Susan Harris MacKay
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Why we don’t do art in school (and why we should)
This post by Susan Harris MacKay first appeared on the Living in Dialogue blog. In these times, when the demolition of a place as historic…
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The Power of Illusion
The opinion piece is a famously third grade writing assignment. It is, in fact, Common Core English Language Arts Standard 3.1: “Write opinion pieces…
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Thinking With Charcoal
Opal School third graders have been exploring charcoal as a language — a tool for thinking and expression. We began by asking: What can this…
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Creating TEDx (remembering how to jump)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] When the organizers of the TEDx West Vancouver conference called to ask if someone from Opal School would like to share at their event,…
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What does holding a strong image of the child mean in a complicated world?
At the end of September, Matt Karlsen and I spoke to several groups in the Vancouver area about conditions that support playful inquiry. Over the…
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Sharing what matters
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr. In observance of the Martin Luther King,…
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Reconfiguring
I don’t think I’ve been so excited to begin a school year in a long time. Opal School’s continuous journey to develop an understanding of…
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Everything isn’t always perfect, but you can try to make it good.
Dear Person Who is Looking at the Mural: The following letter was written collaboratively by the 8 and 9 year old children who attend Opal…
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Who did you collaborate with today?
Working with a partner is sometimes easier because you have lots of ideas, but it’s sometimes harder because you have to agree. Angelina, age 8…
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The We That I Am
This post comes from Opal School Teacher-Researcher Kerry Salazar. It discusses the work of Opal 2 (grades 1-2.) Learn more about this project – and…
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