One of the defining values that has emerged in the last several years at Rivers is a spirit of innovation. Innovation at Rivers does not mean chasing the latest educational fad. Rather, it means teachers and administrators using their imaginations to find new and better ways to live our mission. Critical to living this value is the extensive professional development Rivers provides its faculty. New knowledge sparks the creative juices of our teachers as they look for ways to apply this knowledge – not to solve problems – but rather to build new programs.
The list of new programs started by teachers at Rivers is astonishing. The creation of summer science internships led to the establishment of summer business internships. The nationally recognized middle school leadership program, invented entirely by the middle school faculty, led to the establishment of the upper school leadership program. Even students get in on the act. Four years ago a senior approached a math teacher and asked if he could be her assistant in one of her classes. Four years later Rivers has a well developed teaching assistant program. Rising seniors have to apply for this program, attend every class, and can actually earn half of a credit.
Several years ago one of our physics teachers organized his classes in small groups or pods, in which students helped one another, debated, and learned from both the teacher and their pod-mates. Today, this method of organizing classes is used throughout our program. We consider it essential for preparing students for the new workplace where teamwork and communication skills are so vital. A few weeks ago I asked an upper school math teacher why she uses pods: "Because there is so much learning that takes place going down the wrong road and this forces students to articulate why they are doing what they are doing." I loved her response!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Telling a Story Through the Lens of Diversity
The following is a guest post by Rivers faculty member, John Bower. John is the Director of Diversity. He is also a French teacher and choral director in the Middle School.
Historical figures don’t make their way into the classroom every day, but last Thursday such an occasion took place here at Rivers. Ernest Green, one of the nine African-American students who first integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, addressed our community in connection with the all-school read from this past summer, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Beals. When I heard he would be coming, I immediately recognized it as an opportunity to look closely at the relationship between diversity and leadership. The Middle School put all academic classes on hold for the day, and I, along with the Middle School Leadership Committee, planned an entire day devoted to the idea of telling a story through the lens of diversity.
The day started with a screening of “Fighting Back,” a segment of the PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize that focuses on the history of the Little Rock Nine. This showing created some context for Ernest Green’s presentation. The students then broke up into discussion groups and addressed the question: What is the value in having a diverse community?
Responses included:
“It’s important to learn about other peoples’ cultures because the world is a really diverse place.”
“Well, diversity isn’t just about race. It’s about what makes a person unique, so I’d say Rivers is really diverse. We learn a lot about each other every day.”
Following Ernest Green’s presentation, the students then had the option of writing a letter of thanks to Ernest Green or a reflection of prose/poetry. Here is one of the poems from a sixth grade student:
In the afternoon, faculty volunteers spoke on a panel of sorts in front of the middle school community. Each volunteer (Bruce Taylor, Whitney Robbins, Matt Goethals, and I) was given the prompt: “If you really knew me…” Through this prompt, we illustrated the significance of sharing stories about parts of our identities that are important to us as a way of building trusting relationships and educating one another. The presentations were heartfelt and honest, and the students mirrored that honesty as they presented their own stories in advisory groups. The entire day was a success, and as the Director of Diversity, I couldn’t be happier with the way students were able to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of appreciating each person’s stories and experiences.
Too often we view diversity in terms of numbers and statistics. Here at Rivers, we recognize and appreciate each student’s individual identity, and by making the community a comfortable, safe space to share our stories, the student body will undoubtedly be prepared to participate with confidence and courage in a global society.
Historical figures don’t make their way into the classroom every day, but last Thursday such an occasion took place here at Rivers. Ernest Green, one of the nine African-American students who first integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, addressed our community in connection with the all-school read from this past summer, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Beals. When I heard he would be coming, I immediately recognized it as an opportunity to look closely at the relationship between diversity and leadership. The Middle School put all academic classes on hold for the day, and I, along with the Middle School Leadership Committee, planned an entire day devoted to the idea of telling a story through the lens of diversity.
The day started with a screening of “Fighting Back,” a segment of the PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize that focuses on the history of the Little Rock Nine. This showing created some context for Ernest Green’s presentation. The students then broke up into discussion groups and addressed the question: What is the value in having a diverse community?
Responses included:
“It’s important to learn about other peoples’ cultures because the world is a really diverse place.”
“Well, diversity isn’t just about race. It’s about what makes a person unique, so I’d say Rivers is really diverse. We learn a lot about each other every day.”
Following Ernest Green’s presentation, the students then had the option of writing a letter of thanks to Ernest Green or a reflection of prose/poetry. Here is one of the poems from a sixth grade student:
“Thanks To You”
Thanks to you, Mr. Green,
there is history.
Thanks to you there are endless possibilities.
Thanks to you schools aren’t separate.
We can be different, but not afraid.
Thanks to you, sir,
race does not decide our rights.
Thanks to you prejudice is not encouraged
or expected. It is frowned upon.
Thanks to you and eight others
we won’t segregate.
Thanks to you the color of your skin makes no difference.
Thanks to you, Mr. Green,
the world is what it is today.
Thanks to you, Mr. Green,
there is history.
Thanks to you there are endless possibilities.
Thanks to you schools aren’t separate.
We can be different, but not afraid.
Thanks to you, sir,
race does not decide our rights.
Thanks to you prejudice is not encouraged
or expected. It is frowned upon.
Thanks to you and eight others
we won’t segregate.
Thanks to you the color of your skin makes no difference.
Thanks to you, Mr. Green,
the world is what it is today.
