THAT SAYS IT ALL

I stored this quote a while ago, from the explanation of Open Education in the Education Encyclopedia - StateUniversity.com:

'Dewey believed that... The school is a microcosm of society, not to be separated from the child's familiar context of family, community, social norms, daily life–all areas that children need to confront and comprehend. Education is a process of living in the here and now, not
a preparation for future life.

If each child is brought into "membership within a little community, saturating him with the spirit of service, and providing him with the instruments of effective self-direction, we shall have the deepest and best guarantee of a larger society which is worthy, lovely, and harmonious," Dewey wrote (Dewey on Education: Selections by Martin Dworkin, p. 49). Throughout, he emphasized the value and importance of childhood and the influence of social environment upon individual development. All this reflects a long-standing American faith in the civilizing power of education via the common school.'

Yes! But then the article goes on to discuss how and why Open education didn't take hold in the mainstream, although it did make many inroads. ..basically not everyone wanted what Dewey saw as the crux of education.

Fast forward to the sticky issues that never got resolved and are coming up so intensely today. A few days ago there was a wonderful op ed piece in the NY Times by Susan Engel, senior lecturer in psychology and the director of the teaching program at Williams College, called Playing to Learn http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02engel.html
The article is the best piece I have seen in the mainstream media in a long time to describe Dewey's (and my) understanding of what we are about. So, are we any further as a society in terms of agreement about the goals of education? If you look at how the Obama administration is going about things, you would have to say the answer is "no."

One more piece for your "to do" list of reading material: The New Yorker" article on Arne Duncan.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/02/01/100201fa_fact_rotella

You can see where the man comes from. We are so close, and yet so far apart! How do we bridge that gap, which leaves us going round in circles about the acheivement gap?

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Oy oy oy I wish I knew if we have chosen the right name for our film! I've gotten used to AUGUST TO JUNE, but we've gotten mixed reactions to it. For me, it has a lot going for it. It rolls very nicely off of my tongue. I like that many people will recognize that it refers to the school year, and yet it is vague and open ended. But a title is also an opportunity to say something about the content of your ideas. AUGUST TO JUNE doesn't address that at all. Should it? Well, for the record, I'm going to list all the other titles I've come up with, to see if any others rise to the top. If anyone reads this blog and wants to give me feedback, you can comment here, or write me at amylvalens@comcast.net or engage with me about it on AUGUST TO JUNE's facebook page!

Here's the current list. I've divided them into three categories, but many fit into more than one:

clearer message ones:
IN DEFENSE OF LEARNING
A VIBRANT PLACE OF LEARNING
To teach the whole child
instead of tests
No two the same
A small message of hope
Real school
whole children
Consider an alternative
What you can't measure
Learning beyond measure
Educating for joy
What we can teach
No bubbles to fill
Education As American as Apple Pie
learning all the time
The case for a meaningful education
see them learn
learning is messy
educating for democracy
TEACHING MATTERS
A TEACHING ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
A LESS TRAVELED ROAD TO LEARNING
GROWING WHOLE PEOPLE
UNCONVENTIONAL SCHOOLING
TEACHING WITHOUT A SCRIPT
UNSCRIPTED LEARNING
TO GET OUT OF THE BOX

poetic ones: (maybe subtitled: bringing life to school)
AUGUST TO JUNE
CHICKENS POETRY TEARS AND LEARNING
with their hands in the dirt
poems, portraits, and chickens
the inner life of a classroom
Poetry Chickens and Blob Tag
Loving School
Cus all birds sing
In the fullness of time
curiosity, creativity, and compassion
los grandes amores de muchos colores
A learning world
everybody in
HEART HEAD AND ALL THE REST
LET US SING OF CHILDHOOD
DOING SCHOOL

neutral descriptive ones:
a place of learning
these children, this place
our school, our lives
Reflections on a last year of teaching
A year in an open classroom
A year in a classroom
one class one year
26 plus
26 kids
a learning community
portrait of a classroom
We were 8, 9 & 10
Amy's last class