Watching our students unplug made me realize with even greater clarity that unplugging helps our kids develop social skills. It helps them (and us!) focus on human-to-human relationships that make life meaningful.
Our world is complex, noisy and very confusing, but the nature of life is not.
This summer, make some ‘me time’ and enjoy the view.
The best of your life is happening right in front of you.
Read MoreI won’t claim to be prescient, however, when we founded Walden we knew we had to offer programmes and an environment that would enable our young students to find their places in this world and build capabilities that would allow them to adapt and excel in a new world order.
It should come as no surprise then that we pursued International Baccalaureate accreditation for our Primary Years Programme (PYP) and that we have also sought qualification to deliver the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).
Read MoreFaced with the overwhelming problems with which modern society is confronted, it’s too easy to think that our voice is irrelevant in the larger scheme and our efforts will be sucked up in a black hole of indifference.
However, when we look into history, we find the opposite is true.
Let’s throw out a few names here, and you consider how they affected real and lasting global change by exerting influence that none of them could have planned when they began their journey.
Read MoreAn intimate awareness of the world we share is fundamental to our entire philosophy. It underpins our curriculum, our pedagogy and even our name. We’re often asked why we chose the name Walden. Inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, our school is committed to fostering independent, self-reliant learners in a nature-centric environment.
Our mandate is to model for our students the merits of subscribing to an unadorned approach to living while developing a…
Read MoreIf we are collectively going to have success in creating a broader community of understanding it will require each of us to take a role in ensuring that the errors of the past serve as points of learning and provide points of light in moving forward.
I recently read an observation by Marie Wilson who was a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner. Here’s what she related, “We have been investing in our collective ignorance, and we have to stop.”
Read MoreAt Walden we always try to provide a broad outlook on how we look at the issues we all face from a communal perspective. Put as simply as possible we instil in our students the understanding that for one of us to move forward does not suggest that someone else must be held back. It’s confirming the belief that aspects of history are hard to understand within the context of today’s world and that there are issues that require us to heal.
Read MoreThe central purpose of the entire Walden community was and is to ensure that our students and your children, beyond benefitting from a complete and purposeful IB programme, discover that out of goodness arises greatness.
It means teaching children that the world is about much more than the achievement of high marks and the accomplishment of standardized goals.
It means recognizing each child as an individual with their own needs, interests, talents and abilities.
Read MoreOne of the fundamental principles we embrace at Walden International School is this: to help yourself, start by helping others.
It’s a profoundly simple concept and yet it’s one that we all struggle with from time to time. At this time of year when we pile on extra stress while preparing for holidays and various celebrations it’s easy to get wrapped up in the hurly burly. When that happens, whether we’re a kid or a grown up, some of our best basic instincts (generosity, compassion, patience) can vanish and some of our…
Read MoreIf I ask our youngest students these questions I can safely predict that every one of them will answer - yes!
If I ask a selection of adults I can also safely predict that most of them will respond - not really but I’d like to.
It’s one of the real misfortunes of the traditional education system that most of us have our creative spirit dampened in favour of achieving subjective standards of …
Read MoreWe care deeply about making a better world and if we have the inspiration and ability to influence even a few families to take action we will move forward. We all - parents, teachers, staff, students - have an obligation to give back. We all have a responsibility to make small, incremental change at a grassroots level to explore the realities of our history, to learn and to continuously explore methods to implement forward movement even if just in our neighbourhoods.
Read MoreIn preparing this post I spent some time getting up to date on the latest literature on initiatives and innovations in the education sector. I read materials from Harvard, University of California at Berkeley and Northeastern University in Boston. There’s no shortage of perspectives and approaches and what really stood out to me was where most of these studies coalesce.
Read MoreI am a sports fan. I support and cheer mightily for our local team (including the Leafs). But my most spirited enthusiasm is reserved for my son and daughter who are both exceptional athletes.
And, while we suspended varsity sports at Walden due to COVID restrictions, we do ensure that our Walden Wolves have every opportunity to engage in a variety of sporting activities as part of their formative education.
Read MoreIn the old days, for example the summer of 2018, we would approach the end of school and the summer holiday as a time to hit the road, travel to the cottage, visit friends and relatives in far-flung locations, accompany our kids to baseball tournaments and similar activities.
Now, we’re looking at staycations and the most exciting travel we might enjoy is from the front door to the backyard!
Read MoreWe envision a future where we can all focus on what really matters and as we emerge from the pandemic making a commitment that we won’t return to what we previously defined as ‘normal’.
Together, we can absolutely influence change for good that will infuse our friends, our family and co-workers with a commitment to goodness…
Walden’s commitment to making good people is driven by a firm belief in our shared humanity and that from goodness arises greatness. We mustbegin with the children if we want a better world.If we want a better tomorrow we must inculcate humane values in our children. As the adults in this equation we all need to model the behaviour thatwill guide our children…
Read MoreEven though equal opportunity for equal benefit is central to its meaning, fairness does not mean that everybody gets what they want. It does mean that everybody has an equal opportunity to benefit. For example, a teacher may offer computer time only for students who have completed their work. That’s fair, because everyone has the opportunity to finish their work. It would not be fair if the teacher only offered computer time to…
Read MoreThese times especially require elevated trust levels among all of us in our community. Our very welfare and health depends on creating a circle of safety and the only way we can do that is to rely upon teachers, staff, parents and students to work together for the common good. And, we are so fortunate that this has been our experience. At the same time we recognize a responsibility to guide our students by modelling behaviours and teaching how trust is created and sustained…
Read MoreTo say that the last twelve months have been trying would be an understatement. Uncertainty and fear have left many of us feeling powerless and exhausted. We’ve had to contend with the capriciousness of government leaders, manage the health and safety of our school community, and address the rightful worry of parents. But through it all we have managed…
Read MoreHistory matters when you’re engaged in making good people. History informs how we interpret what is happening around us. It provides insight into the motivations behind social change and provides momentum to embracing change. So, while this is only one month, Walden International School is committed to ensuring that our children move into society with a broad grasp of what is true and are motivated to create...
Read MoreOften it is the kids that will lead us. In their fresh and still relatively innocent view of the world they are able to see opportunities that we adults might dismiss as too difficult or too simple or just too obvious! Their ideas, inspired by our guidance, help us make the choices that differentiate between passive acceptance of ‘reality’ and challenging generally accepted ‘rules’.
When we support activities such as Orange Shirt Day…
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