The 12 commandments of schooling in the U. S. today

Editor’s note: Jack Mahoney died on May 14, 2011. This is the last column of a years-long series he wrote for this newspaper, reprinted from the May 20, 2010, issue in which it originally ran. It is run just as he wrote it a year ago this week.Lest it appear that what follows dropped in out of nowhere, let me explain. These ideas have been in my head at least since the sabbatical in the early 1990s that brought me to 68 of the better schools I could find in our country. They have been refined in years of close observation since. And they have been edited by two teachers currently working in challenging school situations. Thanks, Kathleen, and thanks, Mike. Finally, I should add that I intend to fulfill my commitment to my profession for as long as life permits, regardless of title or position. 1. Thou shalt organize schooling to serve the needs of students with all the different intelligences (see Howard Gardner), not just those tested on the SATs.2. Thou shalt make it clear to all that the primary purpose of schooling is not to teach students but to facilitate their learning. In fact, it is to teach them how to learn.3. Thou shalt ensure that teachers take responsibility collectively for the progress of their students by assigning them not as individuals but in teams.4. Thou shalt recognize, proclaim and never apologize for making affect (Maslow) at least the equal of cognition (Bloom) in pursuit of learning.5. Thou shalt incorporate in the practices of schooling opportunities for older students to help younger students in pursuit of learning and growing.6. Thou shalt ensure that, as they grow older, students have increasing opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning.7. Thou shalt develop in all students profound respect for human diversity.8. Thou shalt take every opportunity to celebrate significant progress in student learning.9. Thou shalt ensure that teachers are evaluated by peers in their teams with an administrator signing off on the process.10. Thou shalt see that schooling is organized, wherever possible, to involve students in solving some of the real problems of community living.11. Thou shalt organize schooling to involve parents as partners in their children’s learning.12. Thou shalt see that school administrators are held responsible for promoting and sustaining a culture throughout the school and its community that respects learning for all students.John L. Mahoney was a high school teacher for 21 years and a high school principal for 12 years. He was also an education consultant who made a study of schooling in the United States. Find an obituary and appreciation on page A10. There will be a service at Housatonic Valley Regional High School on June 10 at 5 p.m., open to the public.This article originally said the service would be at 3 p.m.; it will be at 5 p.m., as indicated above.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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