Learning Music at The Clearwater School

Cass

Singing, playing instruments and listening to and talking about music have been a big part of people's lives at Clearwater for many years. A changing group of girls have been members of a small choir for several years. A few students have become proficient at guitar or drums. A few poke around on the piano or take a few lessons.

Maddy and Jacy

This year, enough people are interested in learning to play guitar and drums that staff member and musician Matt Garrity has set aside two mornings a week for scheduled lessons. Four girls are learning to play the guitar and, in addition to their weekly lessons, spend time practicing on their own and learning to play guitar and sing at the same time.

Cass, Matt and Leo

Two teenage boys spend hours each week with each other, alone or with Matt on drums, playing electric guitar and bass. A couple of girls are writing original songs with music and lyrics, consulting with Matt. There have been some piano lessons this year, too.

 Guitar lesson with Matt

Some of the girls who are in the choir are also taking guitar and piano lessons. What they are learning about playing instruments adds  to their understanding of how music works and deepens their singing skills.

Aidan and Matt

It is rare for the music room to be empty for extended periods. Usually, someone is taking a lesson, practicing in a group or alone, or jamming.

Watch this video sample of some of the music making at Clearwater over the past several weeks. The video shows people not performing, but practicing--working to get better at playing an instrument, to create rhythm, melody and harmony, to compose a song which was later discarded, to play the same chord progression or improvise something new together, and to help each other increase their skills.

Growing into Literacy - Guest Post

It is often a challenge for parents who enroll their children at The Clearwater School or other Sudbury schools when their children choose not to learn to read until they are 9 or 10 years old or even older. With the permission of Abbe Vogels, a founder and staff member at Rising Tide School, our sister Sudbury school in Olympia, we are reprinting her blog post about how she handles her own fears around this issue. This post was originally published on her School It Yourself blog on October 2, 2011.
The photos in this post are of Clearwater students and were not part of Abbe's original blog post.

Growing into literacy

As the parent of self-educated children, I often come up against fears about their development. The core of the fear is: ”Maybe what I know in my heart to be true about learning is actually false, and the dominant educational paradigm is right. What if I’ve totally screwed up!” Pretty normal fear for anyone walking a new road, but scary just the same.

For me, and other Sudbury parents, it often comes up around reading. I fear that by supporting my kids to read when they’re ready, they’ll never learn, or they won’t read well. I’ve been very happy that I’ve stared down this fear so far, as I see tremendous benefit to my kids as they grow into literacy in their own time.

Before I had my own children, I worked as a paraeducator in a local school district. That’s when I first became aware that many people can’t read, or can’t read fluently, even when they’ve been schooled their whole lives, and even when they’re of an age where we’d expect reading ability (11, 12, 13 years, and even older). Because reading is the skill upon which all academic schools are based, reading difficulty prevents a person from participating in classroom activities, and was accordingly surrounded by a great deal of fear, worry, and extra work for the kids who weren’t comfortable readers.

The older these children were, the more that the fear surrounding their non-reading caused them deep shame. Their lack of reading skill became something to hide and deny. And the more they hid and denied, the less likely they were to be curious about reading, interested in learning how to do it better, or comfortable asking for help. To me, the situation often appeared hopeless–some students seemed more likely to drop out school than to brave the shame of learning to read at age 13 or older. Completely understandable, given the environment!

A painting from a bus rider

Last Monday as I opened up the bus for people to board, Johnna handed me this painting.

"I painted it for you," she said. I felt both happy and honored to receive such a gift. We spent some time looking at it together as she explained some of the choices she'd made in painting it. "The purple is really blue and red," she told me. "I had to paint over a few times." Yellow also shows underneath the large green patches too giving it a kind of glow. I did not ask what it was, but when we got back to her stop at the end of the day, I did ask her to add one detail at the bottom: her name.

 Johnna

Two New Chickens at Clearwater

There are now two new members of the Clearwater community. Poppy and Pebble are Silkie chickens, sponsored by the Chicken Committee: Lily, Jurr, Jackie, Max, Stevie, Tommie, Delayney, Vera, Tarka, Zoe, Gryffon, and Mikey.

