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Appreciating Teachers
“[Kids] don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.” ― Jim Henson, It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider To all of the teachers at the American School of Brasilia and around the world: Happy Teachers’ Week! Your work, dedication, and commitment to the development of others…
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Three Questions
“All grown-ups were once children… but only a few of them remember it” ~The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry I was recently listening to a series of interviews with Joseph Campbell and his reflections on the essential themes that have emerged from sixty years of his life’s work. He emphasized the interconnectedness of our…
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Parent Partnerships
An effective educational program requires full and shared participation from students, parents, and the school. Similar to a tripod in which all three legs are needed to provide support, a student’s development and realization of potential will not be fully achieved if even one of the legs – students, parents, and school – is not…
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Our Human Tapestry
The most moving and important testimonials about learning and school culture also come from parents, whose voices are critical to our collective partnership in support of student development. To complement last week’s post, Our Obligation, which focused on inclusion from a student’s perspective, this post shares a poignant parent reflection on the same theme. Alex…
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Future of Education
We recently hosted an evening event with parents and teachers entitled, “The Future of Education.” The workshop was more of a discussion about the factors that are currently disrupting and redefining education rather than an articulation of what education will look like in the future. To begin the discussion, each participant was asked to…
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Envisioning a True Leader
Kristie Da-Ngoc Nguyen, a friend and former colleague at the American School of Brasilia, published her deeply profound and moving personal story in the most recent edition of The International Educator (TIE) newspaper. Kristie’s article is shared below, with permission. Envisioning a True Leader By Kristie Da-Ngoc Nguyen 01/13/2016 “Together we inspire a love of learning, empowering all students…
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A Better Tomorrow
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. International news reports in recent weeks and months have been filled with disturbing reports of terror attacks, refugee migration, acts of aggression, and indescribable loss and suffering. Our hearts…
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Teachers’ Day
“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” ~ Carl Jung. Teachers’ Day is celebrated in Brazil on…
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Moving Pictures
Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit. ~ Jawaharlal Nehru The process of capturing and effectively communicating the essence of an organization’s culture can, at times, be a challenge. However, social media and video provide us with the means to share organizational and cultural highlights with a great community. To that end, the following…
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Realistic Fiction
Last week’s blog post highlighted the Bold in Vision element of the American School of Brasilia’s (EAB) new mission statement – Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision. As a follow-up to this post, one of our amazing teachers, Caira Franklin, shared the following story about…