Making pickles
Opal School exists not only to influence its immediate community: It lives to provoke change far and wide. We know that our workshops catalyze change –…
Tag: questions
It’s not about the towers, either
I start this post with a shout out to Allie Pasquier, whose recent Bakers and Astronauts post catalyzed this one. Her post examined how the…
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…
Living in Questions
Visitors to Opal School are oftentimes struck by the quantity and quality of the questions they encounter here. At Opal School, we aim to live…
Schooling for a better world
My heart is heavy looking back on a violent year. In the past year, we’ve watched so many individuals gunned down, white supremacy viscerally stamped…
Matters of Opportunity: Does opportunity matter?
We love hearing from colleagues beyond Opal School’s walls regarding how Opal School is provoking fresh thinking. Today’s post comes from Sarah-Luella Baker, who presented…
Children and Teachers as Researchers
Researchers pay attention to their questions, theories and ideas by listening for what provokes, inspires, challenges and engages them. At Opal School, the teachers see…
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…
Connection with the Natural World: Intentions as we start our year together
“If we want children to flourish, we need to give them time to connect with nature and love the Earth before we ask them to save it.” -David…
Supporting empathy and agency
Opal School is part of the Ashoka Changemaker Schools Network, a group of schools distinguished in their efforts to support empathy and agency. Last year,…