The Meaning of "Democracy" and Fate vs. Free Will

We wrapped up our conversation about revolution last week and are not talking about democracy.  Today in social studies we looked at several famous quotes (below) about democracy.  Each student chose one, and wrote about what he or she thinks the quote means.  Tonight's homework is to draw a sketch that shows the quote in action.  This would be a lovely project to check out if you're so inclined.  If you're looking for something exciting to discuss at dinner, it might be an interesting thing to talk about, as would the philosophical question that came up...


One of the quotes we looked at was credited to Aristotle.  We quickly discussed what a philosopher is, and that lead to an interesting conversation about free will vs. determinism, or fate.  While this was a bit tangential, it was an interesting conversation, and there are clearly some philosophers in the room.  Students, if you'd like to read more about free will vs. fate, page 86 of this book might be of interest (Click "contents" for links to the pages in the book.  You might have to play with the zoom to get it to look right.  Click and drag to scroll.):

Social Action: Day 1--What's the Recipe for Revolution?

We started our Social Action Study today!  My colleagues and I are happy to be writing this brand new study, and the first day was lovely.  The focus question of our study is, "How do people make change?"  We began by looking at the American Revolution (talk about change!) and thinking about what the "Recipe for Revolution" is--What do all revolutions have?  What are the constants in revolutions?  The variables?  We'll linger here for a few days, then it's on to the Constitution.  Later, we'll see how our definition of revolution stacks up against the other "revolutions"--women's suffrage and civil rights--that we'll be studying.  These are the notes from today's conversation: 

Community Writers Series IV: David Bar Katz, Morris' Dad

by Morris and Trevor


Key Words
destiny, belief, importance


What We Learned

• Your best writing comes when you’re writing something that feels important to you.
• If you’re not reporting it’s your job to come up with a good, creative story.
• The most important thing is that you know what’s a good story and what’s not.
• Some writers write because it’s their destiny--lots of people do what they do because they believe it’s their destiny.

The Boston Tea Party

We just finished studying the Boston Tea Party.  We looked at what lead up to it, what the colonists did to avoid it, and what happened as a result.  We’ve focused on the fact that the tea tax was more of a gesture from King George that asserted his power over the colonies, rather than a way to earn money for England.  We also lingered on the idea that the colonists took several steps before they decided to dump the tea in December 1773—The Boston Tea Party was not their first attempt at communicating their displeasure to King George.  Here’s what the class had to say on what lead up to the Boston Tea Party:

1.   One of the only remaining taxes was the tea tax, which the colonists didn’t want to pay, especially since they weren’t represented in Parliament.

2.   They boycotted tea, and when that didn’t work, they refused to unload a November shipment in Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

3.   In New York and Philadelphia, the governors supported the Patriots, and the ships returned to England

4.   The governor of Boston, Governor Hutchinson, did not send the ships back to England.  His sons worked for the British East India Company, and he knew tea in the colonies = money for his sons.

5.   While the Patriots were waiting for a decision from Governor Hutchinson, the Sons of Liberty met to plan what they’d do if he didn’t cooperate with them.  They went to the British East India Company to meet and try to find a solution, but the British East India Company refused to meet with them.

6.   When it was clear that Governor Hutchinson wasn’t going to cooperate, Samuel Adams decided it was time to move forward with the plans to empty the tea into the harbor, and the rest is history.

Today, we talked about the effects of the Boston Tea Party: the Intolerable Acts, which were a series of harsh laws meant to teach the colonists a lesson, and the unification of the colonies around a common goal—they must defend their rights.  At the first Continental Congress, where delegates from almost every colony met to discuss what to do next, Patrick Henry said, “All America is thrown into one mass.  The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more.  I am not a Virginian, but an American!”  At the end of our conversation about what happened after the Boston Tea Party, a student commented that Patrick Henry’s quote about the colonies coming together was like Barack Obama urging republicans and democrats to work together.  The class concluded that good things happen when people put their differences aside and work together (and then erupted into a song about President Obama!  Something from JibJab?  Who knows, but it was amazing!  They never cease to delight.).

Boston Massacre Open Conversation, February 24th

Open conversations are an important part of our curriculum.  During an open conversation, the class gathers on the rug to discuss a topic related to something we're studying.  The class votes on the topic ahead of time, or I choose the topic.  Each student prepares his or her "beginning thought" about the topic so they come to the meeting with something to say.  The class talks without raising their hands, and with minimal direction from me about who should speak.

Our study of the Boston Massacre culminated in an open conversation last week.  Here's what we did leading up to it:

Spring Conference Schedule

Dear 5^th Grade Families,

Conference time is approaching soon and we are excited to speak with you about your child. Parent-teacher conferences are an extremely important part of the academic year. An opportunity to share your child’s progress in 5^th grade, we utilize all 15 minutes of our conference time. Please be sure to be on time so we can optimize our time together.

Please note that our times may be different from other teachers in the school due to our larger class sizes. If you have another child in the school, please leave a note with the sibling’s name and teacher on the slip. We will try to coordinate with his/her teacher so that your conference times are close together. Conference slots are given out on a first come, first served basis. Please be sure to send yours back to school (or email Lauren B. at playsoutside@gmail.com) as soon as possible, especially if you are asking for a specific time. We will, of course try to accommodate you.

Conference confirmation slips will go home on Tuesday, March 9th, so please be on the lookout for them.

Independent Memoir Projects

Dear Families,

I'm going to start sending home the Independent Memoir Projects with comments from me this week. Everyone will have theirs back by the middle of next week. The memoirs were wonderful! I'm quite happy with the quality of the work your kids produced on their own. They're really coming into their own as writers.

Over the course of the project, I provided feedback in writing and in conferences a few times for each student. Because the majority of that feedback was suggestions for ways to improve the writing, the comments I'm sending home with the published memoirs are compliments only. When your child's memoir comes home, please feel free to add to my compliments!

Best,

Lauren