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Sights and Sounds of Learning

We are beginning week five of all in-person learning and it has been an absolute joy to have the boys and their teachers back at school where they belong, thriving, and happy. The sights, sounds, and spark of young boys' learning buzz around us, albeit at a distance of at least six feet.

Last week our Pre-K boys were farmers for the day, driving "tractors" to their class pumpkin patch in our backyard, riding a "cow," and sharing stories about farm life -- fortunate to be able to engage in active learning activities with each other.

  Eighth graders, embarking on their micro/macro exploration of human anatomy, dissected cow eyes and learned how to become adept with the tools that surgeons use, via a virtual session with one of their classmate's parents, who is a surgeon. Dr. Decorato introduced the boys to their instruments —probe, forceps, scalpel, surgical scissors—and directed them in the purposes and proper grip for each, using fruit to practice. 

And, instead of going to the Guggenheim for our art unit collaboration this year, we've brought the museum to us. Second graders interact virtually twice weekly with a museum educator. The boys engage in close looking at masterworks from the museum; analyze line, color, shape, form, space and then participate in a related hands-on art activity in their classroom. Last Tuesday, after viewing works by the Futurist artist Gino Severini, they imagined their dream vehicle of the future in colorful collage form--a drive-able spider vehicle and flying car that can float among them! Even better, they solicited each other's opinions and delighted in sharing their creations with one another. 

These continue to be unusual times, but instead of being defined by the pandemic, we have chosen to define it. As the examples above indicate, our boys need look no further than their teachers, who against incredible odds have anticipated, organized, and adapted in real time to a real pandemic to re-imagine units of study and cement the teacher-student relationships that are so essential to learning, especially for boys.  

Above all, we must remember that this pandemic itself is a part of our sons' education. They are watching what we do, how we navigate these difficult times and each other, how we think about the other, rather than simply ourselves. The ways in which we approach and react to this experience is teaching our children more than just math, science, English, art and sports. It’s teaching them about life. We are showing our boys how to remain strong and resilient safely, to grow through suffering and sacrifice, to emerge on the other side sound stronger in mind, body, and spirit.

Isn’t that the very essence of a quality education?


 

 


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