Panther Country

I have often worried that teachers are an unfortunate product of incestuous inbreeding and that is why we never progress as a profession. Let me explain. When I was a youngster in Catholic school, I was an excellent student. I brought home good grades, received monetary rewards for my A’s, set the bar high for my younger siblings, and received the “you can do better” lecture from my father as he fixated on the rare B I received in some area. The point is, I was good at school. My persistent fear has been that, like me, many teachers became teachers because they were good at school. The problem I saw in myself was that I became exactly the kind of teacher that taught me.

This was the beginning of my long, philosophical examination of the profession that accepted me as a lost and lonely scholar. Although I admired and respected my teachers, I did not want to be one of them. I didn’t think that what they did was all that interesting. I admired the depth of their knowledge, their wisdom and insightfulness. I loved the way they could think about things, make connections, synthesize information, and reach conclusions.  As teachers, they filled my head with information, which I assumed was the path to enlightenment: once I was full, I would be able to do all the things that I admired in them. As you might expect–and what I had feared–was I became a clone of my teachers.

At the risk of alienating everyone who was my teacher, I can honestly say that I did not have a lot of innovator instructors. In fact, I remember a terrifying moment in my graduate school career when suddenly I was expected to teach my first class. I had lots of seminars in literature, a methods class in how to become an academic and a methods class in “being a professor” which had little to do with being in a classroom and lot to do with research on the teaching profession. Armed with absolutely no practical guidance I tried to disguise my panic and casually inquired of my dissertation director, “What do I do?” Equally calmly he looked at me and asked, “Have you ever had any good teachers?” Of course, I replied. “Do what they did,” was his advice. For me, it seemed to be my destiny to become the kind of teacher my teachers were.

Having bypassed the school of education as an undergrad, I received even less training–if that is possible–as a graduate student. So if schools of ed–which have come under a lot of fire for their inability to train innovative instructors–and graduate schools fail to produce innovative teachers, where do they come from? I became an innovative teacher because I tried to answer the questions I was being asked by my mentor. He accepted me as the clone I was and supported me in my efforts in the classroom. In reality, I was no different–better or worse–than colleagues older or younger. I blended in perfectly. Yet his keen observations and penetrating questions forced me into deep and honest reflection on what I was doing and why.

Unable to completely break out of the box I was in and unable to answer the questions that challenged my assumptions about learning, I asked my mentor–my principal and a fellow instructor–if I could sit in and observe his class. I saw in action the answer to my questions and the depictions of what good teaching looks like. I suddenly understood that my answer to his repeated question: who is the hardest working person in your classroom was not something to be proud of. It was at the heart of how I could improve as a teacher.

My mentor was not the hardest working person in his classroom. I think I learned, over time, that he was probably the least prepared person in the room, class after class. I asked him, after 20 years of teaching Hamlet, did he ever tire of re-reading it as he prepared for class. He looked at me and said, I never re-read Hamlet to prepare for class. It puts too many answers in my head. I want the students to discover the answers on their own. The more I prepare, the more I tend to lead them where I want to go. That one response has done more to guide my thinking about teaching than all of the literature I have read about education. I return to that question over and over as I think about what it takes to be a good teacher.

The secret society I mentioned at the end of part I is really just my way of acknowledging the colleagues and mentors I have worked with over the years who have quietly and somewhat effectively  practiced and advocated for change through the mentoring process I experienced and described above. In a nutshell, I have come to embrace  Socratic teaching, critical thinking and questioning. I have had the privilege of working with so many great teaching minds that I have been able to formulate my own questions and apply them to my teaching staff as I work with teachers. Teachers cannot be changed, nor would I want to change them. But asking powerful questions that force them to look at what they are doing and to reflect on their effectiveness is what can be done. Ironically, in my own experience, the best teachers are usually the ones who actually think about the questions and are willing to reflect on what they do. The teachers who are most effective in the classroom are always the ones who end up changing. Their capacity for honest self-reflection and thought is what makes them effective teachers in the first-place, so it should be no surprise that quality feedback helps them to make changes and improve.

What I would like to see changed in schools for the 21st century:

• No grades
• The teaching of critical thinking–do away with individual disciplines and teach students how to think like scientists, historians, writers, and mathematicians.
• Second language immersion in the elementary grades (although I am focusing on high school, I needed to put that in as part of my core philosophy)
• Project based learning and authentic assessments
• The integration of all forms of technology so that students use the tools that are used in the world

Once again, I must apologize for my lack of profundity: nothing incredibly insightful or original in those ideas. So if these are commonplace ideas, backed by research, why are most schools still laboring in the Industrial Age?

