ADAMS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
MARCH 3, 2006
326-8608
www.adamsschool.com

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." Brrrrrr.

 

“If you have to ask, I can’t tell you.”

As I watched an eighth grader give a power point presentation on Louis Armstrong the other day—the older kids are studying Jazz (New Orleans, in particular) with Bill Schubeck—I was reminded of his famous quote. Responding to a request to “define jazz,” Satchmo said: “If you have to ask, I can’t tell you.”

            Some things can’t be taught. You can have great chops on your instrument— music theory, technical skill, even experience—and still not play Jazz. It’s “about” more than playing the right notes in the right order. There’s something between the notes; something not recorded in the sheet music, like the gestalt of a poem. Something the instrument maker, bandleader, music teacher, and even the player himself didn’t plan. Jazz just happens when the conditions are right, when the tune is more than the sum of its parts.

            Jazz might be a good emblem for creativity in lots of areas. It defies definition, is difficult or impossible to actually teach, but yields such rich rewards. You know it when you see it, hear it, feel it, touch it—or when it touches you. Creativity swings. And maybe we can’t define it, but there is a way to encourage it and make room for it. In fact, that may be all we can do.

You can’t rehearse an improvisation, but you can practice in order to improvise—that’s getting your chops. True improvisation just happens when inspiration, timing, and technique magically converge and you get jazz…or poetry, or art, or science, or home runs. This made me think about the daily teaching choices we make regarding practice versus improvisation.

As students we’ve all paid our dues learning the “scales” that allow us to make our own music, whether it’s the rudiments of the piano, the periodic tables, verb conjugations, or figure drawing exercises. As parents or educators we are in the business of teaching how to practice various intellectual disciplines, creativity and independence of the student being our goal. But it’s essential to define the continuum that keeps us true to our goal; otherwise we end up with just scales.

For instance, are our students independent enough to answer these questions about their own learning continuum: Are we just trying to read the words, or really understand, the book? Is the point of the assignment to write two pages, or to write an essay, or story? Are we merely running on schedule, or creating time for ingenuity and delight? What is the nature of the test for which we are teaching? What is the meaning of a “good” grade? The answers are important. They define an interior, core value related to creativity and learning.

Last week, an article in Education Week (February 23, 2006) on this subject caught my eye. “It may sound paradoxical that creativity is a habit, a routine response,” writes Robert Sternberg. “But creative people are creative largely not by any particular inborn trait, but because of an attitude toward their work and even toward life: They habitually respond to problems in fresh and novel ways, rather than allowing themselves to respond in conventional and sometimes automatic ways.”

I’ve come to think that we should think of creativity less as a free-spirited, undisciplined part of our lives (a bad habit), and more as a kind of vital skill: the ability to solve problems.  In fact, it may be the most important kind of problem solving we practice because it’s what we use to cope with uncertainty, unfamiliar tasks, and new situations. Creativity is flexibility, improvisation, adaptivity, resilience…jazz.

Sternberg also points out that we ought to make a place for it. “The main things that promote the habit are (a) opportunities to engage in it, (b) encouragement when people avail themselves of these opportunities, and (c) rewards when people respond to such encouragement and think and behave creatively,” he writes. “You need all three. Take away the opportunities, encouragement, or rewards, and you will take away the creativity. In this respect, creativity is no different from any other habit, good or bad.”

Perhaps we can’t define creativity, but knowing the conditions that encourage it helps. Like astrophysicists, perhaps we can detect it by observing the behavior of the particles orbiting the atomic nucleus! Questions are good detectors. Are we taking pleasure in the journey? Have we preserved time for contemplation? Do we emphasize joy and humor? Are we allowing ourselves the chance to stop and play, time to improvise? Most importantly, are we using appropriate measures of our success? Popularity, cost, location, size, standardized test scores aren’t always the most accurate predictors of value. As another band leader said, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

Creativity may be hard to define—“If you have to ask, I can’t tell”—but it’s easy to feel its effects. Only time will tell if we’re developing it here. It’s a wait and see proposition, but the particles are definitely in excited orbits. Fulfilling lives—that’s the long-term harmony we’re looking for.

—Todd

 

 Smorgs are coming! Our second SMORG day will be Friday, March 17^th.  Do you have an activity you’d like to offer?

 
“Araboolies” rehearsals will begin next week: Tuesday (7^th) auditions for 4-8, Thursday for grades K-3. Beginning the week of March 13^th, rehearsals will be on Tuesdays for grades 4-8 (2:20-4:00); Thursdays for grades K-8 (2:10-4:00) and Fridays K-3 (2:10-3:30).

