Practical Theory | A View From the Schoolhouse [This year marked the first graduating class of our second campus – SLA@Beeber. I was honored and thrilled to be asked to be the keynote speaker. It’s been such an incredible experience to watch this group of students and families and educators build this school into something wonderful, and I was so excited to share the day with them. — Chris] To the Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber inaugural class – the Class of 2017 – congratulations! I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me to be standing in front of you today. What you all have done – what you all have accomplished these past four years – will stand as a tribute to your willingness to build, to take risks, to go on a journey together – for years and years to come. And you did not do this alone. And still – there were more. And now – what I want to talk to you about this afternoon is what all this means for the rest of your life. What we build may not be perfect – but it can be beautiful. And that’s what you did.
DesignShare Home Science Leadership Academy heppell.net • learning • ingenuity • research • policy • design • technology • delight • (+ sailing!) Biomimicry Creates New Education Models For Learning From Nature It’s 7:00 a.m. on Prevost Island in British Columbia, Canada. Everyone is up early with winter caps pulled tightly over ears and sipping cowboy coffee from metal mugs. Reluctantly slipping out of warm socks and shoes and into sandals still wet from the day before, we roll up our pants and head out to the rocky shoreline with bubbling anticipation. As the small crew carefully steps over tide pools and rocks slippery with sea kelp, it’s not long before someone calls out “Over here!” The crew is fervently taking notes and drawing impromptu sketches of all their observations and lessons from the sunstar. This crew of people is not composed only of biologists. These types of experiences are occurring all over the world in K-12 education, higher education, organizational trainings, nature clubs, and biomimicry networks. “The biomimics are discovering what works in the natural world, and more important, what lasts," says Janine Benyus, founder of the Biomimicry Institute.
Gareth Long - Education Fielding Nair International – School Architects and Change Agents for Education