Happy Halloween everyone! I never thought I would be so thrilled to have a classroom full of criminals, princesses, and assorted wildlife, but here we are. Above and beyond the wild Friday we are currently having, it was a fantastic week of learning and growth.

The part that I was most excited to do this week is actually an extension of one of our normal morning meeting activities. Every Tuesday we do “What’s going on in this graph”, where we analyze a graph from the New York Times. However, for Mindset Math this week, we spent an entire hour learning how to question a graph, what to look for in novel graphs, and how to spot missing context for the information. Then, after gaining those skills, the class was set loose on a HUGE selection of graphs and they worked together to analyze them. These analyses were so much richer and fuller than we’ve had in the past, I cannot wait to see how it will trickle down into our morning meeting graphs. I am really glad that we got to do this activity, but also that it wasn’t in the first few weeks, as that gave us time to become familiar with the process, before taking it to the next level. I am super proud of the learning and deep thinking the class showed.

The other piece of the week that really stood out this week was the deep algebra work we did. Between the algebraic transformations we worked on in Scholastic Math and the small group work understanding the Pythagorean Theorem, the class has a much deeper familiarity with the function of algebraic equations, how to manipulate them, and the relationships that they represent. I am delighted to have the opportunity to reinforce these ideas both with the whole class and in small groups, as it really helped cement this skill for the class. Great job everyone, especially those people who seemed to melt their brains working so hard to understand it.

The week was full of shocks and surprises, as a beloved character died in our novel and the class recreated a feature from our news magazine with their own research. We also wrapped up our art series and learned all about Newton’s Laws of Motion. I am so thrilled to be able to share these experiences with the class and to continue growing with them. If you want to see our class quiz for the week, check it out here! Happy Halloween everyone!

This week we learned some amazing math and really dove into some scientific investigations. The math this week really dug into the idea of ratios, proportions, and how to recognize patterns within a function. The week began with an investigation into the idea of square numbers and how those can be expressed in a function table. This was a lesson that seemed like it might be a struggle for the class, but they rose to the challenge and seeing them compare tables and reasoning after was well worth the lengthy explanation and set-up required. This segued nicely into our work with Scholastic math, which was all about ratios and proportions. These lessons were a delight for the class, since they dove-tailed nicely with work we have done before and merely extended their conception of these relationships. It is always incredible to see such a clear example of their growth and learning.

This week we also tried out a new science curriculum, which was met with rave reviews. For this lesson, the class was walked through taxonomy and how animals are classified. To start with, the class was given a series of objects and then create what was called a ‘dichotomous key’, which they used to sort the objects. After that hands on experience and a bit more reading, the class then had to use the characteristics of different animal classes to classify an ancient skeleton and decide where it belonged. The lesson ended with a very competitive round of kahoot that got everyone engaged and ready to show what they had learned. I absolutely loved teaching this lesson and I can’t wait to present something new next week.

The rest of the week was similarly productive, with time spent revising outlines to create a rough draft, filming final projects, and continuing to explore “My name is not easy”. Even the early dismissal on Wednesday couldn’t hold back the incredible learning we did this week.

As a note, starting next Friday, as part of our financial education program, we will be going to the bank each week to make deposits. If you have any questions about this program, refer to the emails sent out by the office or reach out to me. Have a great weekend everyone!

This was a short week, but it was still full of amazing conversations and learning. The moment I am the most excited to share was prompted by a short article we read in the Week news magazine about the removal of Confederate statues in Virginia. After reading the article and debating it briefly, I brought up images of Christopher Columbus statues that were altered over the weekend. These changes included signs about genocide, red paint representing blood being splashed on the statue, and even the removal of a statue’s head. I’m being very careful with my word choice, as our discussion centered around whether these changes were vandalism, protest, or art and what separates these acts. While the class didn’t agree on what the ‘right’ answer was, it was really wonderful hearing them articulate different perspectives and defend their positions. We transitioned straight from this into a reading about Martin Luther King Jr and the ideals of nonviolence. The class agreed that nonviolence is always the goal, there was a lot of disagreement about if it is ALWAYS the best response. We discussed how nonviolence was a virtue in the Civil Rights Movement, but we recognize the role of violence in the wars the United States has been involved in. After many of the students landed on violence only being appropriate for self-defense, we even challenged what constitutes self-defense and what it means to respond ‘appropriately’. I hope that after this discussion EVERYONE in the class, regardless of their position, has a more nuanced view and was challenged to think through their perspective more thoroughly. The point of these discussions is never to convince, but instead to spark thought and debate, and I couldn’t be prouder of the ways I saw the class engaging with these ideas.

The other outstanding event of the week was definitely starting our new novel, My Name is Not Easy. The novel relates the experiences of children in a boarding school in the 1960s, centered around the experiences of Native American students in those schools. We talked about how the schools were at best a mixed blessing, providing education but also isolating students from their ancestral cultures. The differences between this novel and the Alchemist are stark, and I think the class is really enjoying the change of pace. We are enjoying mapping out the relationships between the cultures and seeing how the different perspectives layer on top of each other. I am excited to see how the novel enriches our classroom discussion.

Other noteworthy events in the week include using visualizations and equations to connect Celsius and Fahrenheit, working with probability, and a discussion of debt in personal finances. We wrote an entire philotimo essay and continued working on our Alchemist final project. It was a fantastic week and I couldn’t be more proud. Have a great weekend everyone!

It was another fantastic week at Plato Academy middle school. The highlight was the DAYS we spent on algebra this week. While everyone had some familiarity with the concept, this week we dove deeper into understanding the link between a function table, an equation, and a graph. It was a lot of hard work for the class linking these things together and seeing how they are just three different ways to present the same information. Translating between these representations really helped the class get a deeper understanding and I can’t wait to keep throwing harder and harder variations of it at the class.

The other noteworthy event of the week was wrapping up our class novel. The Alchemist was a fascinating experience for us to read as a class. While the book was not universally loved by the class, our discussions of it were deeply personal and engaging, giving the class to reflect on how the message of the book could apply to their own lives. We are starting our final project to wrap it up next week, which will give the students a lot of opportunities to think through their own connections to the book and grapple with its themes a bit more personally.

While those were some standout moments, the rest of the week was still full of excitement and learning. The class is making their own ‘baseball cards’, discussing the nuance of the Haitian refugee crisis, and writing up their own editorials. Their excitement to try something new is keeping this year moving at a lightning pace. Starting next week, the class will be meeting with me regularly in small groups, which should be a very valuable opportunity to dive a little deeper. I’m especially excited to start working with 8th graders, as we’re going to be preparing for the HSPT and giving them more confidence to tackle something that can be a little intimidating. Oh, and feel free to check out our classroom quiz for the week here! Have a great weekend everyone and see you next week!