 Poppy and Pebble

The story of Poppy and Pebble is a good example of how students can make things happen at Clearwater. Adults’ resistance to an idea is not an immoveable obstacle if there is vision, commitment, and follow-through from students. Early on, the chickens were not expected to be permanent residents at Clearwater. A number of staff and students were doubtful about how well it would work, remembering a previous chicken experiment. "The last time Clearwater had chickens, the staff had to take care of them because none of the students wanted to," says Lily. "So they were skeptical." Lily has chickens at her house, and another student had said he wished he could have pets at school. So, Lily said, why not chickens at school again? But how to persuade the school?

 Lily (with Pebble), Gryffon and Brandon (with Poppy)

"We went to school meeting and had a discussion, but everyone said they didn't think it was a good idea. They said we'd have to raise money for the chickens ourselves, and then keep the chickens away from school over the summer." But that was something students were willing to do. "We raised them at homes across the street from the school at first. They were very cute. We named them Poppy and Kiwi." After Kiwi unfortunately met a cat, Poppy was very sad -- young chickens can actually die of loneliness, Lily says -- so Pebble was acquired by the chicken committee. "Once they got old enough to go outside, we asked permission again to keep them at school."

The committee made their case to the interim Summer School Meeting. "The chickens were cute enough to persuade them to say yes," says Jurr. But students had all responsibility for care of the chickens; it wasn't staff's job. Lily, Max, Stevie, Jurr, and Jackie cleaned their coop, gave them food and water, held them, and free-ranged them during the whole summer. What does it mean to free-range a chicken? "You put them out in the grass to walk around by themselves, eating and scratching and taking dirt baths," Jackie and Jurr explain. "We have to watch them to make sure they don't run away, or get killed by a predator like a hawk or a cat." (Lily clarifies though that once chickens get old enough, most cats don't mind them).

 Gryffon, Poppy and Nikos

Once summer was over, the committee still needed School Meeting's permission to permanently keep them at school. "We asked again, and by this time they thought we were responsible enough to look after the chickens; it wasn't hard to get it approved," says Jurr. But another obstacle arose when the committee had to consider the requirements of the Health Department regarding livestock at schools. Poppy and Pebble had to wait another two months before the committee had made the proper arrangements and School meeting approved the plan.

The agreement is that the chickens can be housed at the school; the chicken committee is responsible for buying their food, taking them to the vet, making sure they are safe in their coop, watching them when they are out. But most of all, Jackie adds, "we like to hold them." Anyone may hold the chickens if they like, supervised by a member of the Chicken Committee. "They are cuddly and nice, and they don't mind you holding them. They’ll even fall asleep sometimes in your hands. If you move them gently, they will ruffle their feathers or move their tails. Poppy has some wicked tail moves," Jurr says. "And Pebble is adorable."

 Lily, Arlo (with Pebble), Gryffon and Nikos (with Poppy)

While holding the chickens it is recommended that you wear gloves, and after holding them, it's important to wash your hands with soap. This is because it's possible (though unlikely, Jackie adds) to catch salmonella from a chicken. This was the most serious issue the chicken committee had to face when addressing requirements from the State Health Department. Stevie explained that the chickens also have to remain in an enclosed area even when they are not in their coop, and that staff supervises while the coop is cleaned.

As a breed, Silkie chickens are small, with puffy feathers. They are recommended for kids because they are usually nice and calm. Poppy (white) is a hen and after a period of guessing we are now sure that Pebble (black) is a rooster.

Clearwater Hosts Weekly Play Days

The Clearwater School's Play Days program provides an opportunity for toddlers, preschoolers and their families to experience our ground breaking model of education. Join us for open-ended play and parent education every Friday, from 9:30am to 12noon. No reservations are required and the program is free.

At The Clearwater School learning happens through active exploration. Play Days allow young children to freely explore a safe environment. By following their own impulses, they can totally be themselves as they grow and develop friendships with others.

Each Friday we include a discussion time so parents can learn the underlying philosophy and practice of Clearwater's approach and gain parenting support.

