Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Future Anti-Bias Leadership Opportunities for our 8th Graders

We’ve hit the pavement running in the leadership and moderator realm by having 8th graders take the lead on our first two public presentations. Our Human Rights Campaign’s “National Coming Out Day” panel discussion was expertly moderated by Anna Partridge and Traciemichael Robinson, while our Dr. Bernice Sandler presentation was handily hosted by Anja Brandon-Drevitch and Emma McCune. On the horizon are a myriad of other leadership opportunities as the 8th grade takes the lead in the SGS anti-bias program. Based upon the all-school anti-bias program survey the Anti-bias Committee administered at the beginning of the month, we’ve come up with the following workshops/ seminars/presentations:

• November: Personal Choices: SGS aspires to be a place where everyone can feel validated as an individual. Sometimes we miss the mark as we seem to project an SGS agenda that feels exclusive rather than inclusive. This session will examine those areas of personal choice that can separate us rather than bring us together: political affiliation, liberal versus conservative stances, herbivores versus omnivores, musical predilections, clothing choices…the list is long. We will entertain the notion that "there's a right answer to anti-bias issues” and will seek to embrace the complexity of personal choice.

• January: Humor and the role it plays in both oppression and liberation! In addition, we’ll examine the role “political correctness” (or the lack thereof) plays in humor. What makes stuff funny? Who has permission to tell a certain type of joke, and who has permission to laugh?

• February: “Male-bashing” - particularly as it plays out in our SGS community. SGS students have sometimes wondered if by promoting women we aren’t subtly and not-so-subtly “bashing” men; this presentation is aimed at addressing this concern. In addition to a panel made up of many of our own SGS male faculty and staff, we’ll also welcome Jo Sanders, Gender Equity Specialist, who’ll add some historical perspective.

• March: Body Image Issues: size, looks, eating disorders… we’re hoping to convince Jean Kilbourne (author of “Can’t Buy Me Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel” and award-winning documentarian of “Killing Us Softly,” “Slim Hopes” and “Calling the Shots” which deal with various women’s issues in the media) to join us for this investigation of female body image issues.

• May: Ally-ship revisited. Our intention is to close each academic year with a renewed call to active and effective ally-ship as we work together to generate a real and vibrant anti-bias climate at SGS. Rather than stopping short at “What’s going on?” we’ll seek to take the next step as we address “And what can I do about it?”

In addition to the all-school programs, which we’ll help develop and orchestrate, the 8th grade will also begin working on an interactive anti-bullying workshop that we’ll present to the 5th and 6th grades. In this manner, we’ll not only hone our burgeoning leadership skills, but will also continue to strive to improve our SGS community and commitment to social justice right here in our own backyard.

Introducing the "Anti-bias Suggestion Box"

As many of you may or may not know, the 8th grade is responsible for managing the “SGS Suggestion Box” in which students from all the grades place ideas and issues to be considered at our Thursday Community Meetings. The effort is entirely led by 8th graders who read the suggestions then solicit responses from the community. This year we’re adding an additional consideration, which we’re calling the “Anti-Bias Suggestion Box.” Every other Thursday, 8th graders will host a short but hopefully insightful conversation on an anti-bias topic submitted by an SGS student. The first ever Anti-Bias Suggestion Box topic will address the following situation:
“A guy I know told me the following joke: ‘Why do women not need umbrellas?
Answer: Because you don’t need an umbrella to walk from the kitchen to the
bedroom!’ It really made me mad! What should I have said to him?”
Be sure and ask your 8th grader about the thought-provoking discussion that’s sure to ensue!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Mini Culminations have begun!

After a great start with our bi-weekly science labs, we're about ready to bring all the pieces together with a large, creative problem solving task - our first Mini Culmination! The purpose of mini-culminations is synthesize the skills we practiced in labs and combine that with collaborative problem solving and a focus on team communication. In this mini culmination, students will be focusing on several robotics systems as well as manipulating Newton's 3rd law. This will involve delivering robot pieces to different simulated stations on Earth, Mars and Phobos - one of Mars' moons. Today Bert and MM introduced the challenge to 8th grade and the teams of 8-9 students met for the first time to plan their approach. It should be noted that we are focusing on group process as much as the success of individual robots and systems the girls are creating. To that end, during the mini culmination students will be observed to see how effectively they are working with one another and we will undertake a debriefing session afterwards to consider ways to improve communication. This is a fun and very challenging task. Be sure to ask your daughters about it!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

