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Doing Things Right: Aligning Parenting and Salmonberry Schooling and five good books "As parents we often have doubts, but if we are helping children develop in accordance with nature's ground plan for healthy development, we can trust that we are doing things right." - William Crain Another question I often hear from parents is what can we do as parents that will support our child's learning in a school like Salmonberry. I love this question! It is like music to the ears of any committed educator. Often the greatest misunderstandings stem from a lack of alignment between school and parent. When we are working at cross purposes, or when our core beliefs diverge significantly, challenges inevitably arise; children are confused and we are all less effective than we could otherwise be. When Salmonberry School began and as I learned more about holistic and humanistic models of education and education theory I would often try to direct parents to the holistic education literature. Unfortunately, a lot of this literature was dense with education history, child psychology, specific vocabulary and jargon tied with individual traditions, and especially University talk about the nature of learning and knowing, post-modern deconstructions of dominant paradigms, investigations into epistemology, ontology and other multi syllabic mysteries - just the sort of stuff to turn off a caring but busy parent. In my meanderings through the literature I have found some wonderful and significant sources of wisdom specifically aimed toward a parent audience that are very much in line with a Salmonberry School orientation. I offer the titles and brief summaries below in an effort to lead parents to some passionate and clear voices who are more articulate than mine. In a nutshell, however, I now say this to parents: above all, trust your child. Be their supporter, their admirer; prize them, love them, accept them. Try to release your anxieties. The child truly can and will unfold his/her capacities naturally and beautifully. You needn't reward, punish, bribe, cajole, assess, correct or worry, at least not nearly as much as we seem inclined to do. Remind yourself of the big picture and long term goals of ultimacy (Forbes) self actualization (Maslow) and engagement and simply be present for them. Here are five books that we have been using as a basis for a weekly parent discussion group this year. The texts are both readable and hopeful. They reflect a holistic and humane approach to parenting and educating our children. They reveal wisdoms consistent with a Salmonberry School philosophy. The Salmonberry parents who have been reading them together are finding them to be transformative. Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn: Here Kohn calls attention to the fact that so much parenting advice is focused on the goals of control by parents and obedience by children. He also highlights coercive and authoritarian parenting strategies of excessive rewards and punishment. He points out a way of being which he terms unconditional parenting which seeks to give children what they need to grow naturally and fully: a bedrock foundation of love and support even, and perhaps especially, when they have made mistakes or seem to be acting out. After making parents feel pretty guilty for the first half of the book for all we have inadvertently done wrong, he provides some very hopeful alternative goals and strategies. Quite a few parents I know have found this book to be truly life-changing. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. by Richard Louv: In this one, the author describes the dramatic shift in recent decades in terms of kids access to nature. We have moved from an expectation that kids will spend many unstructured hours exploring and being nurtured by nature, to an almost complete abandonment of this expectation, with some dire consequences. Now kids are increasingly isolated from nature, it is often considered a place to be feared and, of course, kids time is increasingly structured and scheduled within their unnatural technology-dominated environments. Louv cites hundreds of examples of benefits which unstructured time in nature can bestow to a growing child. The language is beautiful. Highly recommend this one. Reclaiming Childhood by William Crain: Crain is the editor of Encounter:Education for Meaning and Social Justice magazine and a psychology professor in NYC. Crain uses the backdrop of the apparently pathological mania in NYC regarding intensely competitive private school elitism to illustrate his critique. He calls direct attention to our apparently increasing need to focus attention on our perception of kids' futures and future needs, at the direct expense of our awareness of children's needs and nature in their present. He articulates many ways in which childhood (particularly from birth to age eight) is a truly unique time in which children have particular gifts, proclivities, passions and abilities. Many of these such as specific types of creative expression and sensitivity to human connection with the natural world, are often much sought after capacities