To the best of my knowledge, it was a first:  Students gathered around during their lunch hour and listened intently to Beau Django, a five-piece band specializing in traditional Belgian gypsy jazz.  Soft lighting transformed the ambiance from dining hall to music-infused coffee house – so much so that students could barely tear themselves away for their afternoon classes.  It was a great way to launch the International Studies “Live at Lunch” program on Friday, November 13, the latest element of the school’s expanding International Studies program.

The program is growing by leaps and bounds.  In the first two weeks of November alone, a speaker from Penn visited the fourth grade to talk about Botswana; upper school students prepared to discuss Africa and Asia as part of the World Affairs Council Model Senate; and the first international speaker of the year, Signe Wilkinson from the Philadelphia Daily News, spoke about international political cartooning.  And that’s not a complete list.

I am frequently reminded of the recently published strategic plan that begins like this:  Friends Select students experience, in ways they cannot at any other school, the advantages of belonging to an intellectual community that is itself an integral part of a vibrant, urban, cultural milieu. Certainly, the school’s location puts Philadelphia’s iconic cultural institutions within easy reach.  What is less obvious, perhaps, is the degree to which being “at the center” facilitates opportunities for give-and-take with local experts.

As the school-wide emphasis on global education becomes increasingly evident and formalized, Friends Select is hosting many visitors.  Last year, the international speakers series “set the stage” with speakers who conveyed the fundamental importance of learning about, and engaging with, the world beyond our national borders.  This year, the focus is narrower, with each speaker addressing a more specific area of expertise:  political cartooning, international film and Iraqi economic reconstruction. 

Do all the topics visitors address fit neatly into grade-level curricula?  Frequently, but not always.  But that, too, is intentional.  Friends Select faculty are wonderfully adept at networking to identify outside speakers who will enhance the classroom experience.  They want their students to understand the multi-dimensionality of knowledge and to feel comfortable detouring from the general to the specific and back again.  Recognizing the educational value of exposing students to multiple perspectives – and inviting guests to share their expertise – is just one way Friends Select is teaching students how to be engaged and productive citizens of the world.

Stay tuned.  More "Live at Lunch" to come.

Pop quiz:  What landlocked country looks like Arizona, is about the size of Texas, has groups that speak a “click” language and has a robust diamond-mining industry?  Friends Select fifth graders know the answers to these and many other questions about Botswana, thanks to Heather Calvert, administrator at the Botswana-UPenn Partnership who visited in November.  The partnership began in 2001 as a way to help train local health-care providers and has evolved to include educational exchanges and research.

 

 

Middle school art teacher Fred Kogan credits his parents for nurturing his creativity.  “They let me take over the basement, which I turned into an art studio filled with projects in various stages of completion,” he recalls.  Decades later, he feels strongly about giving his students time and space to grow as artists.

A few years ago, Kogan introduced Open Studio to the middle school.  Each Friday, from 2:20-3:30 p.m., he welcomes students (who have signed up in advance) into his classroom to work on a project of their choice.  There are only two stipulations:  The students must sign a “contract” describing their planned piece in general terms (for instance, “a sculpture using scrap wood”), and the project cannot be an art class assignment.  Beyond that, they are free to simply be artists.  Not surprisingly, there is high demand for Open Studio, which is limited to 10 students each week.

Eighth grader Cora Hacker has taken on the role of “curator,” extending the middle school practice of treating students as mature and self-directed artists.  She has organized an independent exhibit of work created in Open Studio and/or outside of school.  The exhibit is currently housed on a bulletin board and counter in Kogan’s art room, with future venues under consideration.

What is Kogan’s secret for empowering students to think of themselves as artists?  Perhaps the key is that he acknowledges their interests and abilities and pushes them to be simultaneously disciplined and creative.  Three recent projects illustrate his approach:

Sixth Grade:  A sixth grade assignment called Images of the Subconscious Mind challenged students to create drawings based on surrealism.  They began with a series of thumbnail sketches leading up to the final product created using pencil and oil pastel. 

“I chose to think about a bug, because bugs have a lot of eyes that all see the same thing.  My piece of art is from a bug’s perspective.  The bug is looking at a tree and seeing lots of little trees.”  

 

-Hannah Cramer, sixth grade

 

Seventh Grade:  Seventh graders began their assignment, called The Big Stretch with observational drawings of objects.  Then, they drew the same object stretched out, exploring line quality and variation, and experimenting with color mixing and the layering of color.

“First, I searched the word “stretch” in Google Images to get myself thinking.  I decided to do a young kid with a stuffed animal looking out a window, and I stretched the reflected face.  I was thinking a little about how he might have felt, so I also included a tear.” 

