Getting Ready....

Hi Everybody!

I just want to report that Sydney Gilman-Dye is our first student reporter. Today Sydney came in at lunch and we looked over her COPIOUS notes which she has diligently been taking in all her classes. She did a fantastic job of writing down what lessons were all about, quoting kids and teachers, and nailing specific details. We were then able, using the questions I have posted in our last entry, to make a loose outline she can work with in order to compose her thoughtful (and funny!) blog...hey, you never know what can happen when you bring a puppy to school....

Anyway, Syd's going to write her blog over the weekend (she doesn't like writing but I think she might surprise herself with how much she has to say; she had fantastic material to work with and she's already made some gorgeous connections between all of her classes. Notes, people, notes!!!) We will edit between Monday and Wednesday and then we'll have our blog up and running. Please show your support and join our conversation by asking questions, leaving comments, and even watching videos we may post (like the TED talk Mr. Zargar showed earlier this week). This is our way of including our community in our classroom, and we are super excited to get your feedback.

As Michael Douglass once said, "Green is Good."

(Well, maybe he said "Greed." I think we should probably change it.)

Have a beautiful end of the week, everybody!

See you at Homecoming,

Ms. L

(almost like MSEL. Coincidence?)

Writing your Blog: Who, What, Where, When and Why.

I have made some changes to the original instruction on how to write your blog, based on the experience of going through the process with two bloggers. Please note these changes prior to beginning your writing process!

The Internet offers human beings a boundless digital forum for sharing information and ideas, igniting movements, seeking answers and asking questions. And yet sometimes, it doesn't bring out the best behavior in folks; even though we FEEL anonymous, every time we post something, we leave a direct line right back to our real lives. We want to always be mindful of this when entering this environment (and it is an environment!). What does this mean?

We present our best selves, always. We use language respectfully. We edit before publishing. We never use our blog as a public forum for insulting anyone. We use appropriate language. We present ourselves as the educated, thoughtful, respectful community of young people that we are.

   But what should you talk about in your blog?  Each one will be different, of course, and you should always look to previous blogs to see if they provide you a good starting point (someone might bring up an idea that you could expand a week later. Just like the curriculum, the blog and its content will evolve). With this in mind, there are certain aspects of MSEL that each blog should in some way address.

Blog entries should cover the following and be written in the form of well-developed and supported paragraphs. You should always read the blog from the previous week and include some reference to what the last person wrote. This is a conversation!

1. What are the BIG ideas we are working with right now?
2. How are these ideas/themes being addressed in each of your classes?
3. What important INSIGHTS have you/we had as a group, and what action, if any, will we take as a result? What's coming next?
4. Finally, what have been some great/funny/touching/otherwise noteworthy moments from the past week? What will you remember?

Do you have to follow this order? No. I want you to write your blog post in a way that feels organic to you. But I would like you to address these things with depth and specificity, and this means paying close attention and reporting with attention to detail (being keen observers, taking GREAT notes, seeking real insight!)

Now: the logistics. We will have blogs going up about every two weeks with this system.

1. We will pick writers randomly on Mondays (or the first day we meet that week when holidays occur). You will know one week before that you will be the next blogger. I recommend that you speak to current and past bloggers for advice as soon as you know you're the one!

2. You will take copious observational notes throughout that week on which to base your entry: facts, ideas, quotes and details of your lessons (these will also be submitted--no notes, no blog). We will meet on Friday of that week to look at your notes and draft an outline for your blog. You 'll write the blog over the weekend.

3. Your entry is due Monday (or the first school day of the week) printed out on paper, to me. I'll provide feedback and corrections. You'll edit the draft and resubmit via email by Wednesday (on a normal week, Thursday on a short week). Please plan to either spend tutorial or come in at lunch a couple of times while you are the blogger; we will need the one on one time to make it the best it can be!
4. I will do one more round of editing; if the blog is complete I will post it; if it needs more revision or development, you will complete that  and get it back to me by email.
5. I will post the blog on Friday.
6. Classmates should ALL plan to read the blog every week!

Each entry must:

1. Be a minimum of three well-developed paragraphs, mention all classes, and address each of the questions above.

2. YOU MUST USE SPECIFIC EVIDENCE IN YOUR BLOG POST. That means quoting the literature, referring to facts or statistics, and making specific reference to skills emphasized in our classes in your blog entry. Remember: it's your job to bring it all together!

3. Finally, each entry comes through my hands last. Though I will respect your authorial voice, I reserve the right to make changes should the material be inappropriate for a school blog. I will discuss all such changes with you prior to posting.

The blog entry you write is considered part of your "projects" grade and thus will be weighted heavily. I will work with you around other due dates during the time your entry us due so as to prevent unreasonable overload.

Please take your assignment as our eyes and ears very seriously and enthusiastically. There are lots of people who will truly enjoy hearing about our academy as it develops, and this is an opportunity to get your perspective, personality and voice out there!

Ms. L

Welcome, students to our very own Marin SEL blog. Our first few weeks together have been a whirlwind of community building, learning and laughter (not to mention your first weeks of high school--quite a big deal!). After a few days learning the layout of your new school, meeting your teachers and getting settled--well, almost--it was off to Walker Creek for four days of Leadership and learning. Of course, in addition to picking your power animal, creating ad campaigns for sustainable change and deciding on the future of Walker Creek (as we saw it, anyway), we also managed to get several cases of poison oak, get lost in the woods, face off with raccoons, push our teacher in the pond, and of course get "If You Like Pina Coladas" permanently stuck in all of our heads (thanks a LOT for that). Now that we're back in school, the year will begin to take on a real shape, and that means it's time for us to start blogging about our experiences so we can share them with our families and community, build our base of knowledge together, and synthesize what we learn in all of our core classes.

What is synthesis, you ask? Thanks for asking! Synthesis is the bringing together of many different elements to create a more rich and complex whole. Your teachers are working together to create a synthesized curriculum, which means there will be ongoing, evolving connections between all of your classes. Though traditional schools tend to separate subjects for simplicity's sake, the reality is that many concepts, ideas and patterns tend to repeat in many areas of life. For example, we might associate the term "evolution" with science, but it's also true that cultures evolve, that people evolve, and that even our academy itself will evolve over time. And while you may associate writing with English class, truthfully writing as a skill and method of communication will serve you in all academic areas. Ideally, education should be about the synthesis of various elements (subjects, themes, skills and ideas) that create a powerful whole.

With that said, our academy still operates within a traditional school day, and though you'll see all of your teachers every day, we certainly don't see each other every day, and there will be times we are more aligned than others. There will be moments of incredible connections between classes, and moments when we diverge from each other a bit. Your job on this blog (individuals coming together to create a powerful whole, the MSEL team!) is to reflect on what you have learned and how you have learned it, share key discoveries with each other and our community, generate questions and dialogue about important topics, and give one one another feedback (and your teachers feedback!) as we get our academy up and off the ground. This is a little bit like building a a plane while somehow needing to keep in the air (a great analogy I once heard applied to learning to teach!), and we are bound to have high and low moments. Our collective ambition, however, is strong, our group is unified, and our vision clear. So let's make sure we don't forget our own evolution. Let's use this wonderful technology to create connections with our larger community and create a lasting archive we can keep learning from.

My next post will explain what each Synthesis blog entry should cover.

I'm thrilled to get started. Welcome!

(I STILL have that song in my head, by the way...)

Ms. Leonhart