New Horizons for Learning: Observation Deck, July 1998

From the Observation Deck

Summer is a great time for reflection. Just as we suggest that our students take a few minutes to reflect on prior learning through discussion or writing, we suggest that you take more than a few to reflect on the previous school year. What worked and what didn't? More important--why? If you were to do it again, what would you do? Did you come up with a unique solution to problems that many of us face in the classroom? As you may have discovered, our network is a recycling system for teaching and learning ideas that work. They come directly from our users. We invite you to share some of your thoughts with the network by e-mailing directly to info@newhorizons.org

In this issue of our newsletter we share materials that we have gathered from our colleagues in public and independent school classrooms, universities, an education commission, an architectural firm, and consultants on special needs.

We continue to gather resources for the newest area of the Building focused on Special Needs/Inclusion. The report Portraits of Inclusion through the eyes of children, families, and educators is the most recent addition. We make this available with the kind permission of the authors at the University of Washington. The report focuses on important issues facing all schools and families as students with special needs join their peers in general classrooms.

We met Dr. Paula Tallal at a recent invitational symposium of educators and neuroscientists given by the Krasnow Institute, a think tank at George Mason University. Dr. Tallal's important research on dyslexia offers new insights about its causes and possible tools for remediation. Her article describes how a new CD-ROM can offer new hope for some young dyslexics.

Dr. Marlene Holyater, former director of the Washington State Commission on Student Learning and new superintendent of the Shoreline School District, has contributed guidelines for inclusion accommodations for special populations on state-level assessments prepared by the Commission and a report on their important work.

As we gear up for the upcoming assessment conference, The Essential Balance: Teaching, Learning, and Assessing, to be held in Seattle on September 23-25, 1998, it seems like a good time to share a poster sent to us by one of our Board Members, Cynthia Shelton, Manager of the Applied Learning Program of the Shoreline School District. Students are asked to reflect on "WHAT are you learning? WHY are you learning it? HOW will you use it to connect with your life?" Last fall, posters went up in classrooms and libraries throughout the district and a postcard-sized version of the poster, perfect for posting on bulletin boards and refrigerators, went to all district families with a letter explaining the reasons why parents and students (and teachers) need to ask themselves these questions in order to connect with the learning process.

We recently met with Dr. Sharon Sutton, new director of the Center for Environment, Education, and Design Studies in the School of Architecture at the University of Washington. She sends us an announcement of two opportunities for teachers and students to work with design professionals this fall at the new center, formerly called the Center for Architecture and Education. Stay tuned for further changes that will emerge from the planning of interdisciplinary teams from the university and community that she has called together.

Speaking of architecture, our colleague Steven Bingler, director of the Concordia architectural firm in New Orleans, has just sent us an article about innovative ways to deal with the huge numbers of school buildings that need to be repaired, remodeled, or built. Herewith some interesting, cost effective solutions that also tie in with the concept of community learning centers.

Arline Monks, a Waldorf teacher, describes the application of Waldorf curricula and teaching methods in two schools serving juvenile offenders in Northern California. She also includes information about courses at Rudolf Steiner College on using these methods in public schools at all levels including high school.

Teacher Robert J. Rios sent in an article about overcrowding resulting from cutbacks in school budgets. He suggests that smaller classes are essential for at-risk students in particular, and teachers must advocate for conditions that make it possible for all students to learn. (See LaVaun Dennett's story published some years ago about how one school solved the problem of lowering class size within existing budgets.)

Many of you who have been part of our network for some years will remember my son Robert Dickinson, who led early morning T'ai Chi exercises before our conferences and offered seminars on ways to include the whole body in learning experiences. Because of an injury, he now has a physical disability and uses a wheel chair. Undaunted, he continues to teach and consult from his home and through the Internet. He sends us an article, which is being used by several agencies, about how to do exercises in a wheelchair, and contributes his observations about perseverance and patience at the beginning of a challenge.

And finally, another great story from the Giraffe Project. That reminds us of the term "meme" coined by British scientist Richard Dawkins. He suggests that just as genes affect human development, so memes affect the development of society. Both genes and memes reproduce prolifically. There are good memes and bad memes. Some can act like viruses that can make society sick. We find daily examples in the stories of violence on the front page of newspapers, on television, and the Internet. On the other hand good memes, like stories of heroic deeds, volunteer projects, and the giraffes of society who stick our their necks for the common good, can guide society to develop in healthy, responsible, creative, and altruistic ways. Cheers for the Giraffes! Let's keep telling those good stories about what works for our schools and our world.

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