The Kavannah of Listening
to Students
Ray Levi, Head of School
The melody came wafting down the hallway from the small round table at the front of the office. Quietly, I went to check out the source of this energetic rendition of the morning prayers. Thank you God for a new day! Two kindergartners were singing as they played with pattern blocks during indoor recess, singing in that totally unself-conscious way that young children have. How wonderful it would be if we could preserve that quality as we grow older.
As important as moments of song and dance and skipping are for lifting spirits, they also offer us a window looking on to what children are learning and what’s important to them. Clearly, these children have internalized both the keva (the form) and the kavannah (the intentionality) of this prayer and have the ability to share its joy with anyone who happened to be in our offices this week.
A comparable example was provided by a parent who shared a videotape of his kindergartner “performing” the Hanukkah song his class had shared at the School’s program—in the shower. We know that you, as parents, observe moments like this in which you can see how much Hebrew has been learned and the accompanying enthusiasm for it.
Shelley Fogelson shared two examples in which she saw application of skills learned in general studies classes during first grade Hebrew. One girl observed, when being introduced to the word soos (horse), that it was a palindrome. The class took a detour from the planned lesson to list other Hebrew palindromes. Another student observed in response to a book being read that “the story doesn’t tell us that it is Grandpa’s birthday, but we infer it from the story and pictures.” It is moments like that, when a strategy is applied in a new setting, that we recognized that it has truly been internalized and we get a measure of the student’s depth of understanding.
Of course, listening to our children doesn’t only offer us opportunities to learn what they know and understand. Listening also provides windows into their worlds. I have begun meeting with some seventh and eighth grade students as a Technology Advisory group. My questions have focused on how the students are using technology and what they think I should know about technology. Given that our children are digital natives and we adults are digital immigrants, there is much for us to learn. As is often the case when I meet with our Upper School students, their discussions don’t need me to keep things lively. Beyond recommendations of apps that they believe I should have (and now do!) for my iPhone, and their views on Macintosh versus Windows platforms, the student discussions focus on some of the questions that are also at the center of our faculty discussions.
- Once they’ve used laptops for taking notes, our students don’t see how they can go back to taking notes by hand. They like the ability to share notes with classmates, both when they miss school and when trying to get more details. They appreciate teachers who scan material onto the SMARTBoard and take notes there that can be shared, particularly in math where steps in solving problems are clarified.
- The students have learned to use a variety of programs that allow them to create multi-media presentations. In many ways, they have more options for communicating what they know and understand right at their fingertips than we as teachers may have at ours. They also see opportunities for greater use of technology in the arts. Could piano-like keyboards allow students to do more with learning piano skills? Are there additional possibilities for photography and graphic design?
As we plan projects and elective classes, the insights from the students will be of great value.
During conferences next week, you’ll hear much from your children’s teachers about progress and be shown many samples of work and contextual assessments. But, at unexpected moments like some of those I’ve described, you may well receive equally meaningful clues about the quality of your children’s experiences and what they’d like for the future.
B'shalom,