in the adult world. He notes how artists, poets and even scientists long to recapture these childlike capacities and sensitivities. He urges us to appreciate these gifts and not hurry through or past childhood. In this way, the book is reminiscent of David Elkind's The Hurried Child. He also reveals some good historical views of childhood and points to a few holistic ed. forefathers including Rousseau, Thoreau, Pestalozzi, etc. Crain also reminded me that it is okay to call one's self "child centered," (even Parker Palmer seems to avoid this term) which is often now a kind of derogatory term meant to bring up images of over indulgence and childish hedonism, chaos and anarchy. This book has helped me to refocus my attention on my own children and appreciate some things I was really missing - good for me to read while on break from work! Raising Lifelong Learners by Lucy Caulkins: Caulkins is a renowned educator in the whole language tradition. In this text, she calls parents to focus on working in partnership with our kids towards longer term goals. She writes about keeping learning joyful and authentic, and points out many useful strategies that we can use to support our children's learning besides handing them a workbook, flash cards and a stopwatch. This one was good for me to think about ways in which progressive curriculum strategies such as whole language mesh so well with holistic education theory. Basically it's all about helping our kids to realize their potential for curiosity, wonderment and limitless lifelong engagement. Natural Learning Rhythms by Ba and Josette Luvmour: In this book the authors explain their own theory of child development. They have a synthesis of many stage-based theories including Steiner and Piaget. Their approach assumes that children unfold naturally and go through predictable processes which often include hesitations or regressions as the unfoldment develops. They point out how much of our challenges in parenting are closely related to our difficulty in being open and receptive to these amazingly dynamic and changing children. Many examples, mini-case studies and practical suggestions to help us give our children what they need.The Luvmours have just recently come out with a new book using the Natural Learning Rhythm model called Optimal Parenting. I haven't read this one, but it seems to be even more specifically addressed to a parent audience. That's it. I'd welcome feedback if you read any of these texts or if you know of others that would be especially useful to elementary age parents. My hope is that as we read, study, observe and dialogue together we can continue to construct a shared understanding of children's nature and learning, and work together using complementary strategies and an aligned understanding of our adult role in the organic process of children's growth. "Doing" State History? Towards a Post-Modern Curriculum "The teachers are everywhere. What is wanted is a learner." - Wendell Berry Often, I am asked about Salmonberry's elementary school curriculum. How is it created or developed? What will a Salmonberry student learn in a given year? How can we be certain that we aren't missing important elements? Recently a very well-meaning parent of a fourth grader who had been in dialogue with a parent from outside our community, asked in this vain, "When will the kids do state history?" (In most standards driven districts fourth grade social studies focuses on state history.) Reflecting on this question over a few weeks has led me to the following thoughts: First, our curriculum is largely emergent and therefore it is not reliably predictable when a student will pursue specific content. That is to say units of study are designed as they emerge from students' interests, passions and direct experiences. Our core belief is that learning should be relevant and meaningful to the students. If learning is to be held deeply and integrated within the learner so that it is retained it should be firmly attached to prior learning and have potential for relating to future learning. A student should care deeply about his/her learning. (Noddings, 1992) The best way to ensure this is to grow content out of kids' direct personal experience. John Dewey was a hugely influential proponent of this understanding of what is now generally called "experiential education." (Dewey, 1952, 1992 ) Reggio Emilia is another tradition that fully embraces this concept. An example of emergent curriculum curriculum at Salmonberry School was launched when a student found an arrowhead on the school grounds. This led to some personal wondering and research. Eventually it led to some whole group musings: "I wonder how old it is?" "I wonder who lived here then?" "What was their life like?" "How do we know about those people?" "How can archaeologists use artifacts to figure out so much?" The intensity of interest combined with the potential for both breadth and depth of study made this an obvious choice for an emergent thematic unit. We spent the next ten weeks inquiring together and exploring a wide array of sub-topics that sprang up. The learning included math, as we looked at time-lines, engaged in