Since colleges are beginning to drop SATs, and if we want to help bury the abomination know as Advanced Placement, we can meet colleges half way and eliminate grades. The implications are staggering. One only needs to read Alfie Kohn’s well-researched critique of grades to understand how they poison everything in education. The single educational reform of eliminating grades would have such wide-ranging effects that I would almost be willing to drop my other considerations. I say that because I feel that so many progressive ideas would flow into the void created by the elimination of grades that there would be no need to advocate for the other ideas.

The teaching of critical thinking as a subject goes hand in hand with the idea that we eliminate the need for disciplines. I know this concept baffles all educators except elementary teachers who have long understood the importance of integrating subject matter and teaching kids how to think. Students need to be precise and clear thinkers. There is so much in the world to think about, but if all you do is memorize facts for a test, what is the point? Learning how to think like a biologist enables students to understand the world as biologists understand it. They can then tackle projects individually and collaboratively which will sharpen their thinking skills as well as deepen their understanding of science and the natural world.

When my wife and I decided to venture into the world of international education, we were both asked to write essays articulating our educational philosophies. My wife left her job as a university professor to start our family and then, much to the dismay of her female colleagues, chose to stay home with our son rather than putting him in day care. We thought it would be a wash financially given the cost of childcare, but realistically it was a huge financial burden to us. Due to health issues, we simultaneously learned that he would be our only child, so her decision to stay home became even more meaningful for both of us.

My wife, who earned a PhD in literature, taught college, and currently teaches high school, has been either an educator or a mom her entire adult life. What she learned as a mom reinforced everything she was learning as a teacher, so writing that essay was easy for her. She explained her philosophy in very simple terms. She had the opportunity to interact every day with our son until he needed to be institutionalized (kindergarten). He learned how to eat, breathe, and crawl. He learned how to talk, walk, and read. He could memorize things, make things, distinguish things, and make choices. His learning—as is true for the learning of all children—was astonishing. My wife did not break his learning down into discrete subject areas.  His learning was naturally integrated and he learned by doing. When he tried to walk, he fell down. He picked himself up and tried again. My wife coached him throughout his childhood, but the learning was integrated, hands-on, and independent. There were no worksheets, no tests (tonight, right after dinner, expect a test on fine motor control before bed; it’s your midterm you know!) and no pop quizzes. Her philosophy of education was simply to describe the learning she had experienced in the raising of our son.

We both realized–she as a mom and I as a coach–that the child needed to be at the center of the learning and the doing. The worst tech instruction is when the impatient techie starts moving the mouse and clicking on the solutions. Problem solved but nothing learned. We learned to be effective teachers because my wife couldn’t walk for our son and I couldn’t shoot the free throws for my players. We could give feedback, model, encourage, and provide opportunities for safe practice, but we could not do. As teachers though, too often we want to do or tell or solve or explain without giving students the opportunity to try and fail.

But as has been my experience most of that kind of learning stops in junior high/high school, and that was certainly the case with our son. I have never been an elementary educator, but I definitely see a more progressive model of educating in the younger grades. When students reach the stage where they need to be graded we temporarily abandon all the models of learning that life has successfully equipped us with, we blindly abandon our reasoning and accept this bizarre model of teaching and assessing without question, and then jump back into the real world, never to return to the world known as school. Who decided that? Why can’t we break this addiction? Why must graduation from institutions be such a liberating experience rather than just another milestone? The transition back to collaborative learning, problem solving and critical thinking is, I assume fairly easy and natural. I never hear anyone in the world outside of school complain, gosh I wish our CEO would give us a lecture today on profit-sharing. And in the office, how long would the company tolerate the guy who never does his share of the group project. If you haven’t heard of the Marshmallow Challenge, check out this analysis of the experiment from Ted Talks

http://on.ted.com/8HBQ

I’m not sure exactly how that is relevant but I love how kindergarten grads perform better than business school grads.

We are institutional school junkies and I have been around so many addicts that I feel like I’ve had a career in a methadone clinic. At one school where grades were not part of the program through 4^th grade, the school made the bold and unpopular decision to extend the no grading policy through 5^th grade. Parents were told at 5^th grade back to school night by one veteran teacher: Don’t worry, we are not allowed to give grades, but I have a grade book and every move they make will be graded. If you want to know your child’s grade, you just ask! The junkies collectively sighed their relief.

