« Curriculum Spotlight: Art 4-4-2008 | Main | AFKS »
April 04, 2008
From the Director 4-4-2008
THIS LETTER/ARTICLE HAS ALSO BEEN MAILED HOME
Friday Letter
April 4, 2008
Dear Presidio Hill Community Members:
From time to time we want to share good resources that speak to the core concepts of progressive education. The current issue of Independent School Magazine is devoted to “Education and Democracy, Today.” Not bad timing for a Presidential election year. The feature article in the magazine is by Alfie Kohn who came to the Bay Area to talk about progressive education: what it is and what it isn’t.
Attached to this letter (click here) is Kohn’s fabulous article, “Progressive Education: Why It’s Hard to Beat, but also Hard to Find.” I spoke with Alfie Kohn by phone two days ago to ask for permission to send this article to all of you. He graciously agreed. As you read the article, as many of our teachers have already done, I hope that it will generate questions that I hope will spark agreement, debate, and interest in what we do as a school. Also as you read, please recognize what we do and perhaps what we could do better as a progressive school in the early Twenty-First Century. Also know that in our work together in helping to facilitate the learning of all the children at PHS, we invite conversation and feedback about philosophy but also about making the abstract real as a progressive school.
At our next Dialogue Circle on Thursday, May 1st at 6 PM, “Built to Last: PHS, Progressive Education, and What’s Next,” we will discuss the practical nature of how we can continue to push the edges of the envelope of progressive education for the next 90 years.
Sincerely,
Brian Thomas,
Director