A Conversation with Dr. Bernice "Bunny" Sandler


This afternoon 8th grade hosted an epic moment in SGS anti-bias presentations. Dr. Bernice "Bunny" Sandler, aka "The Godmother of Title IX" visited our school and participated in a riveting discussion of women's rights with an historical perspective. The presentation was expertly moderated by Anja Brandon-Drevitch and Emma McCune and proved nothing short of inspirational. For more information on Dr. Sandler, check out her website at http://www.bernicesandler.com. Accompanying Bunny, was her good friend and gender equity specialist, Jo Sanders. Jo will be our keynote speaker at an upcoming anti-bias presentation on "male bashing."

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Reading Workshop Has Begun!



We’re in the midst yet another full and active week in 8th grade. Reading Workshop is in full swing! Basically that means that on any given Monday or Tuesday morning, eighteen lucky girls can be found spread out all over the 8th grade library reading books of their choice and/or writing in their reading journals for 90 uninterrupted minutes. (Ask your 8th grader for details.) The immense popularity as well as success of this venture is based on a very simple tenet: if a girl (it works for boys too!) is allowed to read what truly interests her, she will read voraciously and will eventually develop her tastes and talents as an intelligent, informed reader. Even after only one full session with each group, I’ve been amazed at how quiet and focused each gathering has been.
The reading journal is a place where students can exchange thoughts, impressions, questions, suggestions and the like about reading and literature with each other as well as with me. In it we write back and forth to one another about anything and everything literary, nothing too terribly formal or fine-tuned, more just an ongoing written conversation about what we’re reading, how it impacts as well as educates us and why. Here are the general guidelines we follow:

RULES FOR READING WORKSHOP

1. You must read a book. Magazines, newspapers and comic books (Anime) don’t have the chunks of text you need to develop fluency, and they won’t help you discover who you are as a reader of literature.
2. Don’t read a book you don’t like. Don’t waste time with a book you don’t love when there are so many great ones out there waiting for you.
3. If you don’t like a book, find another one. Browse, ask me or a friend for a recommendation, do an internet search (Amazon.com always has reviews and such) or check our “Book Reviews” binder for suggestions.
4. It’s all right to reread a book you love. This is what readers do!
5. It’s okay to skim or skip parts if you get bored or stuck; readers do this, too!
6. Record every book you finish or abandon on the form entitled “Student Reading Record.” Collect data about yourself as a reader, look for patterns, and take satisfaction in your accomplishments over time.
7. Understand that reading is thinking. Do nothing to distract me or other readers. Don’t put your words in our brains as we’re trying to escape into the worlds created by the authors of our books. Simply put: Reading Workshop is a quiet endeavor!
8. When you confer with me, use as soft a voice as I use when I talk to you: whisper!
9. Read (and/or write in your reading journal) the entire class period.
10. Read as well and as much as you can!

The goal here is obvious: we’re seeking to explore and enhance our literary territories as well as firmly establish intentional reading as a life-long habit. As I explained to our 8th graders, reading – interaction with the written word – will necessarily be a central part of their lives for the next eight years…at a bare minimum!

Oh and if your 8th grader tells you, when you admonish her to put the book down, turn off the lights and go to sleep, that "It's homework!"...she's right...it is! The expectation is that an SGS 8th grader will read thirty minutes per day, seven days a week...on average. Reading, much like a muscle, needs regular and ongoing exercise in order to build into a strength.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Quote of the Day

Education…is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.
-- John Dewey

Thursday, October 18, 2007

High School Recommendation Requests

Several students have already approached me (as well as Bert and MM, I'm sure) about writing those ubiquitous (and no...that's NOT a swear word!!) high school recommendations! While I'm certain that Miss Jeanette has provided all 8th grade families with guidelines on this process, I want to remind you all to do several things that will make the experience a happier and easier one for all of us:

• fill out EVERY POSSIBLE PORTION of the recommendation that you can...
your full address and information, the teacher's name, the name of the
school...etc. (Just having to write our names and "Seattle Girls' School"
on each recommendation can be taxing...once you do it 32 times or more!)