I have nothing new to add to the grade debate except to say that as a high school principal I hold grades responsible for most of the cheating and plagiarism that exists in my school. I am working hard to change that culture, but it is not easy. The rest of my ideas fall naturally into place. Schools should be filled with communities of learners working together collaboratively to understand and explore the world. Technology that is used in place of old technology or ineffective ways of teaching dolled up with technology: lcd projectors instead of overheads, PowerPoint lectures instead of slide show lectures, etc. is not what I think of when I think of the integrated classroom. Technology is a tool and if learning is about critical thinking and creative problem solving, then kids should have the tools that are used to create, investigate, research, invent, synthesize and explore.

Often I sense I am preaching to the choir, but it is always comforting to know there are like-minded educators who are doing much more than I am to improve education. I am happy to learn from them, support them, and share their ideas. I am proud to be included in your numbers and hope that my thoughts inspire you to keep up the good fight.

It is a shame that education in the 21st century still looks a lot like education in the 19th century. We may have 21st century gadgets and other modern conveniences, but many of the premises and assumptions about education that held true at the inception of public education have continued largely unchallenged and unchanged.

Although there is no area of education or educational practice that has not been studied and scrutinized, and although there is a wealth of research to support change, most schools do little from year to year except update the handbook and change an elective or two. Schools roughly follow the same calendar from year to year:  mid to late August to early June. The core subjects are the same, the requirements the same, and the grade reporting the same.  After spending a few days examining the basics and essentials of most schools, one could safely conclude that school does not much resemble the real world.

In the real world, information is integrated. In schools, each subject is taught as a discrete and independent discipline. In the real world, teams of employees collaborate on projects and work together to solve problems. In schools, we call that cheating. In the real world, you are able to use all available resources to find answers, solve problems, and be creative. In schools you are expected to memorize isolated facts and then are evaluated based on your ability to recall those facts. The list goes on.

These are not new or insightful observations, and they are also gross generalizations. Obviously, some progress and change has occurred. Nevertheless, even in an independent, highly-respected college prep school such as CDS one cannot find evidence for the kinds of systemic changes that identify a school as progressive. CDS has put itself on the map as an innovative school to be sure. I don’t think there are any schools in AASCA that can say teachers at every grade level, preK to 12, have teachers using technology in the classroom. CDS is the only one.But the kind of change I am talking about is revolutionary, systemic change that acknowledges the need to educate students for college and careers in the 21st century.

There is ample research and evidence that we should change, not because we should imitate the real world, but because our current practices have very little to do with how children and adults learn and a lot to do with tradition. We are not adequately preparing our students for the 21st century. We are preparing them to do well on the SAT, an instrument of measuring student readiness for college that has proven to be flawed and ineffective. Yet, the SAT is a billion dollar industry that depends upon the efficacy of standardized testing. The SAT is not afraid to change. In fact they recognize that their days are numbered and each year they frantically tweak and alter and even overhaul the tests and procedures in order to appear relevant. Meanwhile, colleges are slowly moving away from the SAT’s, and gradually acknowledging that it unfairly benefits a small group of applicants. But until it is discredited and abandoned by colleges completely, high schools will continue to pretend that standardized test scores keep them from real, genuine, systemic innovation and change. But I pity the school that waits until that day comes because they will be so significantly behind the educational curve that I fear the number of changes they will need to make will cause that school to implode.

It is ironic that schools, places of learning and places where we supposedly teach kids to think critically, evaluate evidence and synthesize information in order to made thoughtful and educated choices, cannot apply itself to a problem that will ultimately determine its survival. We are so comfortable with how we currently do things that we blind ourselves to all of the contradictory evidence and summon our own evidence to support our unwillingness to change: we’ve always done it this way; I learned it this way; we have always taught this way and our kids get into the best colleges; the AP scores and SAT scores are proof enough that we are doing it right. If we rely on anecdotal evidence to support our unwillingness to change we are doomed to failure.

To understand how deeply committed we are to not changing, look at it from every point of view: the principal doesn’t want change because he doesn’t want to answer the questions or face the challenges of anxious parents, especially of the high achievers. The highest achievers at a school have the most invested in the current system. They will get the requisite test scores and grades to get into college. Ironically, even if change does occur–and the high achievers will definitely lead the fight against change–the highest achievers will always be recognized and always be rewarded. Their fears are irrational, but in their narrowness they recognize the advantages of the status quo. The current system reassures them of their place in the hierarchy and serves as their ticket to the competitive colleges. Even though, in the long run, those stakeholders will not be affected, there is no way to prove that and reassure them when the changes are first implemented. The parents and students must trust the administrator. It is a battle the principal must be supremely confident about. He must believe that the delivery of the changes, through his teachers, will be effective, and he must believe that those above him completely support him as they move forward. Those uncertainties make cowards out of most principals.

