All posts by Mark Silberberg

Mark is thrilled to be a member of LREI's vibrant learning community and is inspired each day by students and colleagues alike. Mark began his formal adult life in schools as a teacher of physics, chemistry, English and an experiential business simulation class in the public schools where he also worked as a school administrator and technology coordinator. For the ten years prior to coming to LREI, Mark was a co-founder and co-director of a progressive K-12 public charter school. When not immersed in things LREI, Mark enjoys spending time with his family and completing sundry home repair projects. He is an avid soccer player and skier and wishes he had more time to play the guitar and bass.

Focusing on the Math Big Picture

While Curriculum Night is an opportunity to look at the big picture, it is also an opportunity to balance these ideas and the school’s approach to learning against ones own educational experience. This can often be complicated work as the memories and habits connected with how you experienced school may have been very different. One area in which this tension often occurs is with our approach to mathematics and the development of mathematical thinkers. I include below some “big picture” thoughts on math instruction at LREI and its connection to each student’s development as a learner. Continue reading Focusing on the Math Big Picture

Tools of the Trade

At the start of the school year, each seventh grader received an iPad 2 to use over the course of the year. Students are using the iPads throughout the day in their classes and are bringing them home to continue and extend their work. We believe that the small scale tablet form of the iPad offers a wealth of ways for us to enrich the already exciting and demanding seventh grade program. Continue reading Tools of the Trade

The Silence and Solitude of Community

I cannot think of a time in recent middle school history when I have been more impressed with our students. It is no small request to ask 160+ middle schoolers to sit on the floor in silence. They did this with commitment and an understanding of the significance of the moment. Students and teachers who were moved to speak did so in ways that told stories of personal experiences, raised questions about the nature of human understanding and action, and communicated simple and complex fears, hopes and dreams. These moments together confirmed the importance of our human community. Continue reading The Silence and Solitude of Community