Something to run for...

CheetahCountrySurprise #6    We believe youth do not need adults to learn ... -they need adults to create opportunities for learning.          Tummy Time. If you know the term, you know that at some time when your child was a small infant, you were told as parents it is important. The purpose is to develop the muscles in the neck and throughout the trunk to hold your head up and to build core strength. Many of us complied and provided this muscle building time for our children. Some of us did not know about it. Some of us were never told and did it anyway. Apparently looking up and seeing the world, holding your head up high- that was a big deal. When did that stop being important?  Metaphorically, we were asked as parents to pause our busy filled days and provide a time for our children to look up! Ever watch a kid on Instagram or engaged on any device involving social media? They look like they have fallen down the rabbit hole in W...

CheetahCountrySurprise #5 There is no assigned homework! "If you don't assign homework, how can she be ready to handle the work when she gets to college?" asked a prospective parent". I paused. Smiling I asked, "is it true that if students stay at school longer and then do more work at home they will be more prepared for college? He smiled and asked, "yes ?". "No", I said smiling. Let's break this down. The average public school, state-mandated history course for eleventh or twelfth graders requires 250 minutes of class a week under a traditional year-long period schedule or 410 minutes in a block schedule with the course ending mid year.  The National PTA's meta-analysis of nationwide homework practices showed the recommended homework time to be an average of ten minutes of at-home work per grade level number; grade 1 ten minutes, grade 9 ninety-minutes-Mon-Thurs.  A later study showed that homework had no affect on overa...

CheetahCountrySurprise#4  We don’t care much about the ‘WHY’. It is hard for me when Gianna comes home and notifies me that she is behind in Math minutes. I use the word ‘hard’ because I have to hold back the immediate question, I know all parents use- WHY? So of course, because I always remember my own advice (note sarcasm), my own deep rooted beliefs about children, ones that I have grown a coaching practice around- I do not ask WHY - except of course when I do. But when I do, and the drama and crying begins, I remember I caused the drama in the first place! Because when I ask WHY- about something I know I should not be tied to-something that I do not own, but she should- then I get crying, and disappointment, and I hurt the little girl I love. Cause when I use WHY, I know selfishness is my only reason. Maybe I can throw in a dash of convenience, and a dash of tiredness too! Instead of asking ‘WHY’-   ask ‘HOW’ Why- the question why, if we ask why- we are...

CheetahCountrySurprise#3  There will be mass confusion! … for parents . Yes! Every day I try to inspire our partners to remember two things of importance. ·        First, all kids are capable, creative, and whole-just the way they are! ·       Second, “don’t steal their practice!” I believe that in life, each day is a gift. It is the chance to improve and discover and find something amazing. It is a chance to help, to build, and inspire. In the short three-hundred sixty minutes each day, a partner’s main role is to ensure all students feel a part of their own story- Their OWN story. So we make a commitment. The partners seem to make it silently. I seem to make it loudly. We commit that each day we will let students have the practice,  for they are the expert on them. This sounds so odd. Even as I write it, the mother in me feels a bit anxious. It seems to go against what we feel as par...

CheetahCountrySurprise#2      We do not reward “hard work” or “rule following” Nothing makes a kid turn on you like fake praise. It is the blood in the water that draws out the sharks and nothing makes them come for you faster than words of encouragement for mediocrity or for things that are expected for daily existence.  “Great job, you put your coat in your cube” are words never to be heard here.  You would think there would be more cube filling of items if there was praise of cube filling of items- but friend that does not happen!   If your boss told you he liked the report you submitted, and it is just some form to fill out- you would feel weird. The compliment would feel fake. So is the same with students. Students will put items in their cubes and neatly, when they run into trouble finding their items.    Why? Children and adolescents alike will not repeat a behavior just because someone says the behavior made the observer happy...

CheetahCountrySurprise#1 Our Learning Partners are NOT in charge of learning. The real heart of the matter is that at BA Academy the learner is in charge. We make it our daily purpose to shift the power and control of learning to the learner herself! The lab and studio are student-governed. This is both an awe-inspiring and disruptive element that makes our learning community unique. Our learning partners are partners in learning, not in charge of it. Disruptive It is “disruptive” because it is different from what one would expect in a learning environment. It is “awe-inspiring” because when you see it in action, it is quite breath-taking. Talk about "out of your comfort zone" - What do you get when you turn the learning over to a student and give them a long, shiny new bowling alley? The request for bumpers.  This is quite funny. They do not ask for someone to stand behind them. They do not ask for the long metal thing to guide the ball down and ensure they ro...