Unless they are teachers themselves, the parents only know the way things have always been done. Almost every parent has a reason to be suspicious of change. As I said above, if their child is a high achiever, the current system clearly works for them. Why change it? If their child is in the middle, they probably recognize that much of their child’s successes and failures has as much to do with the system as it does with actual learning. And change means they have to learn a new system! Very risky. What they don’t realize is real change is not about the institution and its rules, it’s about authentic learning and authentic ways of knowing and assessing. Progressive change in education is an acknowledgment of the current needs of the society and culture and an attempt to stay current. No profession can boast the kind of resistance to real change that education can boast. Can you imagine if medicine decided that change in medical practices was anathema to the profession? And finally, the low achieving student would seem to have little at stake in whether the system is changed or not, and might actually embrace the change. But what self-respecting principal or educator is going to advertise the parental support of the “bottom third” as reasons for accepting change? As much as the low achieving students might embrace change or benefit from change, the rest of the parents are not interested in how school-wide systemic change is going to benefit the lowest achievers in the school.

Teachers mostly fear change because it means a lot of work combined with the uncertainty of risk, and the potential for failure. These all go hand in hand. Do not isolate these fears and unfairly brand teachers, even though they are equally culpable in this resistance. Teachers are very diligent and do not fear working hard. In fact they work as hard if not harder than most professionals. They get chided for getting summers off, but not many professionals take home the amount of work teachers do and are also expected to contribute beyond what they were trained to do by coaching sports, advising and coaching academic teams, teaching electives, and so forth. Can you imagine being hired to work in a bank and then being told, oh, and by the way, we expect you to coach our co-ed softball team. Practices are 5 times per week (after work) and our games are on Saturdays. Mostly teachers resist change because they know how much work it takes to do what they currently do. They also know how much preparation and time it took to get to where they are. Change requires they learn new ways of doing things. It means spending the same or more time re-learning how to do what they feel they already do really well (which is why the blinders go on). What teachers don’t want to acknowledge is what they do well is run kids through a system that benefits a few and handicaps others. But once again, the irony can only make us shake our heads.

And believe it or not, students resist change. Kids know or learn very quickly that schools are institutions and that they have predictable patterns and ways of doing things. Like all systems, they can be learned, mastered, manipulated, and gotten around. Some students are excellent at memorizing and regurgitating. Some kids have mastered the art of school. Others know how to get by or get around in order to survive or excel. So change for them is as challenging as it is for teachers.

In part II of this piece I will examine a secret cult I belong to called the Progressive Order of Principals (not a real organization, so don’t bother Googling it or wondering why there is no hyperlink), and I will discuss some changes that schools should embrace in the next few years.

I just returned from the AASCA soccer tournament in Panama. The host schools, International School of Panama (ISP) and Balboa Academy, rolled out the red carpet for us and all the competing “small” schools in Central America. They hosted a flawless event. The organization was well-thought out, the support staff was everywhere and always willing to help, the transportation was on time and accommodating, the referees withstood the heat of the Panamanian sun and the passions of players and coaches, and the parents sold the kind of food that student athletes love to fuel up on. The smell of barbecued meats wafted through the playing areas when the occasional breeze decided a break was needed from the wilting heat. The water was icy cold and plentiful, and we left the pitch with one team proclaimed champion and the other runner-up. It was a successful tournament from the point of view of the host schools, and it was a successful tournament from the vantage point of this principal and number one fan of CDS. Go Panthers.

In reflecting on our trip I thought a lot about our successes, our challenges, and our representation at an International event. One type of success has to do with competition. Both our boys team and our girls team were successful because they competed to the best of their abilities. The evidence was in the cuts, scrapes, bumps, bruises, injuries, soreness, fatigue, sweat, and tears. Not one athlete walked away from any match unchanged. Everyone felt drained either physically, emotionally or both. I remembered the words of my favorite coach who always said, if you train hard, give every practice your best effort, prepare yourself to the best of your ability, and then compete to the best of your ability, you will get what you deserve. He never said we would win, we would be the champs, only that we would get what we deserved.

