Progressive Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Presidio Knolls School

Teacher Profile (Shihpei Chen)

This year, we are presenting a series of posts profiling PKS teachers. The first installment features Mandarin-immersion preschool teacher Shihpei Chen.

Community

Formal Lunch

On a typical day, every student at PKS brings or buys their own lunch, and each student brings their own culinary and cultural traditions to the table. About four years ago, a PKS parent saw a golden opportunity for learning and sharing. Could we create a regular occasion to share family traditions with classmates? How would students react to sitting down together for a joint “Formal Lunch” — could they even motivate each other to learn and practice table manners?

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Elementary

Generosity

Last week, our students began their next Habit of Character study. In November, we are focusing on being generous (乐善好施).

Elementary

Art at PKS

Art fits naturally within the progressive model; it is the product of experiential learning. When I develop the art curriculum, I don’t just look at what children should know about art and where they should be developmentally. I try to incorporate projects that allow for personalization and inquiry. Art should do that.

Elementary

Social-Emotional Learning at PKS

We all know that “education” is more than the gathering of facts and knowledge (and in the case of PKS, two languages). Social and emotional development are equally fundamental, and multiple studies demonstrate that integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in school pave the way for better academic learning: they teach children skills that are intimately linked with cognitive development, helping them be focused, attentive, motivated, engaged, and confident in their learning.

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Elementary

Independence

October’s Habit of Character focus was Independence (独立自主). In order to develop children’s independence, we must trust them. Sometimes they will make mistakes and experience challenges both socially and academically.

Elementary

Fourth Grade Migration Presentation

There's presentation fever at Presidio Knolls School as the different classes wrap up their units of exploration.

Elementary

Second Graders Celebrate San Francisco

One important aspect of a "progressive" approach to education is giving students the opportunity to showcase their work. Today, PKS second graders had such an opportunity.

Elementary

Building Our Classroom

Fourth grade students found a surprise on the first day of school this year: the walls of their classroom were bare, and furniture stood in the middle of the space along with some classroom technology equipment. An accidental oversight? Not at Presidio Knolls. As one student put it, “The teachers are trusting us to figure out how to design the classroom – this is awesome!”