We’re 99.9% genetically identical. Born in the bellies of stars, gestated in Earth’s waters—only *just* beginning to crawl, gasping, ashore; only *just* beginning to gaze, bleary-eyed, upon the heavens from whence we came.
How far *might* we yet soar…?
Read MoreTeachers reinforce weaknesses—and we also reinforce strengths.
Let's not focus so intently on building our weak muscles that we forget to maintain the strong ones—those are super helpful in moving the boulders from our paths, climbing and lifting each other. And when we're building bridges across gaps, we want to root them in solid foundation—we want to root them in strengths. So we survey and map our terrain, familiarize ourselves with characteristics and qualities, weaknesses and strengths—and we plan accordingly.
Read MoreIf you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
Read MoreOur questions shape our answers, and our answers shape Reality.
Questions are imperative, vital. We all benefit greatly in their exercise and enjoyment. #MoarQuestions!
Unanswered questions—treasures still locked within chests...!
Read MoreHave you ever been in a group of people who passed a basket to collect an offering; money, food or otherwise? Individuals coming together to invest in something bigger than themselves; pieces coming together to strengthen the whole?
Our studies, adventures and ideas are the treasure that we hunt and gather—for both the classroom and the larger community. When we turn in projects/work of any sort—we are making our offering, dedicating our found, earned and honed resources into the communal Collection Basket. It is an honor to be able to serve and strengthen each other and Tomorrow—we pay it back to all those who came before by paying it forward to those who might yet become.
Our Collection Basket is a deliberate reminder of our riches, honor and responsibility. It reminds us to celebrate and hold dear our rich opportunity to learn so that we might serve, study and grow with people who love and challenge and support us. It reminds us of the value that awaits and rewards effort, precision, generosity, tenacity. It reminds us to make any last minute notes anywhere we want to build out next, any pending questions, curiosities. It reminds us to live presently, mindfully, fully; engaging with each other, ourselves and the riches all around and throughout.
Read MoreMetacognition—cognition about cognition, knowing about knowing. Meta, Greek for after or beyond. Cognitive from the Medieval Latin for known.
Awareness empowers us. It removes the blindfold, focuses the lenses and lends us understanding. When we can not only *see* where we're going, but also have an idea of where we want to go, why and how to get there. Just like the XMen training and honing, Cyclops focusing and disciplining his laser-light sight, igniting everything in its path.
Read MoreTch Channel—manna from the heavens. Not only do they generously supply solid video examples, but they offer up all supplementary material as well.
Here Patricia Price walks us through Socratic Circles and simply and clearly demonstrates our responsibility to make it their responsibility—and she uses Common Core language to do it.
Read MoreHumans have a soft spot for ritual—an inherent tendency toward it rooted in our R-Complex, our prehistoric remnants, our Lizard Brain.
Ritual served us and helped us survive, which is why that gene survived and propagated.
When we exercise our metacognition, we can leverage this tendency and maximize its superpowers. We can leverage ritual to help keep us focused and centered. To honor this reality and exercise our metacognition to focus and center, we practice a brief and symbolic opening and closing ritual to thoughtfully begin and end our days together.
Read MoreWhere did all asteroids come from?
Where did the asteroid belt come from?
Where did the red spot of Jupiter come from?
Why is there so much clouds... on the planet?
Who are we?
Where're we going?
Read MoreWe all have a lizard living within us; a snake charmed by ritual—a snake who, recognized + charmed, rests along with its tendencies toward aggression, territoriality and blind reactiveness. We've named this tendency R-Complex.
It's an important weakness to be aware of, a vulnerability we need to reinforce—in ourselves + in each other. And our ritual is a recognition of that Reality; our commitment to ourselves, to each other, to Tomorrows Unknown. Our commitment to #PayItBackByPayingItForward.
We also have a Light. It brightens + warms us.
Read MoreTemple.
Our temporal tabernacles—where our brains reside.
We touch our temples not only to communicate "10-4" and "Roger," not only to focus our thought and energy, not only to pause a beat and take a breath—but also to remind us of the sanctuary that rests upon all our shoulders. [...]
Sign language is a powerful tool to help engage brains and bodies while reinforcing communication and understanding throughout the group, empowering kids to agree, disagree and express need for clarity casually and consistently.
Read MoreAnd you still can hear me singin' to the people who don't listen,
To the things that I am sayin', prayin' someone's gonna hear.
And I guess I'll die explaining how the things that they complain about,
Are things they could be changin', hopin' someone's gonna care.
I was born a lonely singer, and I'm bound to die the same,
But I've got to feed the hunger in my soul.
And if I never have a nickel, I won't ever die ashamed.
'Cos I don't believe that no-one wants to know.
Every second of every day we have valuable responsibilities—to sleep, to play, to lift and learn—and, as always, to leave it better than we found it. And as we transition from our classroom back into our homes, as we close up shop—we utilize an exit strategy to ensure that the transition moves along smoothly.
At the end of every day, ten minutes before the dismissal bell sounds, we begin to close up shop—being keen to leave it better than we found it.
Read MoreC3 Chest—Curiosities, Challenges + Celebrations Chest
We respect and value communication as a form of powerful connection, and we understand that it is up to us to uphold and reinforce that connection, ourselves and each other.
Our C3 Chest is our crew treasure chest where we can, during classroom transition, drop in notes regarding our curiosities, challenges and celebrations, with ourselves and with each other.
This helps guide me in leading our crew on adventures throughout the year and also helps reinforce metacognitive habit, curiosity + celebration in our superheroes.
Read MoreThis is our Learning Log, a beacon map of sorts. We're all captains of our own ships, and it serves us and those we serve to note our journey for study and improvement on future adventures.
We'll call out celebrations in these from time to time, and they will also serve to help us note places where our ship struggled, floundered—an opportunity for us to make notes to help us better navigate the Seas of Tomorrow, individually and collectively. Throughout the year and at the end of the year, we will map out and re-examine some of our challenges + celebrations and maybe we will even think of ways to strengthen and pass the torch onto the next generation.
Read MoreThese are our personal journals—our Field Notes. In here we note what we see in the wild, patterns we suspect and detect, challenges and maps to solutions...Questions, ideas, thoughts we want to explore, small celebrations and gratitudes throughout the day—this is what we scientists do; observe and note curiosities and patterns and things that grab our attention. I say "we" because I, too, participate and benefit from this exercise.
Read MoreWe are all 99.9% genetically identical. Born in the bellies of stars, gestated in Earth's waters, only *just* beginning to crawl ashore—only *just* beginning to gaze upon the stars from whence we came.
[...]
Read MoreOurs is a world of shared space.
We share neighborhoods, classrooms, offices, Earth.
It's imperative that we learn to co-habitate, collaborate and leave things better than we found them.
Our Learning Lair is, in this way and so many others, our place to practice being the Earthlings, the Superheroes, that we aspire to become.
Read More"Chance favors the connected mind."
What means "connected?" Connect how?
Ideas cross-pollinate and bear fruit just like flowers. Ideas live in minds and books/words/stories are the bees that transmit them from flower to fertile flower.
How do we promote that in the classroom?
Read MoreInspiration from teachers, from storytelling to lesson planning, in between and beyond.
Nothing is writ—all is evolving. These units, these blogs—this whole project is a perpetual Work in Progress, honing toward complete units for sharing, discussing and forever improving.
Please shout if you have any ideas or questions!
#ShineOn.
(in case you're wondering—bolded items are generally future links!)
Learning Lair Scientists Mathematicians Communicators Lesson Plans Whole Journal
Tips, ideas or fellow #BrainBattalions? Please, reach out!