After many years of contemplation and reflection I totally understand what coach meant, but when I say to other people they are sometimes confused. After a painful loss to a bitter arch-rival, I was feeling particularly angry at my teammates and the referees and at my coach for saying we “deserved” to lose. He didn’t actually say we “deserved” to lose, but look at his statement. We had trained hard, we played to the best of our ability, and yet we lost the game. But coach was right; we got what we deserved. We were rewarded with a high level of skilled play that resulted in great athletic accomplishment and achievement. No, we did not win the match, but the other team had trained equally hard and gave it their all and they were equally rewarded. There are many things that happen in games that players cannot control. What they can control are their own actions, attitudes, and efforts. They can give up or get discouraged when a referee makes an incorrect decision or call, when the ball bounces a funny way or when the less than perfect playing field throws some object in their way rather than at the other team.  We take control of our preparation, our training, and our efforts and we take advantage of our opportunities. The results–the win or the loss–is what it is, but if we take care of what we can control, we will get what we deserve.

Only our student athletes know if they truly got what they deserved. Only they know if they trained properly, worked hard, and gave their best effort. It appeared to this observer that they did, and the fact that they left Panama with many good memories and a couple of trophies suggested that everyone did his or her best. The biggest challenge that I see for high school athletes is that of balance. How do you train sufficiently, prepare for high-level competition, and pursue your scholastic and academic goals a the same time. The professional athletes who are often their heroes, train exclusively for their sport. But high school athletes often find themselves also competing for grades, for academic recognition, for awards and honors that will then translate into acceptances at the selective colleges and universities. It is an unfortunate comparison because the two worlds (athletic and scholastic) often have different rules and actually work in very different ways. So even though we say the lessons learned on the field translate in the classroom, that is only true in certain circumstances.

The differences are subtle but very real in my mind. I think that academics lags behind athletics in many ways. I can coach an athlete to do his best, and if he is not the champion in the end, he can walk away feeling proud at his effort and accomplishment. But I’m not sure we have convinced students that learning, in and of itself, is a worthwhile pursuit. I’m not sure a student sees much benefit in working hard at school if it doesn’t mean acceptance into a top tier college and the eventual reward of a well-paid job. I know there are some athletes who only want wins and championships. But there are numerous statistics that support the notion that winning is not, as they say, everything. In many parent meetings before the start of the season I used to present handouts to the parents with data that listed the top 15 reasons high school kids competed in sports: winning or championships was never in the top 5.

So what poisons academics for kids? I think it is grades. I think we emphasize the equivalent of winning at so many levels that kids are always feeling that they are in competition and that the only goal is to win. Win the A, win the participation points, ace the test, win the gold star, win the teacher’s approval, and so on.

All of my career I have been a coach and a teacher and I have always compared my teaching to coaching and my coaching to teaching. I have tried, as a teacher, not to use grades as the incentive, but I have never devalued their importance because it is the only system kids know. It is not a system that is going to go away, so it is unfair for me, as the adult, to say “grades don’t matter.” Kids know better. They do matter, and so I respect that.

It was nice for the boys to win that soccer championship. Glenda Pearson, who has been at CDS for a long time, told me that the boys had never won a soccer championship in her tenure at CDS. You cannot tell me that kids would continue to play soccer if it was only about the championship. But how many kids would still be studying at CDS if we never gave out any A’s?

Finally, I feel incredibly lucky to have participated in an international event. In the past, as a coach, I have participated in state championships. We have held tournaments or participated in tournaments with schools from other states. I am not sure if our kids truly understand the uniqueness of an international sporting event. It is certainly a matter of great pride to represent one’s school, or even one’s city or state at a competition in the United States, but rarely does a student get to represent his country. Our athletes do it three times a year at AASCA. They represent not just CDS but Costa Rica. And not all of our athletes are Costa Rican. We have Canadians, Hondurans, Dutch, US and others competing for a Costa Rican team. And when we won, songs of victory were intermingled with songs about victorious “Ticos.”

I am an often a quiet spectator and observer at these events which leads others to question whether I am enjoying myself. I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. I loved every moment of it. But it takes a lot of time and energy for me to observe and absorb, so I apologize if I seemed too quiet or introspective. But I was mostly proud of our kids. Not for winning–though that was special in its own way–but for the way the teams behaved, represented their school and represented their “country.”

