ice and mud

This morning as I drove to the school to visit with a prospective family I passed the place I purchased ice last summer each time we had a work day at the school.  We worked through the hot summer, building erosion control check dams, knocking out closet walls, building garden areas, while the sky withheld the rain.  Since that time, we have arrived at school to find trees that have crashed down in the night, casualties of the summer.  This day when I arrive,  after many days of rain, I am greeted by muddly tracks across the walkways.  Mud encrusted boots line the breezeway. I connect the moments, arriving with ice on a hot day, arriving in a raincoat on an icy cold morning.  Our first semester is complete.  We had our first Expo Day.  Our students bravely faced a small crowd of family and visitors to talk about what they have been learning.  From underwater mammals to herbal healing remedies with many unusual topics in between, the students answered questions and guided visitors through their work.   Lynn Stoddard calls this independent study, "The Great Brain Project," a term we did not apply, but I saw yesterday that some students had the beginnings of a grasp of their topic, while others seemed to really have a bigger picture of their topic and how everything fits together.  Some students talked this past week about working again on their topic while others have had a new idea which will take them in a new direction.  Kathy and I ask ourselves, "Is it ok to let a student focus on one topic over and over?" Does it limit them in some way, or free them to really become an expert over time in something that matters deeply to them?  It is great to be part of a living classroom where the answers have not been predetermined.  We had to ask ourselves many times this first semester, "What were we thinking?"   The answer is:  outside the box.  That place is not on the maps, there are a few guides that take you to the general vicinity, but then you are charting new territory.  Good times!