• also note that most applications have a space for the student's name at
the top of each page...please fill that out as well!!

• Be sure to include a fully addressed and stamped envelope for each school
you wish to apply to...we typically do not return recommendations to
students/families for mailing.

• Give your chosen teacher(s) adequate time in which to complete the
recommendation(s). - two weeks at the very least!

Last year I completed 79 recommendations...so bring 'em on!!

National Coming Out Day...and so much more...

Last Thursday we turned our attention to anti-bias considerations – in honor of “National Coming Out Day” (October 11th - which commemorates the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights which took place on Oct. 11, 1987. For more information, see http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Coming_Out/Get_Informed4/National_Coming_Out_Day/History/A_History.htm) At lunch 8th grade hosted a panel discussion expertly facilitated by Anna Partridge and Traciemichael Robinson. Afterwards, we gathered in the 8th grade lab to view PBS Frontline’s Assault on Gay America, which highlights the nature of crimes perpetrated on gay and lesbian citizens. The discussion that followed was rich and intense. Our 8th graders are deep thinkers, for sure!

The Academic Multi-draft Writing Process

We have begun our training sessions in the formal academic writing process. After reading Patricia Polacco's delightful children's story The Bee Tree, we wrote an in-class "timed write" which we are now using to practice the
multi-draft, peer-editing technique that I've found so efficacious over the years. Each peer editor creates an “Editing Guide” (EG) for her author’s “Rough Draft” (RD) - in this case, the "timed write" we generated in class.
This EG, composed on a separate piece of paper, involves careful scrutiny of the RD in which the editor notes spelling, punctuation, grammatical and stylistic errors…LINE BY LINE! A multitude of reference materials stand at the ready to assist in this arduous task: dictionaries (online, electronic and hardbound), thesauri (i.e. more than one thesaurus!), and most notably, Diane Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference (henceforth referred to as Hacker – pretty much required equipment at most universities and even a few high schools I know.)

[Note: I will conduct further, intentional training sessions in the effective use of the Hacker after I've edited the class RRDs and have determined several writing issues we can use as examples! In the meantime, here's a direct quote from an alum email I received this past week: "I have been using my hacker a lot. I know exactly how to use it thanks to your guidance last year..."]

When all else fails, I even answer questions! Once the EG is complete, it is returned along with the RD to the author who then incorporates into her RD all the editorial suggestions that she deems valid, using a red pen so that my Gramma Sally eyes can discern the changes made. The author then creates a “Revised Rough Draft” (RRD) from her corrected RD. (Are you with me so far?) This draft, which is more often than not word-processed, is then submitted to me (along with the RD and EG) for further editing. At this point I scour the RRD for editorial issues, comparing my findings/impressions with both the RD and the EG. In this way, both the author and her editor are assessed in the writing/editing process. I, in turn, create my own EG for the RRD, which I submit to the author in a timely fashion. (My goal is always to have a 48-hour turn-over time, and I usually manage that.) The author then takes my EG and creates a “Final Draft,” (FD), incorporating my editorial corrections/suggestions. (The final draft packet consists of the RD, EG, RRD, my EG, and the FD – all of these drafts must be kept and submitted together for credit.) Thus, by the end of this rather intensive process, the author will have composed three drafts of her paper, as well as an editing guide for her partner’s paper. Each step along the way will be assessed for attention to detail as well as clarity and elegance of expression. If this sounds like a lot of work, IT IS … but it is also a failsafe way to improve both writing and editing skills.

At this point in the process, our "Bee Tree" RRDs will be discussed on Friday, and the Final Draft Packet will be due on Tuesday, October 23rd. As you might well imagine, there are two issues that make smooth sailing in the writing process rather problematical: frequent and/or extended absences and lack of preparation. Thus, I have encouraged our 8th graders to take good care of themselves AND to be sure that they have the appropriate draft(s) in hand at the beginning of a given core. I’ll let you know how it goes!

October Vocabulary Quiz

Sorry for my silence in the blogging realm! While things haven't been completely crazy, they have been active...we're "living in the now!" As a result, I find that I rarely find a good time to sit down and share all that's going on in "Sally's Core!" Here's to a renewed commitment to change and challenge the dearth of information!