Cliches exist because they once accurately described a situation but wore out through repeated use. March is the month that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The metaphor may have originally meant to describe the weather, but regardless of the changes in temperature over the years, I never recall gliding serenely into the month of March. March comes in like a lion because February is the busiest month of the year. The winter holiday begins in December, drifts into January, and gradually–after all the resolutions and posturings–the year begins. We stop forgetting that it is 10 and not 09 anymore as we fill out forms or write checks (do people still have checkbooks and write checks?). The real business of my world shifts into overdrive during February.

For me, the first week in February is when I got married and little did I know when I married that I was setting a trap for myself. My wife and I were both professors at the University of Hawaii at the time–where we had met–and as we talked about the logistics of deciding where in the states we would marry: she was from Texas, I was from Michigan; she had family in Washington, DC, I had family in Ohio; no decision was made. Instead, one Saturday morning, we made our way down to the courthouse with a couple of friends from the University, quietly said our vows in front of the judge, returned to our apartment and called our families to tell them the news.

We celebrated our first anniversary worrying whether or not we could find day care for our first child, due to come into the world in one month.  One year later we would celebrate our last anniversary together where it was the most important event of the week. Three months later I accepted a job at Punahou School, and from then on our anniversary always took back seat to some other major event. Punahou Carnival, one of the biggest fundraisers and all-consuming events I have ever been a part of, was always the first weekend in February.  No matter how important our anniversary was to us, we suddenly found ourselves caught up in an event that became–as it was for thousands of others–one of the biggest celebrations of the year. It was clearly an event far surpassing our anniversary and as members of this community we embraced it as did everyone connected to the Punahou family.

Suffice to say that even after we left Punahou our anniversary has had to compete with teacher recruitment (starts the first week in February) and the Super Bowl (recently, the first Sunday in February).  But those events are only the beginning for this busiest of months.  Every year at least two major AASCA events seem to be scheduled each February; the Fun Run is in February; and at least one outdoor education trip was in February, and the list goes on.

For me, the metaphor of March Madness, a metaphoric description of the frenetic energy associated with college basketball and the NCAA tournament reminds us that the cliches of March seem to have something in common, and it has little to do with weather or basketball. For me, March is the month of metaphoric violence, so madness has always seemed an apt descriptor to me.  The last violent storms of the year whip up at the end of February almost as if Nature is trying to remind us to be grateful for spring. No matter where spring falls on the calendar, March is its violent predecesor. The thaws begin, the floods, the winds, the rains. The ugly dirty snows of the cities, the white and aesthetically picturesque snows of the country fade from sight. The limbs that have survived sprout buds like adolescent faces sporting pimples. As we are reminded from our own experiences of bringing children in to the world, birth–the central motif of spring–is the most violent albeit miraculous event of the spring.

Fortunately we do not live day to day in the metaphoric world of March. Instead, the days of March and its attending madness will bring us the following: a visit from our new director, Mr. Greg MacGilpin, and his family (March 3-5); a professional development half day (March 3); the soccer championships (AASCA soccer, boys and girls, March 10-14 in Panama);  the MS Choir Festival (March 17-21 at CDS); and the end of the third quarter (March 26). There will also be two college fairs, one for Canadian colleges and one for Catholic colleges; as well as a college night for juniors.

Although I don’t quite know what to do with the lamb metaphor and how all this wraps up and heads into April, I do hope we can all cope with the changes that March brings and that we find in April some solace. Let’s hope it is not, “the cruelest month” as T.S. Eliot has described it. Let’s hope it is the most restful month.

Congratulations to the girls and boys who participated in the AASCA basketball tournament. The girls went undefeated for the second year in a row and captured the championship. The boys only lost one game and finished third. It was a very well-organized tournament, and the host school, Marian Baker, set a high standard once again for all the AASCA schools to follow. The games at CDS were a lot of fun as well. The parent boosters stayed for every game selling food and refreshments, the students took turns as Captain Black, the CDS Panther, and the gym was rocking with noise and enthusiasm for the home teams.

[View with PicLens]

I continue to be impressed with the behavior of our students. I have always complimented our kids on their kindness to each other and their overall acceptance and inclusiveness when it comes to others. A tournament involving schools from other Central American countries is yet another test of that goodwill, and I thought our kids passed that test with their usual good cheer and good sportsmanship. And I am pleased to say that it wasn’t just our kids. I noticed the same spirit in the kids from Panama, the kids from El Salvador, the kids from Guatemala and the other Costa Rican school kids. I don’t know if it is something about small schools (this was the AASCA small school basketball tournament) that brings this out in kids, but I don’t always hear accounts of the kind of inclusiveness and acceptance I saw this past weekend from teachers and coaches at much larger schools. When I think of the stereotypes of cliques and bullies and elitism, they usually come out of large, impersonal, high schools. And I mean no disrespect to large schools. I am sure there are many large schools where the sense of acceptance and community is equal to if not greater than what we experience. Nevertheless, this small school phenomenon that I am experiencing is unique to me as an educator and I want to applaud it.

