I was interviewed a week ago. Nope – it wasn’t a local paper writing a feature. It was our own Class 1A.
Our first graders haven’t merely handed in their work. They are being published for an authentic audience – you! Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our creative first graders by reading their guest blog posted below.
It was a week devoted in many ways to the power of the pen, or the quill, or the laptop – or any tool used to publish our thoughts and ideas, connecting with an audience to make a difference. When interviewed by our first graders, I had just returned from Washington D.C. with our fifth grade students. Half of them performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Folger Theater’s National youth Shakespeare Festival, while the other half visited Newseum (an interactive museum devoted to news) where they learned how news reporting can change the world.
Both experiences enhanced our literacy program, which enriches students’ reading with the greats, beginning of course, with the very greatest – the Torah – and then moving to exceptional children’s literature; nonfiction works connected to curricular units of study, current events, and yes, Shakespeare. The trip enabled the students to reflect on sharing creativity with an audience – whether face-to-face as in live theater or through publishing as in professional journalism or student blogging.
The morning before I left for Washington, I participated in our first planning session for two upcoming workshops with the Westchester Jewish Community Services. One workshop will be for students and the other for parents on Digital Citizenship: the Do’s and Do Not’s of Interacting in our Increasingly Connected Global World. We will welcome an outside expert on Internet safety and cyberbullying and our very own Assistant Principal Ilanit Curi-Hoory will speak about positive, safe ways for students to learn and connect in our digital world. We are proud of our innovative approach to this issue; this vital topic will occupy much of our attention with both students and parents in the coming years.
Other engaging conversations during the week touched on similar topics. A group of teachers is gathering to discuss “paperless homework,” supporting students to independently use safe Internet sites in a way that meets their specific learning needs. They are also seeking safe platforms for publishing our students’ work for authentic audiences. Such creative, supportive, and individualized assignments will be an extension of the productive ways we are incorporating technology as a resource for enhancing our children’s education. Additionally, we are joining a global conversation on the changing role of libraries. Accessibility to information has increased exponentially, as have the possibilities for research and collaboration online. It is time to re-envision the role of our own school library.
And so, while we enthusiastically embrace technology, we do so with an understanding that whether we use a pen, a quill, a laptop, a smartboard, an ipad, or any other technology, creating, sharing, and learning cooperatively to make a positive difference in our world is our true aim. To that end, I proudly introduce to you, for the first time in published form, our guest bloggers from class 1A.
Q: What is the most important part of your job?
A: Working with teachers to find the best ways to help kids learn.
Q: How does your job help the Schechter Westchester community?
A: In my job I help different members of the community to share their ideas and talents with the whole community. I try to make it possible for people in our community to work together.
Q: How does your job help students learn?
A: All parts of my job in some way help students learn, because that is the most important thing in school! I try to help teachers decide what to teach and how to teach it, and how to see if students learned it. I also try to help teachers decide what to do if students have not learned something or if they already know it.
Q: How did you become a principal?
A: I went to college and then I went to graduate school. I became a rabbi and finished a degree called a Ph.D. in education so I could learn about education. I was a teacher and then an assistant principal and then I became a principal.
Q: What do you do when you are not at work?
A: I am a mom and I spend as much time as I can with my children. I like to do tae kwon do for fun. I also have a dog and I like to take walks with my dog. I also like to read.
Q: How do you take care of two kids and do your big job?!
A: I take care of my children most of the time that I am not at work!
Don’t hesitate to write in and share your insights and questions about ways our children can share their creativity with authentic audiences.
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