Whole Child Education

Summer for educators is often a time to look back on the past year—and look forward to the coming one. What worked, what didn't, and what will you change? Educating the whole child and planning for comprehensive, sustainable school improvement requires us to be "whole educators" who take the time to recharge, reflect, and reinvigorate. Where should we put our effort? What aspects of a whole child approach to education is most critical to us right now?

Wherever your school or district sits along the continuum from implementation of a whole child approach to sustainability and changing the school culture, there are things we all can do to solidify and enhance a whole child approach to education in our settings. Join us throughout June and July as we highlight steps others have taken, successes that have been achieved, and lessons learned. Take this time to reflect on where you are, refresh your ideas, and recharge your batteries.

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I am a school principal. And I turned 50 recently. I know, it's just a number, but on watershed moments like these I find myself a bit more reflective than normal. Among many things, I have been thinking about how things have changed in my working life. I taught in the classroom for 11 years and have been in administration for 15 years now, and I can honestly say that it has been a great career so far. So many great people to work with and for, so many great kids and families, so many successes ... and an ever-increasing supply of technology to help me do my job. Technology has allowed me to enjoy access to support, instant and improved communication systems, information and professional development, motivating teaching strategies, and so on.

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In the blogging era everyone can publish their ideas and opinions and grow quite a following doing so; the democratization of information in practice. This proliferating idea exchange is part and parcel of Thomas Friedman's flat earth analogy. Developing one's voice and being heard is a good thing. But it's not enough. If we carry the flat earth metaphor to its logical conclusion, opinions freely rolling across a flattened sphere clatter, collide, and ultimately roll right off the edge. (I just had a flashback to playing Crossfire circa 1970.) Why settle for a random collision of opinions deciding which ideas carry the day? Not all opinions are equal. They need to be vetted for merit.

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Delve into summer learning with tips and strategies from a few of your favorite ASCD authors. The first session in the ASCD Summer Boot Camp Webinar Series kicks off Thursday, July 18, at 3 p.m. eastern time and presents a strategic approach to direct vocabulary instruction that helps students master key concepts and retain new terms. Other topics include teacher-led walk-throughs, curriculum, and motivation and engagement from a developmental science perspective.

Learn more about each session and register today!

• "Vocabulary's CODE: A Core Six Strategy for Mastering Academic Concepts and Terms" with Harvey Silver on July 18
• "Walk-Throughs for Teachers Observing Peers" with Donald Kachur on July 30
• "Upgrade Your Curriculum" with Mike Fisher and Janet Hale on August 7
• "Children Are Born to Learn: Motivation and Engagement from a Developmental Science Perspective" with Wendy Ostroff on August 13

There has been some progress in the last few years for interdisciplinary studies. It's a trend still in its infancy, but it is beginning to catch on due to great successes from early adopters. Schools are challenging their students with problems requiring learning from traditionally disparate subjects. What will be the next technology in education design to use the best methods of learning in siloed core subjects and apply those methods to other subjects? The first, and most obvious example, will be the use of the scientific method in traditionally nonscience classes.

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I have often been asked about the differences between teaching in the United States and Canada. That's often a difficult question to answer because I now consider both countries "home" and doing so often elicits a predictable follow-up question of which education system is better. This post is not an attempt to rank one over the other, as education systems between countries will have to be different to meet the needs of their given communities.

However, no matter where we are located in the world, we see in our own classrooms the practice of compare and contrast. Doing this work with our students can elicit powerful reflections about complex ideas. Having had the experience of being a teacher in both settings, and most recently as an administrator in Canada, reflecting on both the similarities and differences between the two countries has provided me with a more comprehensive picture of what can work well in education.

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Post submitted on behalf of whole child partner American Association of School Librarians by Patty Saidenberg, librarian, George Jackson Academy, New York, N.Y.

I work as a librarian at George Jackson Academy (GJA) in New York, N.Y. Founded in 2002, GJA is an independent, nonsectarian upper elementary and middle school for academically capable boys from low-income and underserved families. Classes are small, teachers are passionate, and money is tight. That said, our graduates have attended some of the best high schools and private day schools in the nation. GJA graduates attend Columbia University, Princeton, NYU, and Wesleyan.

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Summer Learning Day, June 21, is just around the corner. It is a grassroots movement to spread awareness among parents, the public, and policymakers about the issue of summer learning loss for children. Hundreds of events will take place across the country, celebrating local programs and providing a platform for policy advocacy.

The summer learning movement is part of a whole child approach to education. Children live their lives 12 months a year, not just when school is in session. They learn less or even lose what they've previously learned if they don't have stimulating experiences during the summer. Many need, but don't get, federally-subsidized meals for nutrition and structured opportunities for healthy exercise 12 months a year.

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Although there are no current Common Core State Standards that are specifically written for science content, science teachers will be using the fundamental skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking within their science content to help students become ready for college and career .

One of the focuses of Common Core for English/Language Arts (ELA) is informational text. Interesting enough, as students transition from elementary to middle to high school, they encounter more informational text because of the core courses they are taking. The majority of the literary texts are only taught in the English and language arts classes. Therefore, students are required to read more informational text within their specific content areas. Further, students who are struggling readers are placed in reading classes in middle school and even in high school. Is it only the job of the English and language arts teachers or the reading teachers to teach the students how to read informational texts?

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More than 16 million children in the United States live in poverty, which dramatically affects their ability to come to school ready to learn and thrive. The latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics' The Condition of Education 2013 (PDF) report shows that one in five schools was considered high poverty in 2011, an increase from one in eight schools in 2000.

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