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Shedding Schedule
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Dear Friends:
If the worst part about
moving is the packing, the best part –
at least in my view – is the un-packing!
I’ve been in an un-packing mode for
the past couple of weeks now and the things
I love unpacking most are my books. While
I love technology and I have my share of
the newest gadgets, I don’t think
I’ll ever tire of holding a book in
my hands. Just having those books on shelves
close by to me gives me sheer and utter
comfort!
I unpacked a big load of
my “professional” books the
other day – the ones that deal with
education, learning, leading, etc –
and I lingered for a while with one of my
all-time favorites, The Schools Our Children
Deserve by Alfie Kohn. Kohn is an unabashed
apologist for what we Americans call progressive
education. Thumbing through this particular
book of his which I’ve read more than
a couple of times now, I found it opening
pretty quickly to a chapter Kohn entitled
“Education at its Best.” The
sub-sections of that particular chapter
point to a number of the beliefs I bring
to education: Beyond the Right Answer; Making
Trouble for Students; Deep Thinking; Starting
With a Question; Decision-Making In the
Classroom; Cooperating to Learn……
Kohn passionately argues
for the things that many of us (with equal
passion) spend our lives working for: schools
and classrooms that will give our students
the opportunity and the challenge to think
deeply, to question actively, to argue fervently,
to work cooperatively, and to act decisively.
I’ve spent my life
working towards those goals in education
and it is exciting to find that, here at
Lincoln School, I’m not alone. Together
with this excellent group of educators and
a school full of great students, we have
what it takes to work towards, and to achieve,
these goals. To be one of the schools our
children deserve will take a lot of work
and it will, I hasten to add, turn some
of our old and cherished ideas on end. I,
for one, enjoy the challenge and I’m
happy to report that at Lincoln School I
stand shoulder to shoulder with educators
equally committed to the task and ready
for the risks.
Yours,
Phil Clinton
Director
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