Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play. - John Cleese
Hopefully everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather this past weekend - what a gift! We headed out to the Berkshires Friday afternoon for a couple of nights to be with extended family and it was just 'what the doctor called for' - beautiful foliage, time with family, an early morning mountain run on Saturday, good food, and laughs/good company. Although this past week of school had some real highlights that inspired me and prompted deep thought/reflection, I want to practice a little bit of what I preach by taking a step back and keeping it simple. I will certainly share some of the ideas in the coming weeks and near future, but Jon Kleiman's (of Challenge Success) message during the Medfield Talks last Tuesday evening of PDF (play time, down time, and family time) is one that deeply resonated and I want to practice it as well. With that in mind, I am sharing two posts that encourage those three things - play time, down time, and family time.
Protect Your Child’s ‘PDF': Playtime, Downtime and Family Time
by KJ Dell'Antonia in The New York Times
This post highlights the work of Denise Pope and the 'PDF' framework - certainly resonates with me as an educator, parent, and individual.
In the book, she and the co-authors Maureen Brown and Sarah Miles cite the research that tells us that our individual anecdotal sense that our children have far less free time than we once did is spot on. Higher-income children spend more time at school and activities than they once did, and have fewer opportunities to be with friends in an unstructured setting. “Younger kids should have as much free kid play as there is structured activity,” she says. “If they spend an hour at a dance class they need an hour of play time.”
Ms. Pope’s alliterative phrase — protect PDF — makes a great reminder to emblazon across our calendars as we’re scheduling the rest of the winter and starting to look ahead to both spring activities and summer camps. It’s not just what our children do, but what they don’t do, that counts. If, like me, your family really found a way to thrive amid the unscheduled glory of winter vacation, then the most important thing to do with your 2016 calendar is to block off time for more of the same wherever you can find it.
There are things to be learned from playtime, downtime and family time that can’t be learned in the classroom, onstage, on the field or at the rink. Our children are learning to bump up against one another and find a way to get along and to find the things that interest them enough to pull them in when time isn’t an issue. They’re letting their thoughts sort themselves out, or finding support and comfort in family rituals. Maybe they’ll even learn that eventually, every one feels like they’ve watched enough television for one day. Mostly, they’re learning to be whoever they are when no one is watching.
Building Resilience, Preventing Burnout
by Elena Aguilar in Edutopia
Aguilar's post is important and has implications for all, in particular our efforts with Social and Emotional Learning. I also appreciate and acknowledge the impetus and message for administrators, having me 'hold up a mirror'.
Burnout is physical and emotional exhaustion. It can manifest as low-level depression. It’s what happens as a result of unrelenting stress—both physical and emotional. And you can prevent it. You can recognize the indicators of burnout, you can boost your emotional resilience, and you can draw boundaries around what you do so that you can tend to your physical and emotional well-being.
High levels of stress and burnout among teachers are symptomatic of a dysfunctional system. As teachers, we need to individually take responsibility for our emotional well-being by cultivating our resilience so we feel better and can meet the needs of kids. We will then have the energy to better address the underlying conditions and root causes of stress.
There will always be much to process, discuss, share, and highlight - but, if we do not carve out the time for PDF (play time, down time, and family time) we are missing the boat as well. I hope you can help me to remember this as I will try and do the same for our students, staff, and community.
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat