Appropriate Use of Social Technologies

We started our conversation last week with the girls about their experiences using social technologies (cell phones, texting, IM, MySpace, Facebook, etc.). We had a great class conversation about their own and their families' norms concerning the use of these technologies. This week, we took a look at a PBS Frontline special from earlier this year called "Growing Up Online." It gave portraits of many of the dilemmas faced by youth and their parents in wrestling with social technologies, such as screen time, cyberbullying, online safety, and digital privacy. The girls were completely lit up by the portrayals and dug into the conversation that followed (you can click here to watch the show online and find more resources).

On Wednesday, they started a critical analysis of several articles dealing with these same issues and will be presenting their findings back to their classmates on Monday followed by further class conversation. All of this work will be leading to a conversation with you about appropriate computer use at home. We encourage you to read the articles, as well, so that you can be up to speed and prepared for these conversations (you can find them here, here, here, and here).

For those of you who are going to be participating in our computer rental or purchase programs, we are requiring that you and your daughters have an expicit understanding of your rules and norms for your daughters' computer use at home. We'll ask that you make a contract stating these norms that is signed by both you and her. We will be providing a template to get you started on this path, but the actual content of the agreement is for your family to decide and should come from your own understandings and relationships. We'll be posting more on this in the coming weeks.

Off We Go...

In an effort to keep you abreast of what's afoot so you can stay ahead...I'll do my best to post descriptive blogs each week to let you know what we've been doing in our Language Arts-type adventures:

We jumped right in on our second academic day with our "Word of the Day" focus - known henceforth as WOD! Basically 8th graders encounter words in their every day dealings that alternately intrigue or perturb them...and then they investigate said word as their own individual "WOD." Each student then brings her WOD to her table, where one word is selected by the members of each table group for an all-group consideration. This week alone we discussed such words as evanescent, masochistic, halcyon, propensity, attrition, nihilism, nominal (to name only a few!)... from sources as varied as our parents, the news coverage of the election, our teachers, popular songs, the speakers at yesterday’s “International Space Congress” and independent reading ventures.

In the past week we sharpened our focus on the original Renaissance Man and one of the premier flight aficionados, Leonardo da Vinci and his concept of "Curiosità," defined as "an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning." Our goal is to emulate Leo's insatiable curiosity as we delve into the many facets of 8th grade this year. Having each recorded one hundred "burning questions" in our journals last week, we then generated ten "power questions" per student - i.e., ten questions from our one hundred that seem the most important or pressing. These ranged from "Is there such a thing as 'perfect'?" to "Can the world be completely just?" and everything in between.

After watching and taking notes on the A&E Biography: "Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance Master," we engaged in a rip-snorting Jeopardy-eque game where four tables competed for mastery of da Vinci trivia. (Did you know that he was left-handed and thus wrote his copious journals - some 14,000 pages – in "mirror writing?")

Through an examination and exercise with "delving questions" next week, where one power question naturally evokes subsequent questions of further depth, (ie Why do birds fly? ...leads to... What role do feathers play in flight? Are birds taught to fly by their mothers or are they born knowing?...You get the picture!) we will experience first hand how good, probing questions are more energizing and inspiring than pat or facile answers.

Looking ahead, in October the 8th grade will begin a reading/writing/ reflecting project called "The Significant Adult Book Reflection." Basically, each girl will approach a "significant adult" in her life and ask what book particularly impressed her/him when she/he was her age. Then the student will read that book, conduct an in-depth, guided interview, and then write a reflection paper about that experience. Soooo...in the off chance that your 8th grader might consider YOU a "significant adult," I wanted to give you fair warning!

Well, that's about it! We're off to a good start with lots of excellent energy and raw talent! I'm grateful to be in constant contact with such delightful young ladies!
Thursday evening’s Curriculum Night, Sally

Integrated Curriculum Articles

Here are two articles I found that relate to Integrated Curriculum. The first article is a rationale for using integrated curriculum especially in middle schools, and the second describes how student directed integration differs from other types of integration.

Integrated Curriculum In The Middle School

Organizing The Middle School Curriculum

Class of 2009 Questionnaire

Ladies! Please respond to the following questions, as fully and as thoughtfully as you can!

Our Class of 2009 Survey

Ladies! Please fill out and submit the following information for our 8th grade files! Thanks! Sally, Bert and Darin