sorting and classifying data, did a mock-dig in which we made graphs and meticulously recorded our findings. It included literature, as we read some wonderful fiction as well as journal accounts of archaeologists. It included science as we learned about geology, rock types, soil analysis, etc. It included history and social studies as we learned about paleo-indian cultures as well as subsequent peoples of our particular region. We found ways to integrate art, craft and handwork, movement, games, lessons on group decision-making, and much more. All learning was grounded in the focused work of a community of learners. This is an example of emergent integrated thematic curriculum. There is no question that what was learned was retained, and integrated deeply, despite the lack of quizzes, tests or grades given by the teacher. The questions remain, however, regarding what was not covered? What if during that ten weeks, the students didn't learn something that second graders "should learn?" This leads me draw attention to a shift towards what some authors have called a post-modern curriculum. The modernist vision, which tends to dominate traditional school settings today, includes the notion that we can identify finitely what "needs to be known." We can make lists of facts, absolute truths, essential skills. We can divide the curriculum up into subjects, divide the day up into periods, divide the students up into grades, and divide the content into factoids and skills which we can place into the matrix of the school experience, year, day, and thereby cover everything. This model fails to account for what I consider to be some critical factors. I believe first that what passes for truth today will not be so revered in years to come. I think about so called truths I was taught in school which are now generally regarded as false, or only partially true. Truth from a post-modern perspective is always in a process of definition. We are continually seeking truth and it is always evolving. It is a dynamic process in which we construct knowledge in relation to it and in relationship with others. What is needed then, from our education, is not a pouring in of finite facts and skills, what Freire calls "the banking model" (Freiere, 1970, 2000 ) what Carl Rogers calls the jug and mug model, (Rogers, 1969 ) where the teacher deposits or pours in facts to the students. What is needed is critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, skills of dialogue and communication, skills of seeing and being fully present in one's world, skills of reflection, skills of knowing one's relation to the world and others, skills of finding meaning, personal relevance and passion in one's learning. These are some of the life skills which Salmonberry Elementary School seeks to develop and unfold within each learner. I believe that any education will result in what the modernist critic calls "holes in one's learning." We cannot possibly hope that a child will graduate from school knowing everything. Therefore we select a somewhat arbitrary (some will disagree about the use of this word) and very large set of facts and skills and try to "cover" them. Two more false assumptions here. First, the mistake educators often make is that what is taught is equal to what is learned. That if we cover the curriculum the students will leave "knowing it." I hope that it is obvious why this is a ridiculous claim. In fact, it is widely accepted, for example, that facts delivered by lecture will be retained for a period of days at about the rate of 5-10%. As the time span increases the retention declines. This leads us to more hands-on and "progressive" methods which result in somewhat greater fact retention, but still the basic flawed goal is the same, and equally unattainable. Second, is the regrettable assumption that breadth is more important than depth. We certainly don't have time to create deep rich, first hand learning experiences. This requires field trips, time spent on reflection, open ended explorations, etc. we have way too much to cover. What results is a kind of surfing through the curriculum. We channel surf as we watch television; we surf the net on our PC's; and kids surf through their school lives. They cover a lot of surface and we believe they have seen the ocean. What is missed of course is the profound depth and meaning lurking just below or hidden well below the surface. And, yes, to see this takes time. (Jardine, 1997) Carl Rogers in the 1960's and Parker Palmer today are two educators who have written extensively on these subjects. Carl Rogers, widely considered the forefather of humanistic psychology wrote in his book Freedom to Learn, "Teaching is, for me, a relatively unimportant and vastly overvalued activity." (Rogers, 1969, p.103) By this he was distinguishing between teaching as the imparting of finite bodies of knowledge and facilitating or guiding a community towards meaningful self discovery. What Wendell Berry describes in his simple sentences "The teachers are everywhere. What is wanted is a learner." (Berry,1990, p.13 ) Rogers later writes, "But if there is one truth about modern man, it is that he lives in an