Jane's Pocket Change: Engaging with Learning

One of the challenges of being a school administrator is ensuring that we find ways to stay connected to the process of learning. Every fall I make it a point to visit as many classes as I can here at CSW. This past month I have also been visiting Boston area independent K-8 schools and touring their classrooms. The visits have been inspiring and educational… here and at the K-8 schools.

When I visit a classroom — either at CSW or another school — I look first and foremost at the quality of interactions, both student to student and student to faculty. I want to be able to answer some important questions. Is there a level of informality with respect? Is the environment fundamentally one of engagement? What’s displayed on the walls? How are students seated? Does the class promote inclusivity? Are there unwritten rules?

My first classroom visits this year, during Mod 1, were to CSW’s ninth grade “Food and Culture” classes. In this foundational course, a team of English and history teachers work together to (1) introduce our students to the humanities and (2) ensure that students are aware of what CSW will ask of them as learners throughout their time here. During these visits, most classes were working on projects related to the meaning of food in their lives. I saw phenomenal examples of collaboration — groups of students presented a marketing strategy for a new kind of food in one class; in another class students gave the history of the food and then wrote an ode to the food. I enjoyed gaining a sense of our new ninth grade: witnessing their ability to work together; to shine as individuals; and to enlist help and guidance from both peers and teachers.

At the beginning of Mod 2, I visited a health class and a new STEAM class. The health class, like “Food and Culture,” was team-taught and the way the two adults modeled their interactions set the tone for the class. In STEAM, most students were learning to code for the very first time. The excitement in the lab, emanating from the students and their teacher, was infectious.  

I was pleased to see similarly deep levels of engagement and hunger (!) to learn at the K-8 schools I visited (many of which are considered “feeder” schools for CSW).  In these schools, as at CSW, I saw students working separately from teachers, in small groups, at their own pace, on their own projects — just like in the real world. I was also reminded that learning does not just happen in the classroom — the playground and the lunchroom were clearly learning environments, as well.  

At their best, schools are dynamic, welcoming, and energetic places — especially progressive schools, where students construct their own learning and teachers meet them where they are. As Head of School, I am fortunate to witness traditional and emerging best practices along the continuum of education. That view into some of the very best teaching and learning continues to delight me each and every day.