Last week we experienced our first of monthly vocabulary quizzes. The twenty words for these exams are selected from the “Word-of-the-Day” offerings that students bring to class each day. Each student is responsible for defining the vocabulary words and using them in sentences that prove beyond a shadow of a wondering that she knows how to manipulate the terms. Together we agree on short, pithy definitions – often translated into “8th grade speak” so as to facilitate easy memorization and retention. Thus, the final definitions will necessarily be short, sweet and unsophisticated, yet quite functional when it comes to performing on a matching test!

As usual, the vocabulary words this month were impressively rich and evocative…terms like rancor, mundane, behoove, nascent, quintessential, succinct, esoteric, and my all-time favorite, sycophant!

8th graders continue to do a stellar job with their daily “WOD” activity. They are well on their way to becoming bona fide “Word Nerds.”

The Significant Adult Book Project

8th graders should have completed or be close to completing their Significant Adult books this weekend. Friday was the guideline date for completion with Monday being the drop-deadline! As a next step in the significant adult book project, students should make a firm date with their adults for the interview. Should you be your daughter’s significant adult, I highly recommend making a space in your busy schedules to accommodate a 60-90 minute uninterrupted session. In the past, students and significant adults have even taken an evening away from home, say at a favorite coffee shop or restaurant in order to have some quality one-on-one time. Speaking of quality, the quality of the interview session directly impacts the quality of the subsequent written reflection…so any help/support you can offer with facilitating the interviews is most appreciated. (The interview is due to be completed by Monday, October 29th.)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Math Test and Progress Reports

Today, we took a practice test in preparation for our first Math test of the year tomorrow. The girls have done a great job thus far solving systems of equations and teasing apart the word problems that illustrate the crossing of linear patterns. I am confident they will do well on the test.

In addition, I gave the girls a missing work sheet that shows all of their homework that I have not seen yet for Math and GAOC. They also were introduced last week to the online posting of my grade book, which shows an up-to-date progress report for all of their work including homework, quizzes, projects, and tests. I hope to have scores from the test back to the girls and posted by the end of the week, as well. This grade book is password protected and is accessible from either the Algebrains or Writing Herstory websites.

I encourage you all to check in with your daughter on how she’s doing so far this year.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Technology in the 8th Grade

I wanted to take the opportunity to give everyone an overview of the technical systems we are using with the girls to support learning and assessment in the 8th grade. In addition to the overall 8th grade blog, which you see here, there is a blog for each subject area that the girls use to remember assignment information, to track due dates, and to find additional resources related to their classes. As the girls have very busy lives, this allows an easy way for them to have one place to check if they are ever out sick, visiting schools, or whatever, in order to be up to date on what's happening in class. You'll find links to each of these blogs along the right side of our main blog page.

We have also asked the girls to set up their own blog to be used as a space for a running "journal" of their work across multiple classes. On the right side of each of our main class blogs, you will find a list of students and links to their school blogs. Their blog posts are often reflections on the day's classwork and provide us an invaluable window into each student's engagement with our class that day. The post themselves may be text entries, may include photos or pictures, or may be a videoblog entry. Each of their blog entries has a label at bottom indicating what subject it has been posted for.

If you peek into one of their blogs, you'll find debriefs from their weekly Mission to Mars (M2M) labs, reflections on their science cores, and screenshots of their scorecards on a world geography game we played last week. If you've ever wanted to get a glimpse of not only what's happening for all the 8th grade, but also what's happening for your daughter (because she may not be telling you!) this a great place to take a look. While this is far from all of her work, it does give some representation what she's up to.

Even as we encourage the girls to utilize and become facile with today's technological tools, we'd like to assure you that we are having the conversation and showing them how to be safe and private in the digital world. We have showed them how to enable "private" modes for their blogs and their video postings so that none of them are searchable by the general public. We have also reiterated general precautions like not using one's last name online and not representing oneself online, in word or image, in a way that would attract unwanted attention. We have reinforced that behavior online should conform to the same expectations and honor code that face-to-face behavior does at the school.

We are excited about our expanded use of these tools and have been quite pleased with the ease with which the girls have engaged with them and their rate of completion for the assignments. It appears that it has not only made things easier for us but it's fun for them, too. It's definitely a win-win. As always, if you have any questions about these tools or how we're using them, please feel free to email or call and we'd be happy to chat. Thanks.