Spotlight on Siamack Zahedi – One Study at a Time: Research in the Indian Context
Recently, I caught up with Siamack Zahedi, one of our chapter authors for our upcoming book, Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments: A Global Perspective. I wanted to better understand how Sia (as he is often called) came to be so passionate...
Democratic Schools in Action
A few weeks ago, I proudly stood in the midst of my HGSE classroom, vastly expanded without the dividing expandable wall, and watched my graduate students from my Building Democratic Schools course preparing for their final exhibitions. Twelve weeks ago I had assured...
Everyone has a story; you just need to tell it: Chelsea Opportunity Academy
Adam Aronson Chelsea Opportunity Academy (COA) sits in a far wing of Chelsea High School in Chelsea MA. I have been visiting this high school since the mid-80s in its various iterations and changes. I always leave energized by the students and faculty I meet. Adam, a...
Lydia Cochrane: Home of the Catamounts
It’s a straight shot from Boston to St. Johnsbury School, also known as home of the Catamounts, a large wild cat or panther. I have known Lydia Cochrane, co-principal here, for a decade. She was part of my inaugural cohort of Perrone Sizer Institute for...
Manami Okuda Wada: Explorer and Learner
Manami has spent the last year studying deeper learning at HGSE. Before HGSE, she worked with middle/high school students as an after-school program manager, where students were compared by test scores too many times. As a result, they lacked intrinsic motivation to...
Baxter Academy for Science and Technology: A Glimpse at a Democratic School in Portland Maine
Our student guides, faculty dean and Juan Boat builders Surfers Engineers Shoe designers Scientists What is common amongst this group of adults? They all love teaching and learning at Baxter Academy in Portland, Maine. I just spent a day with my colleague...
Educator as Facilitator of Transformation: Deeper Learning Redux
We gathered in the fall of 2022 to think about some of the ideas from a small but hopefully growing consortium called Deeper Learning. Perhaps, it’s a flawed name (deeper than what? shallow learning? who wants that!), but for the sake of movement building, we...
We are the Present, Not the Future: Franco Mosso in Peru
I had the chance to catch up with Franco over Zoom. Even through the two dimensional nature of the camera, his enthusiasm for his work is infectious. Still the realities of his country are difficult. He tells me that politically Peru has entered into a terrible...
Why Matter Matters: Kaitlin Pomerantz
I recently caught up with Kaitlin Pomerantz, an artist and adjunct lecturer in Philadelphia, and my former student at #HGSE. After developing her ideas and initiative in my class, Building Democratic Schools, she received a grant for curricular development from...
A Masterful Teacher: Demetrius Fuller
Demetrius in front of the "HOMies" If energy can be electric and calming at the same time, that’s the feeling in Mr. Demetrius Fuller’s art classroom at the Sokolowski School in Chelsea MA. Student letter plates I walk in and observe twenty-two fourth graders...