Sudbury School News From Around the World

(The following was presented by Fairhaven School staff member Mark McCaig at the 2011 Fairhaven Sudbury conference and then again last Friday for parents in the Chesapeake Room at Fairhaven School. The talk opens and closes with a video clip of former United States Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin reading a poem and answering questions posed by Bill Moyers.)

W.S. MERWIN: That must be “The Nomad Flute.”

You that sang to me once sing to me now let me hear your long lifted note survive with me the star is fading I can think farther than that but I forget do you hear me do you still hear me does your air remember you o breath of morning night song morning song I have with me all that I do not know I have lost none of it but I know better now than to ask you where you learned that music where any of it came from once there were lions in China I will listen until the flute stops and the light is old again

BILL MOYERS: “I have with me all that I do not know. I have lost none of it.” What — how do you carry with you what you do not know?

W.S. MERWIN: We always do that. I think that poetry and the most valuable things in our lives, and in fact the next sentence, your next question to me, Bill, come out of what we don’t know. They don’t come out of what we do know. They come out of what we do know, but what we do know doesn’t make them. The real source of them is beyond that. It’s something we don’t know. They arise by themselves. And that’s a process that we never understand.

***

So the topic that’s been inspiring me ever since I saw this interview is the very idea of uncertainty, what Merwin calls “what we don’t know.” This evening I just want ... Read More

Growing up, I learned that mistakes are bad.  Success in school was measured by the things you got right, and there were very few chances to try again after making a mistake.  I did my best to avoid making mistakes, because it always felt so shameful to do the wrong thing.  Then I had an experience that gave me a different perspective…

Students consistently work to the best of their ability, noticing on their own when their product doesn't fit their vision, fine-tuning their skills until they reach a satisfying level of mastery. Spelling and other skills are gradually perfected over time, in an atmosphere of non-judgement.

I was in elementary school, and we were given the assignment to illuminate a short text, as monks did in medieval times (The text, mysteriously, was “Money is the root of all evil”).  I remember it clearly, to this day, because of the unprecedented thing that happened while I was working on the assignment.  I remember using my pen and ink and starting the “M”, (with a snake wrapped around it), and then quickly realizing that I should have done it a different way.  I knew that it would look much better if I had a chance to re-draw it.  I must have said so out loud, although I didn’t expect to be granted either the time or permission to start again.  But, shockingly, the teacher responded by saying “It’s ok.  You may have another piece of paper.”

ANOTHER PIECE OF PAPER!!!  I couldn’t believe my ears.  In all my schooling, I don’t think I’d ever had the chance to start over after making a mistake!  We were always in a rush to move to the next thing, whatever it was.  I started afresh, and this time the drawing matched my vision more closely.  ... Read More

Rising Tide School is offering some exciting events in December!  Please spread the word to families who may be interested in these programs.  You can visit our website for information, registration forms, and directions.  Or give us a call at (360) 753-0820.

Our winter Open House is on Sunday, December 4th, from 1:30-3:30pm.  Come meet the staff, get a tour, and participate in a presentation and Q & A about Sudbury education.  Prospective students, parents, and interested community members are all welcome.

On Saturday, December 17, it’s Parent’s Night Out!  Drop your kids off for an evening of fun activities and a yummy dinner, while you do some holiday preparations or go out!   Parent’s Night Out is from 6-9:30 pm and the cost is $20 per student/$15 per sibling.  For ages 4-12.

We also invite you to join the fun for our first ever Winter Break Camp!  Camp will run from December 19-22, from 9am-2pm each day.  We’ll offer a balance of planned creative activities and student-led time.  We’re looking forward to lot of fun!  Camp is for ages 4-11 and the cost is $175 per child.  Space is limited.

We hope to see you!

posted by Abbe

Four members of Art Corporation planned a trip to Seattle Art Museum.  We had a great time!

What we saw inspired us, challenged us, and gave us new ideas for techniques and forms.

This ancient Kwan Yin is in an art museum, rather than the sacred space for which she was sculpted.  Discuss.

Simplicity.  Form.

Viewing a video of a performance piece in which a car is destroyed in a ritual manner.  Or…?

We spent a while at this one.  ”It’s about weight.  And balance.”  ”Or…education?”  (Later, I read a bit about it.  The artist, Heide Hinrichs, says ”It is much more a pedestal disguised as an idea of a shelf.”)

On the train home, I noticed myself seeing things with new eyes, with art eyes.

Pattern, form, and color are everywhere, food for the part of us that yearns to express what we see/feel/know in visual terms.  Thank you art, for being a place for ideas of ideas, for inviting our stories to interact with your objects, and for helping us see through and into ordinary life in a whole new way.

posted by Abbe