Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education

One of the chief reasons that I created Wonder Studio at my school ten years ago was for children to express themselves creatively without adult interference. I wanted kids to experience the craft of learning, including the frustration of failure and the exultation of triumph. Without struggle, learning cannot take place. That productive struggle is what learning is all a...

This week, I was reminded that sometimes good things come in 3’s, and that connecting with students remains my main joy in life. There are three quotations at the end of each email I send.  They sum up my philosophy of teaching perfectly:  Educating the mind without educating the heart, is no education at all – Aristotle, Creat...

I have always been a person who lives a significant portion of her life in her imagination. As a child, I relished car trips because as we wandered the roads to our destination, my mind stopped off in far-off places. Who were those children playing on a trampoline in their backyard? Why was that old store boarded up? What was it like when it was brand-new? Who came to shop th...