We care deeply about making a better world and if we have the inspiration and ability to influence even a few families to take action we will move forward. We all - parents, teachers, staff, students - have an obligation to give back. We all have a responsibility to make small, incremental change at a grassroots level to explore the realities of our history, to learn and to continuously explore methods to implement forward movement even if just in our neighbourhoods.
Read MoreIn preparing this post I spent some time getting up to date on the latest literature on initiatives and innovations in the education sector. I read materials from Harvard, University of California at Berkeley and Northeastern University in Boston. There’s no shortage of perspectives and approaches and what really stood out to me was where most of these studies coalesce.
Read MoreI am a sports fan. I support and cheer mightily for our local team (including the Leafs). But my most spirited enthusiasm is reserved for my son and daughter who are both exceptional athletes.
And, while we suspended varsity sports at Walden due to COVID restrictions, we do ensure that our Walden Wolves have every opportunity to engage in a variety of sporting activities as part of their formative education.
Read MoreIn the old days, for example the summer of 2018, we would approach the end of school and the summer holiday as a time to hit the road, travel to the cottage, visit friends and relatives in far-flung locations, accompany our kids to baseball tournaments and similar activities.
Now, we’re looking at staycations and the most exciting travel we might enjoy is from the front door to the backyard!
Read MoreWe envision a future where we can all focus on what really matters and as we emerge from the pandemic making a commitment that we won’t return to what we previously defined as ‘normal’.
Together, we can absolutely influence change for good that will infuse our friends, our family and co-workers with a commitment to goodness…
Walden’s commitment to making good people is driven by a firm belief in our shared humanity and that from goodness arises greatness. We mustbegin with the children if we want a better world.If we want a better tomorrow we must inculcate humane values in our children. As the adults in this equation we all need to model the behaviour thatwill guide our children…
Read MoreEven though equal opportunity for equal benefit is central to its meaning, fairness does not mean that everybody gets what they want. It does mean that everybody has an equal opportunity to benefit. For example, a teacher may offer computer time only for students who have completed their work. That’s fair, because everyone has the opportunity to finish their work. It would not be fair if the teacher only offered computer time to…
Read MoreThese times especially require elevated trust levels among all of us in our community. Our very welfare and health depends on creating a circle of safety and the only way we can do that is to rely upon teachers, staff, parents and students to work together for the common good. And, we are so fortunate that this has been our experience. At the same time we recognize a responsibility to guide our students by modelling behaviours and teaching how trust is created and sustained…
Read MoreTo say that the last twelve months have been trying would be an understatement. Uncertainty and fear have left many of us feeling powerless and exhausted. We’ve had to contend with the capriciousness of government leaders, manage the health and safety of our school community, and address the rightful worry of parents. But through it all we have managed…
Read MoreHistory matters when you’re engaged in making good people. History informs how we interpret what is happening around us. It provides insight into the motivations behind social change and provides momentum to embracing change. So, while this is only one month, Walden International School is committed to ensuring that our children move into society with a broad grasp of what is true and are motivated to create...
Read MoreOften it is the kids that will lead us. In their fresh and still relatively innocent view of the world they are able to see opportunities that we adults might dismiss as too difficult or too simple or just too obvious! Their ideas, inspired by our guidance, help us make the choices that differentiate between passive acceptance of ‘reality’ and challenging generally accepted ‘rules’.
When we support activities such as Orange Shirt Day…
Read MoreAs tragic and difficult as the pandemic has been, there have been silver linings and golden learnings. Although we were kept incredibly busy while recalibrating for remote learning and then creating a safe environment to which our students could return, the shut down provided an opportunity to re-think and in many cases re-invent how we would operate the school.
Our teachers had the chance to consider where they could most effectively bring...
Read MoreAmong the many lessons we’ve learned in the past several months one stands out. We are on the right track in our determination to make good people. Of that I have little doubt and I am so thankful that our parents have shared their support for our approach. This month I am committing our team to doubling down on this effort. Even within our small community the ripple effect of building a culture of decency, dignity and respect will have vast repercussions….
Read MoreDuring my twenty years as an educator I have been fortunate to learn many valuable lessons and pursue my vision of educating young people. That vision revolves around a belief that we must create an educational eco-system where our children can flourish.Further, I believe that we must establish an environment where students are nurtured with learning experiences that embrace a culture of compassion and empathy for the individual…
Read MoreAfter the longest March break in history, we’ve all been excited to have the kids come back to school. Yes, we have some very stringent new protocols to follow and it feels somewhat odd but hearing the chatter and laughter in the hallways and classrooms is heartening. I think we sometimes take for granted the joyous squeals, laughter, and even tears let out by our students. After six months of preparing for a safe-as-possible return to campus, it was absolutely wonderful to have our students back.
Read MoreCOVID-19 and social isolation have provided me with the opportunity to open my eyes.
This pandemic has forced me to slow down, to be authentically mindful, to be appreciative of family, of downtime, of myself. I have found a way to give myself permission to being OK.
While I can appreciate that there are parents who face real challenges with maintaining a sensible work/life integration…
Read MoreOur motto at Walden is Making Good People and as part of that commitment, we teach students the importance of contributing to the community we share. We wanted to continue with our annual Spring food drive but this time we had to be more creative in how organized this drive,” said Christine Johnston, PK Teacher and Walden’s ME to WE coordinator. “These are hard times for many families. People have lost their jobs and struggle to put food on the table…
Read MoreHave you experienced the banging of pots and pans in an early evening salute to front line workers? It’s a raucous symphony of gratitude for the people who put the needs of others above their own.
For this week’s post I chose to take a slightly different tack and bang some virtual pots and pans for our teachers. I was inspired to do this when I read this article about one teacher’s experience with teaching during the pandemic. This lead me to ask some of our Walden teachers to share how they’ve been adapting.
Read MoreReinvention has become a constant in all of our lives and with it has come a requirement to adapt rapidly to new learning and lessons being placed before us on an almost daily basis.
If there is one standout lesson among many learned during the COVID-19 impact on our school it is this: our community - parents, students, teachers and administrative staff - has responded with remarkable initiative…
Read MoreWhether you’re 8 or 68, brain breaks are a great way to refresh our minds. What is a brain break? It is a short mental break that helps us refocus so we can return to our task feeling centered and ready to proceed.
We’ve incorporated these refreshing mental pauses into our daily programmes at Walden and it’s something to introduce with your home-learning programmes too. We’ve learned that brain breaks help children (and adults) re-energize their brains and bring their attention back in a more focused fashion.
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