The older children at The New School, who are part in our Government unit, took a field trip to Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center on Onondaga Lake. The students spent an hour examining the exhibits. They were assigned to answer a series of questions and identify a favorite exhibit and explain why they Read More >>
Temple Grandin
This year, the older children are examining groups of people who have had to fight for their rights. One such group is individuals with disabilities. We’ve read articles, watched Ted Talks, watched Temple Grandin, and engaged in discussions with mystery guests about how far we have come in meeting their needs, and also Read More >>
Paco Valle is Mystery Guest
Another mystery guest came to The New School’s government class last week. This time, we invited Paco Valle, a manager from the Syracuse VA Medical Center. Two students had previously shared articles at school about the shameful medical treatment of vets (or lack thereof.) Paco came to answer their many questions, and also shared other Read More >>
Daniel Van Sant – Mystery Guest
Daniel Van Sant, is a graduate student at Syracuse University, studying disability law. He came to The New School as our Mystery Guest. For an hour he engaged the older students, discussing and sharing information about the plight of individuals with disabilities and their struggle for equal rights. From Willowbrook to the passage of the Read More >>
Freida Jacques – Mystery Guest
In December, Freida Jacques, an Onondaga Clan mother who lives on the Onondaga Nation visited The New School. Freida Jacques answered the many questions of our students and then shared their Thanksgiving address. After she left, our students reminisced about some of the information they gathered about the Haudenosaunee from her. Moebius: If you are Read More >>
Women’s Hall of Fame
As part of our social studies unit on Government, the oldest students went on a field trip to Seneca Falls to learn more about the Women’s Rights Movement. They visited the Women’s Hall of Fame, which was opened in 1969. The Hall of Fame’s mission is to recognize the contributions made by women to our Read More >>
Government and Social Justice
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In class we discussed the meaning of these words from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. We then brainstormed Read More >>
Electromagnetism
Last year the teachers began a long term project that integrated science, technology, social studies and language arts. As teachers we began by jointly reading an inspiring book called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. We were able to ascertain that a young people’s version of the book would be issued in February 2015. Once Read More >>
Advocacy in Action
Sriharsh Gowtham, a young activist, visited the New School at the end of the year. He came to share his political experiences in New Hampshire where he worked hard to change laws in regards to political campaign donations. Harsha shared information about how much it costs to run a campaign and how important it is Read More >>
The Three Branches of Government
The older children have been learning about the three branches of government. At the end of the year we went on three field trips to observe the legislative, judicial and executive branches in action. The City of Syracuse was amazingly hospitable and willing to enrich the learning of our students. On May 5 we took Read More >>