environment that is continually changing. The one thing I can be sure of is that the physics which is taught to the present day student will be outdated in a decade." (Rogers, 1969, p.104). And later, "The goal of education, if we are to survive, is the facilitation of change and learning. The only man who is educated is the man who has learned how to learnes a basis for security. Changingness, a reliance on process rather than upon static knowledge is the only thing that makes sense as a goal for education in the modern world." (Rogers 1969, p.104) In Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach, the author writes specifically about the unfortunate choosing of breadth over depth in traditional modern classrooms. He extends the metaphor of covering the field which he points out often results in smothering the field. We pull a vast tarp over it and anything living is inevitably killed. (Palmer, 1998, p.121). Palmer discusses this strategy as lacking depth and meaning and the resulting methodology as lacking space and time for students to become active and reflective participants in their learning. He writes, "Rather than use the space to tell my students everything practitioners know about the subject - information they will neither retain nor know how to use - I need to bring them into the circle of practice in that field." Palmer reminds us of William Blake's "Auguries of Innocence" in which we can "see a World in a Grain of Sand." "Why do we keep trying to cover the field when we can honor the stuff of the discipline more profoundly by teaching less of it at a deeper level," (Palmer, 1998, p.122) And finally, Palmer coins the phrase "teaching from the microcosm." He writes, "Teaching from the microcosm, we exercise responsibility toward both the subject and our students by refusing merely to send 'data bytes' down the intellectual food chain but by helping our students understand where the information comes from and what it means." (Palmer 1998, p.123) So in our study of archaeology at Salmonberry School, for example, a subject which is usually not taught in elementary school but which emerged out of students' personal experience and inquiry, we gave students direct and authentic contact with a real scientific field of study. The students became scientists and used real scientific methods and inquiry-based explorations. They were participants in the field, discoverers and creators of truth, rather than recipients of facts dispensed by experts. This is an example of what an emergent holistic curriculum can look like. Of course if we return to the original question an irony emerges. When does the fourth grade Salmonberry Student get state history? To a large extent he/she already has. We just didn't divide the curriculum up in a way that makes it obvious. When we were pursuing a unit on energy we looked at where our local electricity comes from and even took a trip to visit the Bonneville Hydroelectric Dam. When studying Temperate Rainforest, we learned all about Washington ecosystems and spent two days camping on the Olympic Peninsula. We have studied Northwest Coastal First Peoples and visited with story tellers at the Lummi Reservation and listened to the oral cultural history of these people. We also visited the Makah reservation in Neah Bay and spent a half day at the cultural center and museum there seeing exhibits and doing crafts including weaving with cedar bark. We pursued a salmon studies unit in which we learned a ton about the natural history of Washington. We pursued a unit on local island history during which we visited with island elders, spent time with the curator of the Orcas Island Historical Museum and visited the remains of the oldest log cabin on the island. We participated in an Archaeology dig in Olympia in which we learned more about Coastal First Peoples' history and explored how we know what we know of ancient Washington cultures. We have visited with state politician Ralph Monroe, and Washington's US Congressman Rick Larson, discussing Washington politics and government with each. We spent an entire quarter being Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery, who represent another chapter in Washington's history. The students have learned a ton of Washington history, all before their fourth grade year. Not being tied to any particular curriculum standards or scope and sequence provides us the flexibility to learn the relevant and meaningful elements of state history as they arise or emerge within the context of our thematic studies. Are there holes? Of course. But what is learned is kept whole and is learned with passion and meaning. They have not been taught Washington State History in a traditional sense but they have lived it, within numerous microcosms. I dare say the content is retained significantly better than a standards driven, text book based social studies curriculum that is delivered at grade level 4.1. So, why don't we do state history? We do, or, come to think of it in a way, we prefer to let the curriculum "do us."
