We begin our tenth year at MLC with the theme of "Mind, Body, and Spirit." We are striving this year to focus our work on the building blocks we put in place in order for our students to achieve "academic, social, and intrapersonal success" - which is part of our mission statement.
At our staff summer retreat this summer - we looked at how we define and how our students achieve success academically, socially, and intrapersonally.
Academic success was the easiest to define - with all of the programs we have in place to boost learning in reading, writing, math, and science. Socially, we work with students to communicate (in two languages) to relate to one another, ask questions, and show compassion. In addition, students at MLC learn at an early age how to use an "I message" and to work together to solve problems. Intrapersonal success took some time to disect. This refers to a child's own reflection of him or herself. It is the ability to look inside and assess one's own measure of success. We feel we achieve this through student goal-setting and want to become stronger at guiding students in this area.
We welcome you on our journey to lead students toward sucess in all area and hope your experience with MLC will impact your mind, body, and spirit as well!
More to come as the year goes on....
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
29 Survivors: Living the Dream
The 8th Grade Graduating Class of 2010 appropriately named themselves "The 29 Survivors" because they are the very first students to enter Kindergarten at MLC and graduate 8th grade. They give full credit to their parents for making this choice and helping them stick with it over the years - as well as express gratitude to the teachers and staff at MLC for making it happen.
Six students represented the 29 Survivors and gave speeches highlighting the following sentiments:
The 29 Survivors have shown us all what is possible. Through shared language, learning about each other's culture, and spending nine years in a supportive and warm learning environment, safe, caring, responsible, respectful, tolerant bilingual adults emerge ready to conquer the world. And they have what I wanted so desperately at age nine. Language and culture does not separate them - it unites them.
Thank you to the parents who took a risk and believed it was possible to "bring together a diverse community of learners where cultural and individual differences are the building blocks of academic, social, and interpersonal success" and for being the seeds of that community. Thank the students for working so hard, for being so caring and respectful, and for being able to realize and express the value of your education at MLC.
Thank you 29 Survivors for living the dream - and ensuring that it continues for years to come.
Six students represented the 29 Survivors and gave speeches highlighting the following sentiments:
- We have joyfully become a unique and diverse school community.
- MLC has brought the fortunate opportunity of a bilingual education to the Los Angeles community - not just for us but for our families as well.
- It was a true honor to have such a privileged education.
- We have learned to accept each other as we are and to tolerate every one's views and beliefs.
- We have been through difficult times together, but managed by sticking together like family and learning from our mistakes
- MLC has shaped us into respectful, tolerant young adults who see things differently than others
- The privilege of attending MLC has shown us how to act as a community and with words, not violence.
- I realize we (the 29 Survivors) came through to the end, not as individuals, but as a team.
- Graduating MLC will feel like a loss to all of us, but out of that loss is an even bigger gain.
- Throughout the years we have experienced difficulty but through no circumstances were any of us in the MLC community willing to give up.
- It is good to dream but it is even greater to be part of the dream when the dream becomes a reality.
- MLC and the 29 Survivors are alike - we know who we are and what our purpose is. Like MLC, we were always discovering new ways of knowing, becoming transformed through learning and slowly maturing.
- MLC has made a very big impact on the community even if they don't realize it.
- At MLC we influence each other through academic lessons and life lessons.
- We have realized that our future will be so much brighter because of the opportunities to express ourselves in two languages and to be who we really are.
- This school and everyone here will live in our hearts forever.
- We promise to continue growing and changing the world.
The 29 Survivors have shown us all what is possible. Through shared language, learning about each other's culture, and spending nine years in a supportive and warm learning environment, safe, caring, responsible, respectful, tolerant bilingual adults emerge ready to conquer the world. And they have what I wanted so desperately at age nine. Language and culture does not separate them - it unites them.
Thank you to the parents who took a risk and believed it was possible to "bring together a diverse community of learners where cultural and individual differences are the building blocks of academic, social, and interpersonal success" and for being the seeds of that community. Thank the students for working so hard, for being so caring and respectful, and for being able to realize and express the value of your education at MLC.
Thank you 29 Survivors for living the dream - and ensuring that it continues for years to come.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
5 Days on an Island
Yes, I spent five days on in Cherry Cove on Catalina Island with 29 8th Graders. Here are some of things I learned:
- The Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) in Cherry Cove is an incredible place to learn and expereince marine and geological science up close and personal!
- Bat Rays (ours was named Squishy) are very friendly!