Let me share with you a few highlights from the tournament, and none of them have anything to do with basketball, winning, or losing. At the icebreaker the players were all taught a dance to a popular “instructional” song, and all the kids had a great time interacting, jumping around, and learning the dance. Spontaneously, during half time or during a break in the action, someone would play the song over the speaker system and a team would jump up, race to the middle of the court, and start doing the dance. Other teams would hear the music and jump up to join them. It didn’t matter that the gym was filled with kids and adults from many different schools; there was no self-consciousness or shame. Everyone joined in on the fun.

After the hard fought games, the kids all gathered for some food and the distribution of trophies. When mvp’s or high scorers were announced, a genuine display of good will and congratulations erupted from the audience. Teams gave opponents standing ovations out of respect and admiration. I felt a great deal of pride watching as the athletes celebrated their successes as a team and applauded the successes of others. It was a display of good sportsmanship that arose out of programs that clearly emphasized and encouraged fair play.

As a school culture we moved seamlessly from AASCA to Halloween, finishing off the week with a rare all-school activity. I thought it was appropriate, in a way, that one of the few all-school events–celebrated independently and differently in each division–followed on the heels of AASCA, another “all-school” event in which each division plays an unique role. Each division participates in Halloween in what can best be described as age-appropriate activities. The elementary kids dress up in costumes and trick or treat throughout the school. The middle schoolers  help distribute the candy, then get ready for their special activity: the Halloween dance. And finally, high school kids help the adults with the pizza sale and completely organize and supervise the games for the younger kids.

Speaking of seamless transitions, as we head into the Action tournament for basketball, the traditional end of basketball season, we also begin to move outdoors for the start of soccer season. The boys and girls soccer teams have already had several friendly matches and are eager to start their seasons. Below are a list of games that take us into next year and through the middle of March.

Varsity Soccer Action Tournament

Tues. Nov. 17: Girls vs Blue Valley 3:15 at Blue Valley

Tues. Nov. 24: Girls vs Lincoln 4:00 at CDS

Mon. Nov. 30: Boys vs ICS 3:15 at ICS

Thurs. Dec. 3: Girls vs AIS 3:15 at AIS

Boys vs AIS 4:00 at AIS

Sat. Dec. 12: Boys vs UWC 10:30 at UWC

Thurs. Jan. 21: Girls vs AIS 3:15 at CDS

Tues. Jan. 26: Girls vs ICS 3:15 at CDS

Mon. Feb. 8: Boys vs Blue Valley 3:15 at CDS

Tues. Feb. 9: Girls vs MBS 3:15 at San Ramon de Tres Rios

Thus. Feb. 11: Girls vs UWC 3:15 at CDS

Tues. Feb. 16: Girls vs MBS 3:15 at CDS

Mon. Feb. 22: Boys vs MBS 3:15 at CDS

Tues. Feb. 23: Girls vs AIS 3:15 at AIS

Tues. Mar.1:  Girls vs Lincoln 3:15 at Lincoln

Boys vs Lincoln 4:00 at CDS

March 10-14: AASCA Soccer in Panamá

March 15-19: Semifinal and Final Action Games

Sorry this post is so late…I was hoping to upload some photos from the events but had some trouble. As I begin working on my next post I realize I should just put this one up. Sorry again for the delay.

GO PANTHERS! All games listed below will be played at the CDS gym.  Come out and support our teams:

Thursday, October 22  11:00 Girls vs. Maya Guatemala

Thursday, October 22  12:15 Boys vs. Maya Guatemala

Thursday, October 22  2:45 Girls vs. CDS Guanacaste

Thursday, October 22  4:00 Boys vs. Balboa

Friday, October 23  8:00  Girls vs. ISP

Friday, October 23  9:15  Boys vs. AIS

Friday, October 23  10:30  Girls vs. Balboa

The rest of the games depend upon how the teams perform in the tournament. Times and places will be announced.

You probably didn’t need three of the same photo, but oh well…We enjoyed the presentations the Spanish department put on for Independence Day.