References Berry, Wendell (1990). What Are People For?. San Francisco: North Point Press. Dewey, John (1952, 1992). Experience Education. Freire, Paulo (1970, 2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Jardine, David (1997). Under the Tough Old Stars: Ecopedagogical Essays. Palmer, Parker (1998). The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. San Francisco: Josey Bass. Rogers, Carl (1969). Freedom to Learn. Columbus: CHarles E. Merrill Publishing Co. Writing with the Wind: Emergent Holistic Curriculum in Action One day last week, due to teacher absences and lack of available subs, I found myself teaching in an unfamiliar setting. I was in charge of teaching a class of eleven students, ages 5 to 11. This age range and the associated differences in interest, skill, attention span, and learning style, made planning the day difficult. Faced with this challenge and without much time to prepare, I remained determined to infuse the day with my core beliefs about education. I therefore was looking for a way to unite this learning community around a central subject, a "great thing" as envisioned in Parker Palmers "Community of Truth;" (Palmer 1998). I wanted to integrate the students writing with other subject areas, preserving meaning and relevance and resist the temptation to fall back on discipline-based isolated skills work, and the fragmentation of curricula as described by John P. Miller and others (J. Miller 1996; R. Miller 2000; Bucciarelli 2004). I wanted to build our connection with the local environment and the natural world as described by David Orr (Orr 1992.) I wanted to utilize first hand personal experience and allow the children to "learn by doing" as articulated by John Dewey (Dewey 1938). I wanted them to see their subject deeply, and be fully present in the moment as posited by Krishnamurti (Krishnamurti, 1953); I wanted to emphasize the learning process, and the goals of engagement and authenticity as articulated by Lucy Calkins (Calkins, 1997). Most importantly, I hoped that the work would emerge naturally from the students. (At times it can feel burdensome carrying all this beautiful theory with you into the classroom. Have any of these inspiring and eloquent authors taught real elementary school kids? How do we teachers translate the theory into our daily practice?) As the day began, I lacked inspiration and saw my lesson plans as typical substitute survival stuff. At first recess, however, when we opened the door and stepped outside the confines of the classroom walls, the lesson presented itself; it literally slapped us in the face! We were in the midst of a huge windstorm. There were small breezes, building to large gusts. The trees shook and bent. Most impressive was a hundred-year old American Elm tree, which swayed and shivered on the south edge of the schoolyard. It was in the throes of its autumn leaf drop and the windstorm was helping it along. The tree was letting go of its leaves and, as is our tradition during November at Salmonberry School, we all gathered round to try to catch a falling leaf, a sure harbinger of good fortune through the fall season. This turned into a dramatic cooperative game. The leaves swirled and whirled all around. The kids and I performed acrobatic leaps, dives and lunges. As we continued the sport, the kids spontaneously developed a chant, which we yelled in between gusts: "Come on wind, Come on Tree; Drop a Leaf, Down for Me!" The excitement built as the wind picked up and the leaves fell and danced all around us. The yard was filled with shrieks of joy, as well as wails of frustration. When I heard some of the language the kids were using during this experience I knew that this was an obvious teachable moment. "I hate those little striped pilots who are driving those leaves all over the place! They're crazy drivers!" "I hadn't caught any leaves but Desmond gave me one of his; he's such a real friend!" "Did you see Grayson go for that leaf? He looked like he was dancing." "I wonder how many leaves will fall in the next gust? The next hour? By Monday?" Eventually, we went inside. The kids came in full of chatter and excitement and moving into my planned seatwork seemed almost cruel. Instead, I encouraged them to give language to their experiences. I suggested that being a writer is about seeing the world with new eyes, with bringing an unexpected or unique point of view to an experience; it is about capturing a moment in time and bringing it to life; and these things were happening "in spades." "You are all incredible writers because of how you see!" We shared some of the words and language we had heard and used outside, "swirled, whirled and twirled" "gustily, lustily, thrustily," We shared unique perspectives: the leaves, the trees, the winds, the leaf pilots. Then they wrote! We all did. How could we not? The students produced some of the most powerful and rich writing I have seen. The assignment was very open ended. I did suggest a poem, or a short story, or a letter. But clearly the focus was to give language, rich, bold, beautiful language to your amazing experience, and they did! Here are some samples: Wind Stampede Vroom, whoosh, crack, smash, the wind goes as it crashes through a tree, making the leaves dance around. Everybody running around, screaming trying to