Community Conversation Recap (Nov. 2023)

Across the year on a handful of Fridays, we schedule time for “Community Conversations” — the aim of these conversations is to help the adults in our community come together to discuss ways we can support our learners. Our first Community Conversation of the 2023-24 year occurred last week. We created a reel on Instagram highlighting a few key points, and we hope, paired with this blog, those who were there can reflect more on the discussion and those who were not can feel included in the conversation.

We began with Claire Rudden (math content leader for Gold Band) giving an overview of the personal finance series we are in the midst of during Monday morning Campfires. We are working to make sure all learners have exposure to aspects of personal finance through this teacher-led Campfire series, which spans three weeks. Last week, the four options for Campfire centered around saving money. Yesterday, the four options taught about various aspects of spending money. And the week after Thanksgiving break, we plan to have four options teaching about investing….

generalLisa ZapalacNovember 14, 2023Long-View Micro Schoolparents, community, campfire, financial literacy, challenge

Intellectual Fearlessness in Math

Early in the year, Mr. Mann brought a challenging concept to Math Block in Sage and Crimson Bands. It wasn’t exclusively a math concept, but an invitation to think differently about risk-taking. What does it mean to be intellectually fearless?

The phrase "intellectual fearlessness” comes from the book Thinking, Fast and Slow, by psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman. When Mr. Mann introduced the concept, learners recognized fearlessness as a sort of bravery that, to the observer, presents as a lack of fear. They observed that while a person might have the experience of feeling afraid but taking action anyway, that same person might seem “fearless” to others.

Sage and Crimson learners also grappled with the term “intellectual,” which they defined as “of or relating to the mind.” They connected the attribute with learning and conjectured that “the growth of the mind is learning.” One learner posited that intellectual fearlessness was simply “the willingness to learn.”

Ideas kept building as another young learner suggested that being intellectually fearless would include being vulnerable….

mathLisa ZapalacMarch 2, 2023Long-View Micro Schoolintellectual fearlessness, math block, identity, challenge, learning