Here is some of what we’re up to, and where we’re heading:
We’ve started a new unit focused on Ancient Greece. Only three days in, this unit is already taking a bit of an unexpected detour! I was very surprised yesterday when the vast majority of the class passionately asserted that it would be better to live in an oligarchical system rather than a democracy! Their main objections were the inefficiencies of democracy and worries about whether or not people would make good choices about their leaders. As we continue to learn about democracy in Ancient Greece we will also spend time investigating our own democracy, looking at other governments around the world, and investigating the value of democracy. Students started writing short opinion paragraphs about what kind of government they would prefer to live in that should be coming home in folders tomorrow if you are interested in seeing where they stand.
We’ll be entering into a Model-UN style simulation where students will represent characters from their “Ponderland” worlds, to see how we could maintain peace in the wake of a “great disruption” where these worlds suddenly collided. They have come up with quite a list of problems that they’re hoping to solve! Having coached Model UN for years, simulations of this style are one of my favorite activities as they allow us to target so many of our core capacities at once – students will need to practice perspective taking as they step into the role of their character, work creatively to solve problems that meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, think systematically, and practice their public speaking during the course of the simulation!
I’m very excited to say that moving forward we are slated to have Ms. Laura, one of our literacy specialists, with us 5 mornings a week! I am very excited – Ms. Laura is amazing!
