Khakis

Just to set the record straight. I do own more than one pair of pants. I overheard a couple of students speculating that I wear the same pair of pants to school every day. 

I do not.

I wear the same kind of pants every day….Khakis. The tan-colored, cotton pants that you see each day. 

I have about 12 pairs of khakis. 

Fashion is not a really important thing for me. I don’t really understand what colors go with what other colors. The whole stripes and patterns thing confuses me. 

I keep it simple. I wear only tan khakis to school. They’re comfortable and they go with everything. It doesn’t matter what I choose to wear for a shirt, it’s gonna go - no matter what. 

For me that means less time thinking about things I don’t find important and more time to think about things I do find important.

Like….what would happen if you could drill a hole right through the Earth and come out the other side. 

I like thinking about things like that…and not so much about what shirt goes with what pants.

Current Events in Science

One of the favorite days of the week for me is Current events day. I like the opportunity to see what my students bring in, what they’re interested in, and what they like about science. 

This year, current events day will be Fridays. Ten minutes at the end of the week where we can poke our collective heads up, look around at all the cool things that are going on in the world of science and talk about them.

Everyone can participate in current events. 

It’s simple: Find an article, read it, bring it into class. Last week students brought in articles about a new Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star, the Philae lander that was found on a comet, and a rocket test gone wrong. 

I encourage everyone to participate. Think about what you enjoy learning about in science, find out what’s happening in that field and read an interesting article. If you love geology, bring in an article about something that happened in that field. If you enjoy biology, find an article about a new development in biology, etc.

Current events in science should be fun and interesting. Participate, join the fun. 

Hello Bartlett...

A new school year begins. 

For me, it’s not just a new year, it’s a whole new school. A maze of a building with nooks and crannies and loopy hallways, ramps and a garden smack-dab in the middle of the whole thing.

It’s a wonder I can find my way in and out of the building most days. A school without students is a pretty empty place. There’s no one to ask for directions. It doesn’t help that Ray and his custodial crew keep sweeping up my trail of breadcrumbs, so I just wander around until something looks familiar.

Think about this: I come in the main entrance and go down the stairs to room 23 and I’m on the second floor. Is the front door on the third floor? That can’t be. Seriously, who puts the main entrance on the third floor? Is there some warp in the space/time continuum between the front door and my room? I don’t know.

I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I’ve got a good sense of direction, a GPS app on my phone, and I’ve got students to show me around. 

Now, if someone can help me find the copy machine…

Thank You

It was Friday when it really hit me that I was leaving. Dan said such nice things about me in closing circle that I could not choke out a reply. But I had a weekend to wrestle with the emotions of leaving a community I love. 

Today, I wanted to say something and I did…it wasn’t the exact words that had been rolling around my head all day, but it was close enough. 

Thank you all for helping me, supporting me and valuing my contributions. I can not tell you how much this has meant to me. 

I wish each and every one of you all the best. 

I will take the spirit of McAuliffe with me to my new school. We are crew, not passengers.

The Natural World

The ten design principals underpinning all we do at McAuliffe reflect the educational values and beliefs of Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound. These principles include an appreciation of The Natural World.

In June, we will plunge headlong into The Natural World with a three-day, two-night camping trip.

This trip will be “Challenge by Choice”- there will be a challenge of some sort for everyone, but each individual will choose their level of individual challenge. 

There will be some Crew-based activities including preparing and cooking a meal all together.

Cat Videos On The Internet

“And, please don’t waste time watching cat videos on the internet.”

That’s how I ended the instructions to my crew a few days ago. It’s actually something I say a lot. It’s what I hope will be a funny way to follow up on my instructions that they make use of this time for something academic, i.e. homework, classwork, reading etc. We only had about 20 minutes and they had no interest in playing a game or doing a check-in.

My instructions did lead to a telling interaction:

Student: “What did you do for fun when you were in 8th grade, Mr. McKellar?”

Me: “I watched cats.”

Student: “I don’t understand.”

Me: “I watched cats.”

Student: “I don’t understand.”

Me: “I watched cats, actual cats”

Student: “I don’t understand.”

Me: “The internet hadn’t been invented yet.”

Student: “Okay, but I still don’t understand.”

Me: “I watched cats, real cats”

Student: “I don’t understand. How did you do that?”

Me. “We had cats and used to watch them play….in real life….not on a screen…in my backyard - real cats!”

Student: “Ohhhhhhhhh, I understand.”

Find The Things That Excite You

“I can get excited by learning something new.”

That was the HOWL (Habits of Work and Learning) target I wrote on my front board Friday.

I think sometimes kids think it’s cool not to be excited or impressed by the things they learn. They act as if they’ve seen it all already, that they can not be surprised by something. They can be really blasé about really exciting things.

I think sometimes they don’t allow themselves to be excited - it wouldn’t be cool.

Trust me, there are way more important things than coolness. There is the excitement of exploration.

I learn new things every day. I get excited when I’m surprised by something I didn’t know.

I’m still thinking about all that I learned about the Colosseum in Rome a few weeks ago. I was blown away by all the amazing things I learned during a short tour (a retractable roof - really???). My imagination has been on fire thinking about how this structure was built and used all those centuries ago.

If you are studying the criminal justice system, plant cells or quadratics, seek out new ideas. Find the things that light a fire in your imagination. That “thing” will be different for everyone. 

Find what excites you - things that you want to learn more about. Actively seek out new ideas and new information. The lessons we teach are not the end of the topic...they are the beginning.