […]Read Post ›
Mr J Block 