A few days before this conversation Jenn and I (along with our partners and kids and friends) attended an open house for an alternative school in our neighbourhood that we both want our kids to get into. The conversation natural meanders through a variety of topics including school ratings, learning styles, starting a new school, starting a summer school, tracking how kids learn, neuropsychoidiology, strength-based approach to learning... 

Resources 

Equinox: https://equinoxschool.ca/

Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) scores: http://www.eqao.com/en

EQOA results for Toronto District School Board (TDSB): http://www.eqao.com/en/assessments/results

The value of diversity in schools

Paper: Diversity in Public Education: Acknowledging Immigrant Parent Knowledge: http://journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje-rce/article/viewFile/560/1265

Kids Celebrating Diversity in Our Schools: http://www.cnmag.ca/kids-celebrating-diversity-in-our-schools/

Immigrants associated with lower bully rates: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/where-to-find-school-bullies-not-where-you-might-expect/article31930773/

Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences: http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/ 

Index of Learning Styles: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html

Strength-Based approach to education: http://www.wellingtoncdsb.ca/school/stjohnbosco/publications/strength-based%20classroom%20strategies.pdf

Kids from lower SES and adversity given same opportunities are more innovative - Having trouble find this one that Jenn referred to.

Self-Reflecting Questions

do you need to see failure?

How do you learn?

Have you considered a strength-based approach to learning in your home or life, whether for you or your child? 

Post-Show Reflections:

I realized after that the “Why” that I mentioned I need to learn is because I tend to be a Global thinker, according to the Index of Learning Styles listed above.