 

MEA testing begins next week.  On Monday, twelve boxes of MEA testing materials showed up—right on time. Next week we’ll begin to administer the tests to the kids. Between March 6 and 24th, our 3-8th graders will be taking MEA tests in reading, math, and science & technology. We plan to test in the mornings, and observe the following schedule, which avoids Mondays and leaves room for adjustment due to weather or other disruptions:

 
March 7: Reading A,B,C

March 8th: Math A,B,C

March 15: science & technology A,B,C

March 21: catch-up and make-up day.                                          

 
Behind the Scenes in Boston: Our 8^th graders are going to Boston on their class trip at the end of May (Memorial Day weekend). Our theme for this year is “Behind the Scenes.” We’ve arranged to visit the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, the New England Aquarium, and Fenway Park for tours that show us the inner workings and off-the-beaten-track collections. Can anyone help us with Boston connections that might yield other interesting visits and tours? Please be in touch! —TRN

 

Chef Paul Brouillard roast pork dinner…and dessert buffet. Dine with us: March 21 at 6:00pm at the Trinitarian Church…Slow roasted loin of pork with pan gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans almondine, gingered butternut squash, corn bread, and a dessert buffet of prize-winning cakes, pies, and confections by Adams School parents. After-dinner auction!  To benefit the 8^th grade class trip to Boston.  Adults: $12.50; children $7.50. Reservations: 326-8608.  Take-out orders accepted—and free delivery, on-neck only.

 

Rescheduled 8th Graders to Augusta. We’ve rescheduled the legislature visit for the 8^th graders. They will go to Augusta on March 27th to be honorary pages in the senate and house.

 

Cougar Wrist Bands. Yellow or Green cougar wrist bands (“Huzzah Cougars,” or “Cougar Strong”) are now on sale for just $1.00. Available at school. Proceeds: PTC.

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences:  The second trimester closes on Friday, March 17^th.  Progress reports go out on Weds., March 22^nd, and parent-teacher conferences will be held on Thursday, March 23^rd.  Please call the office to schedule an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher(s) 326-8608.  Thank you.

 

P.E. Next Week:  MMA will be shut down during the vacation period March 6-10.  Adams School students will have their P.E. classes either at Emerson Hall or outside, depending on the weather.

 

ADAMS SCHOOL MENU     March 6^th – 10^th

 Monday – Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Apple Crisp, Milk

Tuesday – Corn Chowder, Cornbread, Crackers, Fruit Cocktail, Milk

Weds. – Turkey & Cheese Roll-up, Veggie Sticks, Peaches, Sun Chips, Milk

Thursday – Pizza, Salad, Pears, Cookie, Milk

Friday – Hot Dog with Bun, Potato Salad, Apple Juice, Blueberry Cake, Milk

 

Spelling Bee. Good luck Noah and Molly! They compete at the Hancock County Spelling Bee on Tuesday night in Bucksport. 

Bus Behavior: On Thursday afternoon, Denny stepped in to drive for Charlie on short notice. The behavior on the bus going home from school was shockingly disrespectful--and very much out of character.                                                                     
I talked with all bus riders on Friday morning and I'd like to make this point as firmly and publicly as possible: bus safety for everyone is absolutely non-negotiable. The rules on the bus--regarding assigned seating, noise level, moving around, obeying the driver--are clear and well known. Anyone driving our school bus deserves obedience and respect. There is no room for distraction or interference. Driving the bus is a very difficult job. Any passenger who cannot live up to these expectations will simply not ride the bus.

 

Question of the Week: Sawyer thought of it… “How old is this elm tree (Jim and Leila Day’s tree) ?”                                                                   

Years          Old            Guesser

1                                Ben

150                                                Tyler

155                                                India

177                                                Byron

199                                                Casey

203                                                Margaret

220                                                Hanna, Dustin, Jacob

225                        Ian

230                                                Nicholas

300                                                Hannah

400                                                Whinter, Grant

524                        Drake

 30 Day calendar

March

1   8th grade visitation morning at GSA. RSVP by 2/16.

2    School Board/PTC meetings

7    Hancock County Spelling Bee, Bucksport Middle School. (3/9=storm date.)             

7   First day of MEA testing, grades 3-8.

10    6-8th Grade Dance--Emerson Hall, 7-10:00pm.

10   VAMP Assembly, 1:00pm, Emerson Hall.

13            GSA does registration with Adams 8th graders and parents...by appointment

...at Adams.    

16   Cheering Assembly in Emerson Hall...12:00.

17    End of second trimester…Reports sent 3/22    

17    Second Smorgs Day, 12:00-2:00.      

21         8th Grade Fund raising dinner...Paul Brouillard, guest chef....

Trinitatian Church. $12.50/$7.50.

21    Spring Equinox.

23    No School: Teacher Inservice Day (P-T conferences).                      

24    No School: Teacher Inservice (U 93)                     

28    MMA Blood Drive 11-9:00pm (PE in Emerson)  

27    Town Meeting: municipal warrants. 7pm...Delano.

27   8th graders to Augusta to be Senate and House pages. (confirmed 2/15)

29   Town Meeting: School warrants. 7pm...Delano.

29   The 1,000th career day of school for fifth graders!

TBA: winter athletics banquet.                                                                  

April

1         “Internet Cleaning”                               

6         School Board/PTC meetings          

7         8th grade does Cell Play in Emerson...other Union 93 schools invited.

9        Delano: All day set construction for school play.

10        School play rehearsal in Delano, 9:30am....Other U93 schools attend.   

11      "Araboolies!" Adams School play performance, Delano, 7:00pm.

12        Early Release Day                                                     

14      Maine Student Book Awards activities at Penobscot School, Grades 4-7.

17-21    Spring Break             

28        6-8th Grade Dance--Emerson Hall, 7-10:00pm.