Liz's Class Notes

Our residency at The Watermill Center with Philippe Cheng concluded with our in-process exhibition last week. Our living self-portaits inspired by Andy Warhol's experimental films were on display as was our abstract map of our connections to places in our extended family histories. With artist Philippe Cheng as their guide, the kids produced all aspects of the exhibit and shared their work with friends and family. Philippe stopped by this week to speak with the kids about their work, and he's invited the class to his house for tea when the weather warms a bit—we'll certainly take him up on his offer.

We've begun an exploration of our brains. The kids built brain hats designed to resemble a brain, delineating parts with their functions, and models of neurons. The Senior Learners engaged hands-on with complex concepts and created something tangible to guide their learning. We've moved on to explore the features of the adolescent brain, which has enormous strengths and some challenges. After learning that brains develop from back to front and that the amygdala (the emotional-impulsive brain) and the frontal lobe (the logical-decision-making brain) are not fully connected, the kids strategized ways to navigate potential risk-taking individually and in social groups. They enjoyed learning about the incredible power of the adolescent brain, which contains vast networks of synapses (connections to neurons). Next week, we're moving on to the connections between hormones, the brain, human development, and puberty.

We're in the last stage of writing essays about stereotypes. There are many avenues into this assigned topic: some essays explore the general problem of stereotypes and the damage they can cause, and others address specific stereotypes, look- ing at how and why they've developed and ways to challenge and break them down. The kids created an assessment framework for their essays, which they will use before submitting their writing for feedback.