On the eve of Week 2...

So I feel like the first week of school went pretty well.

I was expecting there to be a lot more chaos and stress - and I'm sure there was somewhere for someone. So I count myself lucky that some of my apprehensions turned out to be just... some apprehensions.

I focused the first class meetings of the new year on the idea of Empowered Learning to the World History students at 9Camp and the Psych 1 and Intro to Philosophy students at MCamp.

The Freshmen seemed eager to take a run at this way of learning. But it's been my experience that the freshmen are pretty much eager and excited to be high school students. They're ready for just about anything different - and eager and excited to get on with it.

The Juniors and Seniors, on the other hand, were a divided lot.

There were more than a handful of students that seemed intrigued by the idea of grading that takes into account progress. They were curious and interested in an approach to the classroom that emphasizes active learning and some degree of freedom and choice.

But I also got a vibe ("Mr. Barry, are we actually going to learn any psychology this semester) that some upperclassmen were hoping for a more traditional, lecture-focused, daily-homework-for-points, what's-my-grade-right-at-this-very-second kind of experience. They struck me as apprehensive and perhaps a little disappointed by the divergence from their expectations and training.

I think they're going to be OK, and I told them so. I told them I believe that BHHS students are remarkably resilient and resourceful. And once they get the swing of the Humanities Assessment Criteria and how they're applied - and how we use them to encourage risk-taking and growth - that they'd find themselves surprised to find that learning is fun again. And that the content of the course will be stickier than it ever was in any other cram-it-in-for-the-test kind of class.

I believe it. My greatest challenge in the next couple of weeks will be helping them believe it too!

MB

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."
Helen Keller