Head of School Blog "Orchard is a LEGO School"
Dear Orchard Community,
I recently read that for the first time in recent memory LEGO toy company is reducing jobs and profits have decreased. I was thinking about what this means because I have always had the highest regard for LEGO. What I love about the company, aside from the unparalleled clarity of their directions, is the ingenious designs that invite young builders from beginning to expert to experiment and construct intricate designs independent of adult supervision.
In many ways Orchard is a LEGO school. The faculty creates blueprints for study and investigation, poses essential provocative questions but also leaves room for the students to construct meaning and understanding at their own pace. In this sense, we encourage messing about and hands-on experimentation. We think this leads to a more profound ownership of concepts in a manner that will have greater meaning and stick to each student learner. One way to think about this is to compare the internalization of knowledge with a student who is being taught in a more traditional lecture/note-taking/quiz mode versus a student who takes part in a debate, performs a science experiment to test a hypothesis or researches and recreates a critical inflection point in history requiring familiarity of multiple perspectives.
Last year’s Second Grade Post Office project is a perfect example of a LEGO moment. To practice letter writing and reading the second grade students generated the idea of creating a post office and asked their teachers if they could build one. Using an old refrigerator box they soon had a painted post office with a small counter for receiving mail. Students took turns working shifts each day to receive and distribute the mail. One of them told me one morning that she had to hurry because if she did not open the post office on time the school would probably close! I love the investment and the all-in engagement. For a time, these young students were at the essential epicenter of a critical communications hub that helped build community around the school and, without realizing it, they were practicing reading and writing while performing an invaluable community service. They came up with a good idea, were given the room to execute it and, partly because it was theirs. As an interesting testament to the value of the project, a seventh grader was overheard lamenting that it was a shame when they closed down the post office project because it had been the best way to communicate across the school.
So, even though I have no stock in the LEGO corporation, I am rooting for the company. Many times I watched my own sons work their way through a LEGO project solving the challenges and, in the end, feeling the pride that comes from “I made it myself” and “I found the solution by myself”. These moments are common at Orchard and are critical building blocks to fostering confident, independent, creative thinkers and problem solvers.
Truly,
Truly,
Tom
