Duke School Under the Oak Magazine, Fall 2017

Telling Stories,
Letting Go, and
Holding On:
5 Things I
Learned from
Sylvia Chard
By Natalie Cicero,
Duke School Teacher
This summer I was given the opportunity to join
the Project Approach Teacher Education Network
(PATEN). PATEN is a group of educators who
work with Lilian Katz and Sylvia Chard to offer
support to teachers in Project Approach through
consulting, coaching, and workshops. For the
next two years, I will learn how to best support my
fellow Duke School teachers in improving Project
Approach at the Middle School and extend our
school’s influence beyond our walls. I learned a
lot during my time with Sylvia this summer; here
are some highlights:
1. “The real world” should
not be a scare tactic.
When I was in middle school, “the real world”
was two things: a TV show that my parents didn’t
want me to watch (which I watched anyway), and
a terrifying place where I was guaranteed to fail
if I didn’t figure out how to solve for ‘x’ or arrive
to class on time. Project Approach should tell
students a different story of the real world. They
are already in it; it’s not lurking around a corner
somewhere, waiting. The things that matter to
them right now - from dogs to democracy - can
be worth honoring as a part of our bigger world.
There is power in prioritizing relevance. Project is
about connecting what is outside school to what
we can do within the school, not preparing kids
for something they can’t yet see or experience.
2. Middle school brains
are remarkable.
“Remarkable” is Sylvia’s word, though I don’t
at all disagree. Middle schoolers do not accept
“because it’s always been this way” as an
answer. They “waste time.” They want to create
completely wacky things (Don’t believe me? Watch
a seventh grader left to his or her own devices at
a soda fountain). Sure, these superpowers can be
used for evil, but they can also be used for good.
Typical middle school traits make our students
perfect problem solvers and project pupils. Sylvia
taught me that innovation and exploration are
naturally embedded in Project Approach. This
can often involve frustration, from students and
their teacher collaborators, and what sometimes
appears to be wasting time is actually discovery
and time to sit with challenges. Embracing the
“remarkable” middle school brain can lead to
meaningful results.
3. Project is not about
coverage. It’s about
uncoverage.
Piaget said, “Every time we teach a child
something they can discover for themselves,
we undermine their opportunity to learn.”
As teachers and collaborators within Project
Approach, it’s important for us to sometimes
focus less on the end result and more on what
is happening right in front of us. Often, this will
mean choosing to encourage the uncoverage -
autonomy, discovery, inquiry - that makes Project
Approach significant, and choosing to let go of
our desire to cover a specific topic, meet our own
deadlines, and perfect “The Plan.”
20 UNDER THE OAK