 

-August Dichter, seventh grade

 

 

 

 

 

Eighth Grade:  In eighth grade, students created paintings inspired by the work of Chaim Soutine, a Lithuanian-born French Expressionist painter (1893-1943).   They began with thumbnail sketches, followed by detailed half-sized roughs, with final pieces executed in pencil and watercolor or colored pencil. 

“I knew I wanted to do a self-portrait, because I thought it would be fun to draw myself and distort the picture.  I don’t know why, but something about it sounded cool.  At first, I just drew my face – the way I look in the mirror.  Then, I looked at my eyes and thought about how to make them look different.  Then I did the same thing with my nose and mouth and made the skin a weird skin color.  I decided to make the neck normal, but I messed it up and it was skinny, so I left it like that.  An idea would pop up in my head, and I would add it in.”

 

-Emmi Lewis, eighth grade

"The best college for a given student is the college that fits that student best."   That tongue-twister piece of wisdom is college counselor Tracy Matthews' mantra as she guides students and their families through the sometimes mystifying maze of the college search.

According to Matthews, nothing beats a visit for helping students determine whether a college is a good match.  Most colleges offer scheduled campus tours and information sessions throughout the year.  Check the college’s Web site for detailed information. 
Here is a quick guide for students (and their parents) to help make the most of limited time on campus. 

Campus tours are usually led by current students who walk small groups around campus, pointing out academic buildings and facilities, student centers, dorms, the dining halls, etc.  Since the tours are led by students (who specialize in talking while walking backwards, often wearing flip flops!), they are a great opportunity to get a student’s perspective about life on campus.

Information sessions, led by admission officers, are more formal presentations that focus on the college’s history, unique or distinctive features, academic programs, social and extracurricular life, the admission process and financial aid. 

Interviews, offered on some college campuses, can be a great chance to get some “face time” with an admission office representative.  Note:  Only schedule an interview if you have done your homework about the college, have specific questions and feel comfortable talking in detail about yourself and your college plans.

When should you visit? It’s really best to see the campus in full swing, so consider visiting colleges during spring break, school holidays or breaks. Or, take a day off from school to visit in the spring and/or fall when college is in session. Visit during a weekday, if possible, when you can observe students engaged in their classes.  
 
While in the admissions office pick up a college newspaper to see what’s on students’ minds and what is happening on campus.  Pick up the college’s alumni/ae magazine to learn what graduates are doing professionally with their degrees.  Observe how administrators in the office relate to you and to other students in the office.  Get a catalogue and information on academic programs in which you are interested.  Make sure you get on the admission office’s mailing list.

Spend some time in places where students congregate (the dining hall, student centers, etc.) and observe what’s going on around you.  What are students talking about?  Do the students all look the same?  Is there a sense of conformity or individuality among the students?  How diverse is the student body?  What books are they reading?  What is the general mood of the students (upbeat, groggy, stressed out)?

Visit a class and note the relationship between students and professors.  Are students engaged in the class?  Do they participate in discussions or is the class straight lecture?  How large is the class?  How do the professor and students interact with one another?  Do professors stay after class to answer students’ questions?  Stop a student and ask a student about his/her academic adjustment to the college, what the academic pressure and work load are like, and what students do during their free time.

Take a walk on your own into town.  What is the “town/gown” relationship?  Do students hang out in the town or on campus?  Do students get involved in the town for service or employment?  Do residents frequent the campus for events?  How far away is the closest city?  Do you need a car to get into town or is there public transportation?  Does the town feel safe?  How diverse is the town?  Does the town have the “necessary” establishments (a pharmacy, a bank, a grocery store, a pizza place that delivers)?

See what is posted on the bulletin boards.  See what issues students are discussing and debating, and what types of activities and clubs are on campus.  Are the issues related to the college, or are they national/international issues?  What on-campus social events are being advertised – only parties or a mixture of parties, speakers, performing arts events, movies, etc.?

Ask about social life, on and off campus, including Greek life, campus safety, special interest clubs and organizations, religious organizations, and academic advising.  Depending on your interests and needs, you may also want to inquire about the dining hall, athletic facilities, counseling services, special services for students with physical and/or learning disabilities, research opportunities for students, etc.

What should we do after a visit? 
Post visit, you may suffer from information overload!  Consider making a list of the features of the college that you liked and those you didn’t.  If you already know what you want in a college, make this checklist in advance, and then fill it out after each college visit. This exercise is even more important to do when visiting multiple colleges in a short amount of time because the information can blend, making it difficult to distinguish one college from another later on. 

A final thought.  Courtesy counts.  If you met with someone on campus (a student who hosted you overnight, a professor, an admission officer, etc.) it is a good idea to send him or her a thank you note.  This often-neglected personal touch may just help you stand out in a crowded pool of applicants.