Adventures Teaching in a Quaker School: May 2020

Friday, May 8, 2020

This week we began sharing brief video invitations for our young students. These invitations are provocations to continue to grow around ideas and elements of our Quaker identity.

Today, we begin by building a Testimony Tree.

Click here to see the lesson in its print version.

This invitation involves ideas around found items, natural materials, art, making, and printing. Students are invited to choose a media in which to create a tree for the purpose of exploring, documenting, and reflecting on Quaker and personal testimonies.

About me...

I believe strongly that Quaker ideas and values should be addressed explicitly in the elementary classrooms. I also believe that the children in those classrooms need to be exposed to a community of people who value and are led by those same Quaker ideas. I’m of a mind that there needs to be a balance between Quakerism being “caught, not taught” and children needing someone to explicitly lead them in the social and spiritual component of a Friends’ education. As one of the clerks of my Lower School Quaker Education community, I believe that my role is to create and curate a collection of tools that teachers, parents, and students can use in the course of their Friends education. I don’t believe that my role is to define or dictate how each member of my community interprets, delivers, or shares these tools. I am merely a fellow traveler who is ready to lend my metaphorical binoculars when someone is confused or unsure of which direction might be clear or beautiful or interesting. I also believe that, as a teacher of students who are just beginning their Friends education, I have a responsibility to provide age appropriate foundation blocks for future learning and discovery. As a teacher of our youngest children, I introduce Quaker testimonies in visible, audible, and tangible manners. I have created a classroom culture that includes language, traditions, and behavior that are rooted in Quakerism. I make careful choices, read diverse stories, and share my own truth as an example of letting one’s life speak whenever possible or appropriate.

Adventures Teaching in a Quaker School

Friday, May 8, 2020

Build a Testimony Tree: Remote Classrooms * Connected Learning

This invitation involves ideas around found items, natural materials, art, making, and printing. Students are invited to choose a media in which to create a tree for the purpose of exploring, documenting, and reflecting on Quaker and personal testimonies.

Growing a Garden of Peace (Testimonies for the Classroom)

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