As an educator and former philosophy student, I feel fairly sure that most philosophical questions and argumentative forms were generated first by children and only later stolen by academics. Middle schoolers in particular have always been on the cutting edge of questions related to the purpose of education, freedom, and justice. Why should I read […]
Boarding school can mean a lot of different things to different people. Some think of tall, gothic buildings full of students in uniforms. Others think of robe clad teenagers brandishing wands and battling the forces of evil. The idea of boarding school is so widespread, and perhaps alluring, that many books, television shows and movies […]
I still vividly remember my first day of middle school. As the bright morning sun shone through the windows, I sat in a classroom amidst strangers. I only recognized a couple of kids, but they sat several desks away, too far to talk to without attracting unwanted attention. Instead I sat with my head down, […]
It’s a typical Monday morning at AMS. A group of students are riding skateboards on the school courtyard. Another group are climbing an apple tree and talking excitedly. One student sits on the grass reading to themselves while some other students play a board game at a picnic table. These students are not being rewarded. […]
Student led conferences are quickly replacing parent teacher conferences as a way of communicating students’ academic progress. The idea is that students do most of the talking, informing their parents about their academic goals and how they think they are doing in each class. Teachers find that student led conferences often lead to empowerment and students taking ownership over their […]
Schools and their surrounding communities often share a symbiotic relationship. When a neighborhood flourishes, so does its local schools. In turn, those schools bring their community together through events and friendships amongst the students. For Arthur Morgan School, the partnership with its surrounding community runs deep. Two Halves of the Same Whole Arthur Morgan helped […]
“What school is right for my child?” It is a common question. I’ve watched friends grapple with this question for years, but never believed it would be a question my husband and I would be asking. We started our version of this discussion when our son was about to enter eighth grade and we realized […]
In seventh grade, I experienced my first real academic failure. My science teacher assigned us a large project. We had to research and present about the different organ systems of a specific animal. As an awkward seventh grader, I was not excited about this idea. Puberty and new social dynamics had hit me hard and […]
“Dumbo Melonhead!” My friends in seventh grade gave me this nickname after an unfortunate haircut showed off my very prominent ears and round scalp. Even after my hair grew back and hid my ears once again, the nickname stuck. I lived with it for years. People who had never seen the haircut still called me […]
Leaf season is always a special time. Thousands of people flock to the Blue Ridge Parkway in these few precious weeks of October to see the mountains transform in a collage of canary yellow, sunburnt orange, and rusty red. It’s an annual cycle that lets us know the final harvest is here and it’s time […]