Q&A
HEADS OF SCHOOL What trend is shaping or most influencing education at your school and how does it manifest itself?
‘God is the most significant truth that exists in any subject’ Catherine Ronan Karrels, Head of School Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Bethesda It’s exciting to work with our faculty to continually shape and evolve our program to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. Stone Ridge has long excelled at teaching the skills of critical thinking, collaboration and communication, which are so critical in this marketplace. In recent years, the trend that has transformed teaching and learning most is our integration of technology into every student’s daily experience. The use of laptops, iPads and interactive whiteboards is transforming how information is introduced in the classroom and how students are assessed. The most rewarding aspect of this growth is how it empowers our students to become more resourceful and how it allows our faculty to better meet the individual needs of Stone Ridge’s learners.
Dave Hawes, Associate Head of School Washington Christian Academy, Olney Technology creates both opportunities and challenges. While students receive individualized instruction in a mode that they are familiar and comfortable with, there’s a potential for distraction. While the Internet provides immediate access to source materials, it presents the challenge of determining accuracy. Instantaneous access to answers also tends to create a false sense of knowledge. Education is about more than finding and learning facts; it’s about learning how to think. Our teaching reflects that. Our teaching reflects another trend—the expression of our faith and values in everything we do. God is the most significant truth that exists in any subject area. He permeates our curriculum and inspires our teaching. Our teaching also reflects a desire to positively affect students’ lives—their future calling and pursuits. God has created each student with a particular purpose that’s bigger than any one individual. We help students recognize and fulfill that.
Andrew Kutt, Head of School
(www.thehawnfoundation.org/curriculum).
Oneness-Family School, Chevy Chase
At Oneness-Family School we have been teaching some form of mindfulness for 24 years. Each day begins with a period of silence in all classrooms from age 2 all the way through eighth grade.
An emerging trend in education is the inclusion of mindfulness lessons in the curriculum. Mindfulness teaches students how to calm and focus their minds, as well as how their own brains work. An increasing number of studies show that practicing mindfulness can build resilience, emotional balance and concentration skills. There are a number of programs that are gaining popularity including the Mindful Schools (www.mindfulschools.org) and MindUp
10 Private Schools | Special supplement to The Gazette
Younger students can lead the mindful moment by ringing a chime and older ones can read an inspiring poem to the class following the silence. We have found that this practice sets a very peaceful tone for the day and is an integral part of building a peaceful community.
‘shape and evolve our program to meet the needs of 21st-century learners’ August 2012