Aveson has a very personalized learning philosophy (which was one of the things that drew us to the school), and to enable this there is an initial evaluation and individual goal setting conference, and then three Celebration of Learning days (at the end of each trimester) to evaluate how the kids are doing toward their goals. Today was the first Celebration of Learning, and whereas the goal setting conference was teacher-driven with his advisor, Ms. Jessica, today was student-driven. Ezra’s job today was to show us his work thus far (his book, his drawings, etc.) and then show us the different jobs they do in the classrooms. It was great — he was so happy to be showing us around and Bruce and I loved seeing all the different things he’s been working on. Here are a few pictures.
This is his painting of a woolly mammoth and a saber-toothed cat stuck in tar. They are sad — thus the straight lines for the mouth.
Here he is showing us the “Creation Station” (little blocks they make shapes with).
Probably my favorite thing of the night: Ezra’s self-portrait in the style of Picasso.
Afterwards, we went down to the cafeteria and had a barbecue dinner with the Bannings. Here’s Ezra and Ruby waiting patiently for the food to arrive.
