Involve Me and I Learn
It’s hard to believe that Winterim is over. After six months of planning, our two-day experiential education program was a hit. Our students explored new ideas, learned new skills, made new friends and had a good time. We couldn’t be more delighted with the outcome.
Winterim has deep pedagogical roots. We know that experiential education is incredibly valuable to students. As one parent quoted Benjamin Franklin on our live blog, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” That is exactly what we saw over the past two days at Elmwood—genuine involvement and learning.
One Junior School student who was involved in Baking 101 said, as she looked at her oatmeal muffins, “I loved the process. I’m happy with my final product, but it was the process that mattered.” I thought this was especially profound because baking is often all about the final product! She then proceeded to share all her baking with her classmates that were involved in other Winterim activities.
I am certain that all of our students will transfer what they learned about the learning process itself back to their traditional subjects. This is as essential part of being an IB school and I believe that Winterim complemented our IB philosophy very well.
My thanks go to all the Elmwood faculty and staff involved in this event. It was an enormous undertaking and I am pleased that, as is always the case, our faculty and staff rose to the challenge. We are lucky to have such a wonderful team of professionals. I would like to particularly thank our Deputy Head, Ms. Kate Angell, for her superb planning of the whole event. We couldn’t have done it without her.
I look forward to our Winterim Assembly tomorrow where I will get a chance to see the final products of many of our groups. I can hardly wait!
Cheryl