- A natural stone called Galina was mined from Catalina during the Gold Rush
- Catalina was formed by plate-tectonics
- Not all sharks are deadly - we swam with some really incredible leopard sharks!
- Kayaking is extremely fun - and rewarding to see 29 happy faces paddling across the sea!
- Teenage girls love to shower and do not like to sleep with bugs.
- Spending 9 nine years together at MLC has created a sense of family among our graduates - they laughed and played like brothers and sisters.
- Diversity in living and learning leads to young people with incredible spirit, energy, acceptance, understanding, and love of life.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
MLK's Dream Lives On at MLC
One of my most memorable elementary school moments - something that is clearly etched in my mind - is being in fourth grade and learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. I was attending a school in South Los Angeles as part of the district's attempt to integrate schools through busing in the 1970's and I could really relate to the urgency for equality among races. Here I was a white girl in a classroom filled with Latinos and African-American students and while I felt privileged to be there among the rich diversity, I was aware of the 20-mile bus ride I took everyday from the suburbs to the city and I saw how the neighborhood changed along my route. I knew how different the lives of my classmates were from my own. I hung on to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his speech rang in my ears as I learned for myself, the way my world was still segregated despite efforts to change.
This experience and many others along the way eventually led me to my own dream - a dream of a school that not only brought together students and families of diverse cultures into the same building, but had programs in place that provided opportunties for meaningful interaction.
MLC's President and Vice President spoke in the community on Monday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. The entire student body at MLC gave input into the speech which follows:
Hi, my name is Christian Hammer and I am the Student Council President of Multicultural Learning Center - or MLC. Hi, my name is Joey Nadler and I am the Student Council Vice-President at the Multicultural Learning Center, the only dual language charter school in the San Fernando Valley.
At MLC we learn in two languages - English and Spanish beginning in Kindergarten and all the way through 8th grade. We help each other by learning in two languages. I started out not speaking any Spanish and now by fourth grade I am a fluent Spanish speaker. We celebrate diversity and are taught that we should not only accept someone that is different, but we need to learn about their differences and celebrate the fact that we are unique.
At our School Assembly, we talked about ways acts of intolerance leave scars on the inside of a person for rest of their lives. Together we discussed how to be more tolerant. We need to treat people the same, even if we look different, speak a different language, or have different skin coloring. We need to respect and learn different languages. At MLC we can be friends with different people because we speak English and Spanish. In fact, most of my friends are native Spanish speakers. We need to welcome different food and clothing from various cultures. At MLC, we held a festival where we got to eat food from over 15 different countries! We need to use the Internet to share our good ideas with the world and not harm people because of their race or religion.
Martin Lutero dijo "Yo tengo un sueno." En MLC tenemos el sueno de hacer este mundo un lugar mejor aprendiendo el idioma del uno y del otro.
Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream." At MLC we have a dream of making the world a better place by learning each other's language.
This experience and many others along the way eventually led me to my own dream - a dream of a school that not only brought together students and families of diverse cultures into the same building, but had programs in place that provided opportunties for meaningful interaction.
MLC's President and Vice President spoke in the community on Monday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. The entire student body at MLC gave input into the speech which follows:
Hi, my name is Christian Hammer and I am the Student Council President of Multicultural Learning Center - or MLC. Hi, my name is Joey Nadler and I am the Student Council Vice-President at the Multicultural Learning Center, the only dual language charter school in the San Fernando Valley.
At MLC we learn in two languages - English and Spanish beginning in Kindergarten and all the way through 8th grade. We help each other by learning in two languages. I started out not speaking any Spanish and now by fourth grade I am a fluent Spanish speaker. We celebrate diversity and are taught that we should not only accept someone that is different, but we need to learn about their differences and celebrate the fact that we are unique.
At our School Assembly, we talked about ways acts of intolerance leave scars on the inside of a person for rest of their lives. Together we discussed how to be more tolerant. We need to treat people the same, even if we look different, speak a different language, or have different skin coloring. We need to respect and learn different languages. At MLC we can be friends with different people because we speak English and Spanish. In fact, most of my friends are native Spanish speakers. We need to welcome different food and clothing from various cultures. At MLC, we held a festival where we got to eat food from over 15 different countries! We need to use the Internet to share our good ideas with the world and not harm people because of their race or religion.
Martin Lutero dijo "Yo tengo un sueno." En MLC tenemos el sueno de hacer este mundo un lugar mejor aprendiendo el idioma del uno y del otro.
Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream." At MLC we have a dream of making the world a better place by learning each other's language.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Value of an MLC Education
In a recent discussion with MLC’s 8th graders we talked about what they value about their experience at MLC. Their insights revealed that the education they have received at MLC reaches far beyond learning in two languages, far beyond becoming proficient readers and writers, far beyond struggling to master algebra, far beyond exploring world cultures. The value of this school goes beyond what we as educators have taught them and extends into what they have learned from each other. Here are some of the things the 8th grade graduating class has to say about the value of their education at MLC and how they think their experience may be different than what other students their age are experiencing in middle school:
“We care about each other – we’re like a family.”
“We’ve been raised together for nine years here at MLC. It’s a small school and we’ve known each other a long time.”
“Because we’re bilingual, we’re able to inter-connect with each other and understand different points of view.”
“Since kindergarten we have learned what it means to be respectful and tolerant.”
“In another school we (native Spanish speakers) would probably not have been friends with the kids who speak English because it would have taken us a long time to learn English and they wouldn’t have learned Spanish.”
“We ARE multicultural and being bilingual helps us to communicate and relate to each other.”
“Being respectful to one another is what this school is all about."
We talked about what they may face beyond the walls of MLC – and the reality of what is happening in the world and in other learning communities. We talked about the ways they are prepared to face the future after they leave MLC. The question I left them to think about is “What kind of person have you become during the last nine years at MLC?”
Recently the middle school soccer team brought the community together as they battled together as a team on the soccer field to bring home MLC’s first Championship Trophy. The trophy sits on our temporary “trophy case” surrounded by pictures of our athletes. Younger students stop in front of the trophy and photos eyes glowing with pride. “That will be me someday,” they say.
Yes it will – and after the nine-year journey at MLC you will be able to look at your colorful, diverse classmates and feel like family. You too will have become a respectful, responsible, caring, tolerant, and safe adolescent armed with the knowledge and tools to succeed no matter what you face beyond 8th grade – and you too will help make change happen if necessary along the way.
The vision of MLC will continue with you.
“We care about each other – we’re like a family.”
“We’ve been raised together for nine years here at MLC. It’s a small school and we’ve known each other a long time.”
“Because we’re bilingual, we’re able to inter-connect with each other and understand different points of view.”
“Since kindergarten we have learned what it means to be respectful and tolerant.”
“In another school we (native Spanish speakers) would probably not have been friends with the kids who speak English because it would have taken us a long time to learn English and they wouldn’t have learned Spanish.”
“We ARE multicultural and being bilingual helps us to communicate and relate to each other.”
“Being respectful to one another is what this school is all about."
We talked about what they may face beyond the walls of MLC – and the reality of what is happening in the world and in other learning communities. We talked about the ways they are prepared to face the future after they leave MLC. The question I left them to think about is “What kind of person have you become during the last nine years at MLC?”
Recently the middle school soccer team brought the community together as they battled together as a team on the soccer field to bring home MLC’s first Championship Trophy. The trophy sits on our temporary “trophy case” surrounded by pictures of our athletes. Younger students stop in front of the trophy and photos eyes glowing with pride. “That will be me someday,” they say.
Yes it will – and after the nine-year journey at MLC you will be able to look at your colorful, diverse classmates and feel like family. You too will have become a respectful, responsible, caring, tolerant, and safe adolescent armed with the knowledge and tools to succeed no matter what you face beyond 8th grade – and you too will help make change happen if necessary along the way.
The vision of MLC will continue with you.
Monday, November 2, 2009
A Voice of Their Own
It is often challenging for educators to help their students express themselves - share their thoughts, knowledge, ideas. The added challenge at the Multicultural Learning Center is the fact that students are expected to express themselves in two languages. Many of our students recognize the value of their unique ability to speak and write in two languages and as they move through the program are able to articulate the value of being able to find different ways to show what they know, how they feel, or what they think about something.
In addition to "language" students need motivation to share as they move toward the upper grades and the pressure to be "cool" overrides the ambition to speak and share. Ask a group of second graders a question and you get 20 eager hands in the air vying for a chance to share! If not called on, you might even see a look of disappointment! Ask a group of 8th graders a similar question and you might get some thoughtful faces or possibly blank stares or nothing at all.
So how do we make it "cool" to think, participate, and share opinions, thoughts and ideas the way students did back in second grade?