In the afternoon, faculty volunteers spoke on a panel of sorts in front of the middle school community. Each volunteer (Bruce Taylor, Whitney Robbins, Matt Goethals, and I) was given the prompt: “If you really knew me…” Through this prompt, we illustrated the significance of sharing stories about parts of our identities that are important to us as a way of building trusting relationships and educating one another. The presentations were heartfelt and honest, and the students mirrored that honesty as they presented their own stories in advisory groups. The entire day was a success, and as the Director of Diversity, I couldn’t be happier with the way students were able to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of appreciating each person’s stories and experiences.
Too often we view diversity in terms of numbers and statistics. Here at Rivers, we recognize and appreciate each student’s individual identity, and by making the community a comfortable, safe space to share our stories, the student body will undoubtedly be prepared to participate with confidence and courage in a global society.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Relationships and the RISE Program
Tenth Grade Dean Kate Wade recently launched RISE (Reflection and Introspection for Service Education) for the sophomore class at Rivers. The program's ultimate goal is for students to identify their leadership strengths and use them in service to others. Critical to accomplishing this goal are the strong, caring relationships these students have with teachers, coaches, and advisors.
Relationships are a staple of independent schools. Many schools promote the close relationships between students and adults as a defining element of their culture. But what distinguishes Rivers is that adults use these relationships to challenge and inspire students to become leaders – defined at Rivers as “being your best self and positively influencing others.”
Rivers is quite intentional in using relationships to help students grow. Two years ago the Rivers Leadership Committee led a faculty meeting in which teachers had to practice giving effective feedback – another example of using the strength of relationships. Likewise, the RISE program will require adults to give "authentic and compassionate" feedback to students about leadership qualities and skills. Students can only learn about their leadership strengths in this way when they know that the adults providing feedback care about them.
We care about kids at Rivers. We would not be in this business if we didn't. But the real challenge is to translate that caring into action – purposeful action with the goal that each student realizes his or her potential in both performance and character.
Relationships are a staple of independent schools. Many schools promote the close relationships between students and adults as a defining element of their culture. But what distinguishes Rivers is that adults use these relationships to challenge and inspire students to become leaders – defined at Rivers as “being your best self and positively influencing others.”
Rivers is quite intentional in using relationships to help students grow. Two years ago the Rivers Leadership Committee led a faculty meeting in which teachers had to practice giving effective feedback – another example of using the strength of relationships. Likewise, the RISE program will require adults to give "authentic and compassionate" feedback to students about leadership qualities and skills. Students can only learn about their leadership strengths in this way when they know that the adults providing feedback care about them.
We care about kids at Rivers. We would not be in this business if we didn't. But the real challenge is to translate that caring into action – purposeful action with the goal that each student realizes his or her potential in both performance and character.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Why Interdisciplinary Studies May Help Your Child Keep His/Her Job
When Steve Jobs stepped down as C.E.O. of Apple, I, like so many others, read the many stories about the man and the spirit of innovation he so perfectly reflected. Steve Lohr's article in The New York Times was of particular interest as it cited the 1997 book "The Innovator's Dilemma" that puts forward the concept of disruptive innovation. Lohr lists five traits of disruptive innovators – "questioning, experimenting, observing, associating, and networking." He defines associating as "the ability to make idea-producing connections by linking concepts from different disciplines – intellectual mash-ups."
Interdisciplinary programs are "hot" in education these days, but their value as mechanisms for preparing students to think in synergistic and creative ways can be quite limited. The prototypical interdisciplinary course involves studying a period of history, then reading the literature of that period, and perhaps looking at the art and music. What's lacking is creative synthesis and integration! Students are not forced to use the knowledge and ways of thinking from multiple disciplines to answer a big question that inherently requires using an interdisciplinary approach.
Rivers' interdisciplinary studies courses are different; they focus on these big questions, drawing on depth of knowledge across disciplines to create meaningful connections and build our students’ skill sets. Faculty members from various departments collaborate, visiting classes to present and discuss material that is part of their areas of expertise. As IDS chair and Rivers English teacher Julian Willard says, "the key to a successful IDS course is the formulation of the big question, the answer to which requires pulling creatively from multiple disciplines."
On "Meet the Press" a few weeks ago Tom Friedman talked about a 21st century employee survival skill: the ability to continuously re-imagine one's job in order to bring increased value to the company. Interdisciplinary studies – when done right – forces students to practice "association." It forces students to synthesize in creative and innovative ways, thus allowing them to practice this critical 21st century thinking skill so vital to enhancing value.
Interdisciplinary programs are "hot" in education these days, but their value as mechanisms for preparing students to think in synergistic and creative ways can be quite limited. The prototypical interdisciplinary course involves studying a period of history, then reading the literature of that period, and perhaps looking at the art and music. What's lacking is creative synthesis and integration! Students are not forced to use the knowledge and ways of thinking from multiple disciplines to answer a big question that inherently requires using an interdisciplinary approach.
Rivers' interdisciplinary studies courses are different; they focus on these big questions, drawing on depth of knowledge across disciplines to create meaningful connections and build our students’ skill sets. Faculty members from various departments collaborate, visiting classes to present and discuss material that is part of their areas of expertise. As IDS chair and Rivers English teacher Julian Willard says, "the key to a successful IDS course is the formulation of the big question, the answer to which requires pulling creatively from multiple disciplines."
On "Meet the Press" a few weeks ago Tom Friedman talked about a 21st century employee survival skill: the ability to continuously re-imagine one's job in order to bring increased value to the company. Interdisciplinary studies – when done right – forces students to practice "association." It forces students to synthesize in creative and innovative ways, thus allowing them to practice this critical 21st century thinking skill so vital to enhancing value.
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