 Students meet with staff to organize Play Days

A highlight of our program is the involvement of Clearwater students and many opportunities for visiting children to observe and interact with them. For families considering future enrollment in our school, Play Days is an opportunity interact with older students and observe their well-honed decision-making and problem-solving skills. Twelve students signed up to  host, provide information and play with visiting children and their parents. They will alternate with each other every week so everyone can be a part of the program.

When asked what attracted them to participate in Play Days, students had this to say.

Thirteen-year-old Maddy said she likes building relationships with kids and parents. She thinks it's easier for parents to enroll their children at Clearwater when they know people here. Eleven-year-old Nikos said he likes playing with younger kids.

Thirteen-year-old Alise loves kids and knows being part of Play Days will be a fun experience. Fifteen-year-old Gregory enjoys small children and said he learns how to be a better person by being with young children. Thirteen-year-old Michael loves reading to and teaching kids stuff. He also likes watching kids grow up.

Twelve-year-old Lily believes having this program will help the school grow, something that is important to her. Matt, the staff member coordinating this program, said students who participate in Play Days are taking leadership roles and giving back to the school.

Play Days organizing meeting

If you are interested in attending, there's no need to call ahead--just show up at 9:30am any Friday morning. (NOTE: Because of Clearwater's holiday schedule, there won't be Play Days on November 23, December 21 and 28.)

Clearwater's Table at GeekGirlCon a Success

Brenda, Gabriel, Kallisti and Meghan at booth with cosplaying attendee

As mentioned in last week's post, The Clearwater School participated as an exhibitor at the second annual GeekGirlCon. Thanks to a great design by Clearwater parent, Brenda Conken, and Clearwater staffer, Mat Riggle, plus silkscreening and booth art by Clearwater parent, Elrond Sheppard, our booth looked great! We were sandwiched between Sakura-Con and a Lego jewelry booth.

Awesome Clearwater students Meghan, Maddy, Alise and Gabriel

Table staffing duties were shared by Clearwater students (Gabriel, Meghan, Alise, Kallisti and Maddy), parents (Brenda, Kelley Sheppard, Susan Milton and Amanda Klein) and staff (Shawna Lee). It is common for exhibitors to hand out swag (appealing trinkets or edibles) to attendees. Brenda thought Tarot cards were a memorable handout at another con and suggested handing out single cards with Clearwater's name, URL and phone on the back. Kallisti also donated a bunch of fortune cookies of different flavors to  give out.

A lot of people came by the booth for a Tarot card or fortunate cookie, and a good number of those wanted more information about the school. The con was also fun for Clearwater table staff. Several of them took breaks from staffing to take advantage of panel discussions on various topics, including "Steampunk Sewing", "Really Make Your Own Videoblog", "The Last 'Outsider' in Popular Culture - Disability", "Spotlight on Purple Reign", "Comedy Web Series: 'Standard Action'", "So You Want to Write (and Finish) a Novel", and "Writing for the Young Adult Geek".

Booth design by Brenda Conken and Mat Riggle

In short, it was a fun event to be part of, and we got the word out about The Clearwater School to a great audience. We hope to be a part of GeekGirlCon again next year.

Clearwater at GeekGirlCon This Weekend

The Clearwater School will have an information table at the second annual GeekGirlCon, Saturday, August 11, 9am-6pm, and Sunday, August 12, 9am-5pm, at the Conference Center, in downtown Seattle across the street from the Washington State Convention Center.

This is the fourth event this summer where students, staff and parents have staffed an information table at a large public event. In June, we had a table at the Fremont Fair and Seattle Pridefest. In July, we were at the Mill Creek Festival.

A few students and their parents attended the first GeekGirlCon last year and thought it would be a great opportunity to publicize Clearwater. We are excited to be a part of it. Mat and Brenda have designed a great booth display that includes a 10-minute looping video of still photos and student-created movie trailers, in addition to some other large graphical elements. Several Clearwater parents and students will represent the school at our table.

In addition to information tables, there are panels, guest speakers, cosplay (people dressing up as their favorite characters), a masquerade and a venue for connecting and networking with women who are professionals in science, video games, comics, television and more. Tickets are available online at GeekGirlCon's website. You may also still be able to get discounted tickets at your local comic store.

We hope to see you at GeekGirlCon!