catch one. The field is full of voices saying, "I got one! I got one!" (Lee 5th grade) View from a Pocket I was hanging on with all my might but when that big gust came I came twirling down with hundreds of other leaves. The wind was so strong it carried me far from the tree. I could see kids below me as slowly I came down. Somebody reached up and grabbed me. They shoved me in their dark pocket and left me there. P.S. I am writing this in their pocket. (Brodie, 4th grade) Sporadic Events The scope, the crouch, the lunge, the grasp, the roll, the recovery, the twirl, the twist, the gaze, the defeat, the sniper, the plaster on my face, the realization, the pluck, the joy. (Crosby, 6th grade) Freedom in the Air Can you feel the wind on your face? Have you reached, lunged, leaped, only to see the leaf skid off your finger tips? Did you taste the sweet wildness of the swirling freedom in the air? Can you smell the freshness, the first sign of winter, rushing down the mountain, dancing out over the sea? Close your eyes. Hear the gushing power of the storm, like a river caught behind a dam and then released. This is wind, yes, this is wind. (Brigid, 4th grade) Ha Ha! I was reaching for a leaf then all of a sudden Brodie came and we collapsed on the ground together. And, in that very moment, I felt like I saw that very same leaf say, "Ha ha!" And I saw almost a little twinkle in its eye and a little warm smile on its face. (Chloe, 3rd grade) Friend The tree was dropping leaves and Desmond gave one leaf for me. And other guys caught some leaves and I caught none, except Desmond caught one for me. (Eve, 1st Grade) As they completed their writing, the students were thrilled to share their work with each other. Each student read aloud, while, for certain readings, another student or pair of students, danced or gave physical voice to the writing. The reading was expressive, passionate and full of personal meaning and power. Of course in the context of this work, I did find moments to work with individual students on different skills: Eve, on capitalization, Maddy on "-ing" words; Peter, on editing skills; Lee, on Word Choice; Desmond, on Organization. Some skills were reviewed, others were introduced, but mostly we simply celebrated language and life together. We realized the goal of engagement, of connecting deeply with nature, of using experience as a basis for our work, of integrating subject matter, of reinforcing that school work is done with passion, purpose and voice. We were reminded that our work and lives are to be shared and that we are enriched by the sharing. We learned that all voices, regardless of age, can have power and wisdom. And we learned that when creativity flows from a source of personal meaning and experience, it feels wonderful. Experiences like these may be difficult to plan for. However if the teacher is open to the wonder and awe that is possible in any given moment, the opportunities abound. Multi-age, subject centered, experiential education is not mysterious or unattainable. It is in fact a joyful process, the potential for which is with us all the time! References Bucciarelli, Dierdre (2004) "If We Could Really Feel: The Need for Emotions of Care Within the Disciplines" as published in Miller and Eisler (2004) Educating for a Culture of Peace. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Calkins, Lucy (1997) Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parents Guide. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Dewey, John (1938, 1997) Experience and Education. New York: Touchstone. Krishnamurti, Jiddu (1953, 1981) Education and The Significance of Life. New York: Harper and Row. Miller, John P. (1996) The Holistic Curriculum. (2nd edition) Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies In Education Press. Miller, Ron (2000) Caring for New Life: Essays on Holistic Education. Brandon, VT: Foundation for Educational Renewal. Orr, David (1992) Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York Press. Palmer, Parker (1998) The Courage To Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teachers Life. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Holistic Education on Orcas Island at Salmonberry School Why do we parents want an alternative to the public elementary school? In our community, the public school is clearly succeeding in its mission and should be commended for outstanding recent scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning as well as other standards-based assessments such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Public school students are clearly mastering the Essential Academic Learning Requirements defined by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The teachers are motivated and caring and the students come ready to learn. At Salmonberry, we strive to provide a non-standards-based education. To me, a standard represents an arbitrary measure to which students are required to conform, and against which relative success is measured. A standards-based curriculum is one that is defined by a long list of these standards. The standards drive the adoption of textbooks as well as the assignments, activities and