s to sit fidgeting through an endless cycle of quizzes and tests but has to figure out with her partners how best to research and write about Brown University’s reliance on slave labor to construct its campus. Her teacher takes Sarah and her partners to the field to research and conduct interviews. After turning in their essay as evidence of learning, their teacher encourages them to share their learning with a greater audience. They decide to create a podcast on what they’ve learned and face tech and writing challenges. They know a podcast can’t be completely scripted but shouldn’t be completely improvised. Their teacher says that they must use intro and outro music that they compose and play. Sarah struggles but her struggles are productive and fun (though she hates to admit it to her parents). Most importantly, she will never forget what she learned about the role of enslaved people at Brown.
Relationships: While innovative and highly skills-based, the N-8 culture’s reason for success is the relationship between teacher and student. The reason for the success of Wheeler’s N-8 education is not the latest technology or pedagogy (although they are important); it’s in the close relationships between adults and children where teachers respect their students in the moment, but also know how to adapt, pivot, and collaborate to help their charges grow. Additionally, when N-8 teachers are at their best, they see their students as whole human beings with interests, vulnerabilities, and untapped abilities. In their appreciations, Wheeler seniors often point to their close and formative relationships with Lower and Middle School teachers as the reason for their success in the Upper School.
So as the Head of Strategic Innovation and N-8 Divisions, I am excited to make the once implied and unstated identity of the Lower and Middle Schools vivid to all and to collaborate with my colleagues to enhance an unparalleled N-8 educational experience.
By Young Un
Head of Strategic Innovation and N-8 Divisions
Growing Minds is the periodic blog about Grades Nursery – 8 at Wheeler.