As educators, our role as learners never stops. We have never ‘arrived’ as experts in the disciplines we teach. We are a part of the learning process as much as our students are, and therefore, we model the same attitude toward learning we encourage in our students. Monday was the perfect opportunity within departments to press pause and dig deeply into our work through professional development.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the Proctor Family! Check out THIS END OF TERM UPDATE sent out to the community earlier this week to see a few of the many things we are thankful for this Thanksgiving season!
Two weeks ago we posted a blog on the importance of diet and nutrition for adolescents. The main message: you are what you eat. The same can be said in slightly different words for any organization: you are what you value. At Proctor, we value many things, but as we wrap up Fall Term final exams, we must ask ourselves: do our assessment methods line up with what we value as a learning community?
Those of us with small children know well the malleability of their young brains. Between the ages of 0-3, the human brain is incredibly plastic; changing in response to experiences, both positive and negative. What we often forget is the second most malleable stage of brain development occurs in adolescence. It is during this time the brain develops whole new brain circuits for the last time. Our approach to education seeks to capitalize on this opportunity!
Ocean Classroom concludes its term-long adventure aboard the Schooner Roseway this week. Sailing from Gloucester to St. Croix is most certainly an experience of a lifetime. When students (now sailors) return home next weekend, parents will see transformed adolescents; individuals filled with confidence, a passion to learn, and an appreciation for hard work. As the sun sets on this term on Ocean Classroom, the power of learning at sea is only just beginning to filter back into the Proctor community...and THAT is what makes our off-campus programs so exciting!
Proctor's talented artists were on display Friday evening at the end of term Art Show and Performing Arts Collaborative featuring drama, dance, vocal ensemble, creative video, and instrumental ensemble in the show Revolution. Enjoy the photos below of the evening and be sure to come check out the Jazz/Rock Ensemble's performance "Take Me To The River" in the Wise Center Saturday evening at 8:00 pm!
Proctor's blogs from off-campus programs (Ocean Classroom and Proctor en Segovia this fall), feature dozens of samples of student work. Reflections, poetry, creative writing, and stunning photography provide a window into the transformative learning taking place in these programs.
Today, we explore the work of students on-campus in English classes. Proctor’s English teachers embrace a wide variety of assessments. Enjoy the sampling of student work produced over the course of the past week below.
Ocean Classroom is now a full week into their time in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sunshine, warm waters, and continued transformational education aboard the Schooner Roseway! Enjoy these images and student reflections from Logan Marcus '16 and and Christian Takahashi '16.