Seems to me we just returned from vacation…how can it be October already? All right, it is not exactly October yet, but it seems to me that I looked up from my desk and as I scanned the early part of September, I couldn’t find today…that’s because it was at the end of the calendar. Tempus fugit.

What is in store for October? I thought I would give you a quick overview of what to expect, but before I do, a few reminders for the remaining days in September:

Monday, September 28th is the beginning of picture week. Seniors will be photographed Monday for the yearbook.

Tuesday, September 29th is photo day for 10th graders

Friday, October 2nd is photo day for 9th and 11th graders

Sports for next week:

Tuesday, Sept 29: Vars. Girls Bask vs Calasanz 3:15 at Calasanz

Vars. Boys Bask vs Calasanz 4:15 at Calasanz

Wednesday, Sept 30:  Vars. Boys Bask vs Lincoln 3:15 at Lincoln

And here are the highlights for the rest of October:

October 10   SATs at Lincoln

October 12  holiday/no school

October 14  PSATs at CDS for 9th, 10th, and 11th graders

October 16  First quarter ends

October 21  AASCA basketball tournament opens; host: MBS; co-host: CDS

October24  Finals of the AASCA basketball tournament at MBS

October 28  Professional development; half day for students

October 30  Halloween

There are college visits and other smaller events happening in October. Watch this space for details.

Some quick calendar reminders for the high school.

Monday, September 14 Independence Day celebration. All classes will meet, but we will follow a special schedule in order to support the Spanish department’s planned events.

Tuesday, September 15 Independence Day; no school

Thursday, September 17 Senior Parent Night; 5:30-7:00 in the high school library.  Varsity girls soccer vs. Blue Valley at CDS, 3:15.

Friday, September 18 Vars. Boys soccer vs St. Mary 3:15 at CDS

Don’t forget to see Shakespeare’s comedy, “Twelfth Night” at the Laurence Olivier Theater (next to Sala Garbo) in San Jose. It features two CDS high school faculty, Kathryn Smith and Dennis Atkinson. Shows run through September 27th. For more information call 8858-1446. Or go to the website at www.littletheatregroup.org

CDS will be hosting two college fairs this semester. The first is the Linden Fair which will be held on September 21^st from 8:00-9:30 am in the cafetorium; and the second will be a mini fair that will be focused on schools offering students’ scholarships. This second fair was held last year at the Marriott Hotel and this year, they want to meet specifically with our students. This fair will be on November 2^nd from 11:30-12:54 in the CDS High School.

LINDEN FAIR SEPTEMBER 21, 2009

CDS- Cafetorium 8:00-9:30am

• Tulane University
• Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
• University of Iowa
• University of St Thomas, St. Paul, MN
• Linfield College
• University of  Minnesota
• NYU Abu Dhabi Campus
• University of Syracuse
• Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
• Western Michigan

Participating Institutions: Scholarship Fair; Fall 2009

November 2, 2009

CDS Library, 11:30-12:54

• Berkeley College

• Ferris State University

• Drury University

• Loyola University- New Orleans

• West Texas A & M University

• University of Arkansas

• Drexel University

• Eastern Illinois University

• Fontbonne University

The first week of September will be a busy one for us, as will the entire month. Here are some reminders:

• Thursday, September 3 is high school open house. We will begin at 5:30 with a welcome and introductions. You will then follow a bell schedule visiting each class and meeting the teachers.
• Monday, September 14 is the day for celebrating  Costa Rican Independence. Our Spanish department will feature students performing traditional dance and marking the occasion with a variety of informative presentations.
• Tuesday, September 15 is Independence Day. School will be closed.
• Wednesday, September 23 is a professional development day for all CDS teachers. Students will be dismissed at noon.
• Thursday, September 24 – 27 is the AASCA leadership conference hosted by Lincoln School in Costa Rica. 9 CDS students and the Student Council advisor, Mr. Joe Brunson, will represent CDS at this event.
• Saturday, September 26, from 10:00 until 1:00 is the annual family picnic. This is a major fundraiser for all of our clubs. Come and support our students and enjoy a family day of food, sports, music, and fun. Highlights include the first performance of our school band; games and activities for the kids; the annual student/parent soccer match; and a blood drive. If you can donate blood, bring your ID and help with this important cause.
• Watch the panther by the flag pole. When he is wearing a red bandanna it means CDS has a home sporting event. There is a bulletin board at the entrance of the school, just outside the director’s office, announcing the upcoming games. Come out and cheer on our athletes.