ONLY CONNECT

Mysteries, Yes

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever in allegiance with gravity while we ourselves dream of rising.

How two hands touch and the bonds will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say “Look!” and laugh
in astonishment, and bow their heads.

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TRADITIONAL GRADES: PRO

• They are easy to understand
• They provide continuity
• They have withstood the test of time
• They motivate
• They are surprisingly comprehensive
• In real life there are different levels of excellence
• Grades acknowledge reality of sin

TRADITIONAL GRADES : CON

• They reduce intrinsic motivation; they squash the child's spirit
• Grades sort better than they improve
• Grades oversimplify feedback
• Grades prioritize summative over formative assessment
• Grades encourage inauthenticity
• Grades ignore infinite potential

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“WE PRIORITIZE SPIRITUAL & MORAL DEVELOPMENT”

3. Continue to support, expand and evaluate the operationalization of the school’s mission statement, particularly in the areas of inquiry and spiritual development, through increased research and data gathering alongside more skillful shared conversation, storytelling, and relating of personal experiences.

4. Provide time, structures and resources to support ongoing curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular review including time for increased teacher collaboration, discussion and implementation of authentic assessment, enhancement of the community of inquiry model, and micro-credentialing of old and new skills in the curriculum. Include work on expanding the human development program, the impact of technology and social media on students and teaching, and the social and emotional development of students.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Do letter grades and traditional subject areas hinder or promote authentic inquiry?
• In what ways are you involved with students' spiritual and moral development? Would you like to be more involved, given the opportunity?
• What opportunities do you see for interdisciplinary micro-credentialing?
• Should spiritual story-telling be more prominent in our program? If so, how?
• What makes assessment “authentic”?