experiences of the children. While activities which are most likely to enhance student performance relative to these standards are valued, others are largely abandoned. Salmonberry school uses an alternative driving force in determining its curriculum: the students themselves! At Salmonberry, students are encouraged to become deeply and passionately involved in their studies and to explore their passions under the guidance, supervision and support of the staff. This is the antithesis to a standards-based approach. I taught public school for seven years in an Oregon "District of Excellence" where the kids performed extremely well on standardized assessments, yet there was very little creativity or passion embedded in the children's experiences. They became technically proficient, but not particularly invested in their own learning. Therefore it is important to recognize that in the quest for standardized performance and proficiency some elements may be absent from the children's education. Salmonberry School espouses a holistic educational model. That is:
A recent, quarter-long unit at Salmonberry Elementary School (grades 1-4) reflects this philosophy. The unit of study was on salmon. This unit was multidisciplinary and included authentic and meaningful activities in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, movement and music. Students brainstormed many questions they had about salmon and then teachers used these questions as topics of inquiry around which studies were organized. The ten-week quarter was divided into explorations of 1. What are salmon like? (biology/physiology/life cycle/species difference/behaviors and habitat); 2. Why are salmon important? (a study of the role of salmon as an indicator species and member of several ecosystems, the role of salmon as a food source in human nutrition, the role of salmon in various indigenous cultures, the role of salmon as the heart of the Northwest commercial fishing industry, etc.); 3. What is the state of salmon population health and what can we do to help? (this included statistical analysis of salmon population declines and a look at habitat restoration efforts). Field trips are an essential part of the holistic education experience. While classroom learning is important, it is necessarily limited and rarely includes access to primary sources and first hand experiences. In this unit the class went to the Marine Center at Camp Orkila, where we met salmon fry and played a wonderful salmon simulation game. We went to the Glenwood Springs Salmon Hatchery where we touched a returning chinook salmon and learned about raising fish. We went to the Deer Harbor Estuary to witness firsthand a critical and degraded local salmon habitat. We went to the Lummi Indian Reservation and met with storyteller and Lummi Elder, Pauline Hillaire who shared traditional Lummi songs, dance and celebrations regarding the salmon as she highlighted this culture's close connection to this essential food source. We spent a whole day on The Nawalak, a large sailing vessel, meeting the salmon in their natural ocean habitat. Guest instructors are also an important element in our studies at Salmonberry bringing firsthand knowledge, expertise and a wide variety of perspectives to the class. During the salmon unit we were visited by an astounding array of experts. Professional storytellers, Antoinette Bottsford and Valerie Moriarty shared both original and traditional salmon stories. Dr. Russel Barsh talked about research he is doing in his role as ethnobiologist and habitat restoration consultant for the Samish Nation. Mike O'Connell, Facilities Director of the Glenwood Springs Hatchery, shared his expertise on salmon biology. Ceramicist Ginny Bohannan helped us to incorporate salmon into our artwork. Master storyteller and educator Peter Donaldson spent several hours with us teaching lessons about water resources and sustainable practices. David Lutz offered an important perspective as he shared stories and memories of life as a commercial salmon fisherman and salmon processor in Alaska. Pauline Hillaire, Lummi elder and storyteller, shared dances, songs and stories from the Lummi tradition. Open-ended activities tended to allow students to work at their own level and make use of their own strengths and learning modalities. Students were encouraged to become increasingly aware of their own learning styles, the importance of their role in a group, their interconnectedness with the environment, and their social responsibility both on a small scale (in the classroom) and in the larger context of our watershed and planet. Class meetings were a venue to discuss feelings and emotions and to build a culture of mutual caring and support. At Salmonberry, intangible and inassessable goals such as fostering empathy, compassion and sensitivity are always pursued in parallel, and with equal importance to content knowledge and skill acquisition. During these studies the children found their schoolwork to be meaningful, personally relevant, and whole. Their writing, math and art all made sense as part of a holistic, inquiry-based study. This is a small example of what Salmonberry is all about. |