One way we've done this at MLC is through Technology - the ultimate motivator. Every middle school student in grades 6-8 has a laptop to use during language arts and history classes. They have their own folders and use them every week for research, producing writing, Power Points, short films, etc. Information sources are suddenly interesting and expansive and sometimes visual. Sharing setting, plot, and characterization in book clubs has taken on new depth. Critical thinking is at an all-time high by comparing and contrasting sources of data, applying information learned in creative ways, and analyzing data to determine importance and relevance of events in history. In the near future students will be synthesizing information to create on-line historical museums, multi-media campaigns, documentaries, and policy debates relating to their work.
All of a sudden we are hearing their voices again. Let's keep listening.
In addition to "language" students need motivation to share as they move toward the upper grades and the pressure to be "cool" overrides the ambition to speak and share. Ask a group of second graders a question and you get 20 eager hands in the air vying for a chance to share! If not called on, you might even see a look of disappointment! Ask a group of 8th graders a similar question and you might get some thoughtful faces or possibly blank stares or nothing at all.
So how do we make it "cool" to think, participate, and share opinions, thoughts and ideas the way students did back in second grade?
One way we've done this at MLC is through Technology - the ultimate motivator. Every middle school student in grades 6-8 has a laptop to use during language arts and history classes. They have their own folders and use them every week for research, producing writing, Power Points, short films, etc. Information sources are suddenly interesting and expansive and sometimes visual. Sharing setting, plot, and characterization in book clubs has taken on new depth. Critical thinking is at an all-time high by comparing and contrasting sources of data, applying information learned in creative ways, and analyzing data to determine importance and relevance of events in history. In the near future students will be synthesizing information to create on-line historical museums, multi-media campaigns, documentaries, and policy debates relating to their work.
All of a sudden we are hearing their voices again. Let's keep listening.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Coming Full Circle
We are entering year number 9 at the Multicultural Learning Center (MLC) - a K-8 dual language public charter school in which all students learn in two languages (English and Spanish). This year is a special one for all of us because the Kindergarten students we opened the school with back in 2001 are now entering as 8th graders and will graduate this June.
What makes this cohort of students and their families so important - is that they are the pioneers of MLC! They were the first students to enter each grade of our dual language program and in many ways set the stage for those to follow.
The parents of these students deserve a special award for taking the risk on a school with great vision, but nothing to show for it until we made it happen together, one year at a time.
The 8th grade students are a special group of students. Many of them began here as English Learners and some have struggled and all have achieved some form of greatness. Some shine academically - demonstrating knowledge and language ability beyond their years. Some have emerged as artists, musicians, leaders. Some melt our hearts with their desire to learn despite all of the challenges they face. They ALL ask questions and demand respect.
The 29 students that have survived the last 8 years of growth and development, represent the true picture of our community. Some speak English at home, some speak Spanish. Some live in large homes, others in 1-bedroom apartments. Some travel the world with their families, some have never left Los Angeles. As young teens, they all express confusion over who they are and where they fit in the world and are honest and open about their growing pains.
And they have survived and thrived - together. They are a community and an example of the way we should live our lives as a society. They learn together in the same room in two languages and are not divided by ethnicity, economics, or ability. They have always spoken each others language, have found ways to connect and make friends with each other, and have learned from each other.
And they lead us one more year before they move on.
I will document their final year at MLC in the days to come as well as many other Multicultural Moments as they happen at our very special school.
What makes this cohort of students and their families so important - is that they are the pioneers of MLC! They were the first students to enter each grade of our dual language program and in many ways set the stage for those to follow.
The parents of these students deserve a special award for taking the risk on a school with great vision, but nothing to show for it until we made it happen together, one year at a time.
The 8th grade students are a special group of students. Many of them began here as English Learners and some have struggled and all have achieved some form of greatness. Some shine academically - demonstrating knowledge and language ability beyond their years. Some have emerged as artists, musicians, leaders. Some melt our hearts with their desire to learn despite all of the challenges they face. They ALL ask questions and demand respect.
The 29 students that have survived the last 8 years of growth and development, represent the true picture of our community. Some speak English at home, some speak Spanish. Some live in large homes, others in 1-bedroom apartments. Some travel the world with their families, some have never left Los Angeles. As young teens, they all express confusion over who they are and where they fit in the world and are honest and open about their growing pains.
And they have survived and thrived - together. They are a community and an example of the way we should live our lives as a society. They learn together in the same room in two languages and are not divided by ethnicity, economics, or ability. They have always spoken each others language, have found ways to connect and make friends with each other, and have learned from each other.
And they lead us one more year before they move on.
I will document their final year at MLC in the days to come as well as many other Multicultural Moments as they happen at our very special school.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
