Wisdom Day

Our Montessori school celebrated Wisdom Day today. This is the first day that all the students are attending school together. Between the transitions for new students and returning students, and the entire junior high being gone for the last two weeks on their Odyssey South - this really is the first day they have all been together.

In 1988 as part of a cultural exchange with Moscow School #31, Lake Country School has been celebrating Wisdom Day. It is a Russian custom for the oldest students to welcome the youngest children into the school and to remind us all of the privileges and responsibilities of education. Parents and children gather outside to sing songs that are part of the life of the school community and welcome the new year of opportunity and learning.

Here are our awesome music teachers, Mr. D and Sarah, they lead us in many wonderful school songs.



We also celebrated today that 50 years ago nine African-American teens were able to attend school at Central High in Arkansas. In 1954, a United States Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ordered an end to segregation. It said that black children must be able to study with white children at previously all-white public schools, where facilities often were superior. In some parts of the country, whites reacted to the Court's decision with anger and violence. They wanted to keep black children out of their schools. In September 1957, nine African-American teens were chosen by the local school board to test the decision at Central High. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and many others were determined to stop the "Little Rock Nine." Even though they were kicked, beaten, and spat upon, the students didn't give up. Their courage earned them a place in history, beside the names of such civil-rights leaders as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

I can't imagine our kids going to an all-white school. We are happy to have the diversity in our schools - in fact we seek diversity out!

Here are Zane and his buddy, Ben, with their flowers. Each child brings a flower to their teacher and they make one or more bouquets in the classroom.



I tried to get some pics of Seby with his class, but he and his buddy Alex were sitting down on the ground reading all the words to the songs. Just the top of their heads didn't seem like a great pic. Here is Zane with his class singing "The Big Fat Walleye" song - another favorite that you'd only find at a school in Minnesota!

Zane's class is getting ready to enter the school - the first class to go. This year, for the first time, Zane asked that I walk with him to enter the school. It is the last year that I can do this so I was happy to do it!



Here is the last of the students and staff to enter the school. Now is when the kleenex comes out and we all wipe our eyes from another moving Wisdom Day experience.



Today we also saw Graham leave (again!). This time he is headed off for his 6-week residency at the Land School - the Montessori school's farm school. Here he is with his buddy Charlie - the only other boy going on this residency.



This is the whole group that will be out at the Land School.