Middle school students met with clients (many of whom were international and based in China), scheduled their own meetings, and consulted with clients to build their dream sustainable homes. Students then executed these plans by designing and building models of these dream homes - all while learning more about sustainable housing design. This project exemplifies how students learn through authentic interdisciplinary bilingual projects.
"Our students will become the ambassadors of the future--not just in government, but at every level of society--in bridging the cultural and political gaps that impede progress on so many key issues, from climate change and artificial intelligence, to human rights, peace, prosperity and good governance.
- Chris Livaccari, Head of School, Presidio Knolls School
At the 17th Annual National Chinese Language Conference in May 2024, Chris Livaccari presented strategies to help schools develop global exchange programs that actively cultivate their students’ cultural competencies, or their ability to see the world from multiple perspectives and take action on issues of both local and global significance. Below, he highlights why cultural competency is integral to developing critical skills in arts, sciences, and social justice in a world grappling with complex global issues and societal divides.
At Presidio Knolls School, the mindsets and skill sets that our students develop through our language immersion and global exchange programs are just as good for working in a Silicon Valley startup as they are for becoming a diplomat. They are just as good for solving a math or physics problem as they are for taking action on critical issues of social justice.
Our students’ superpower is perspective shifting – the ability to conceptualize a diverse range of solutions to problems, and to use cognitive and emotional empathy to understand the experiences, backgrounds, and ways of thinking of even the most marginalized or radically different people. Helping our students develop these cultural competencies is the core of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts (#DEI), and so much more powerful than only teaching content about holidays or heritage months (as in schools with more traditional approaches to pedagogy).
The benefits of becoming bilingual and bicultural extend well beyond learning to speak or read a new language. They enhance our students’ mental flexibility and capacity for understanding – they help create the ability to actively code switch between different modes of communication and different interpretive strategies. They enable our students (as the cliche has it) to “walk in others’ shoes” or (as Marcel Proust had it) to “see with other eyes.”
So many of our students have shared that when they consider a math problem through an English lens or a Chinese lens, it enables them to see a range of different patterns, and conceptualize a unique set of approaches and solutions. The cognitive, aesthetic, and social benefits of bilingualism go far beyond simple linguistic proficiency. At PKS, we use language as a foundation for building the capacity to understand and embrace difference; to find beauty, optimism, and resilience even in the face of adversity; and to formulate, implement, and communicate creative ideas and solutions to complex problems. In this sense, language and culture become the threads around which critical skills in the arts, math and science, history and social justice are woven together. It is their synthesis and synergies that help drive our students’ senses of kindness, curiosity, and courage – the shared values we have defined for our school and community,
This has never been more important for our next generation of young people – in a world confronting a uniquely challenging US-China relationship, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, economic disparities, and unprecedented levels of political and social divisiveness and polarization. It’s no exaggeration to say that our students will lead the future with energy, creativity, and optimism – it’s why their example inspires us to do what we do each and every day!
Dr. Keisha Siriboe, a consultant who we have closely worked with since 2020, recently came to visit us on campus - for the first time! Over the past two years, she has worked closely with our faculty and staff, addressing critical topics such as diversity, representation, and social justice, and has formed a Social Justice Cohort among faculty and staff…
As PKS teachers, we are always seeking new ways to practice our Habits of Character (respectful, responsible, resilient, collaborative, globally minded, caring and reflective) and bring them to life for our students within and beyond our school community. My own journey took an unexpected turn this past August as a result of an amazing and transformative professional development experience, an experience I want to bring to my students in the classroom.
One of our goals at PKS is to instill a love of learning in our students and for them to be curious, connected, and engaged with the world. We nurture these characteristics in the classroom through authentic learning experiences, and encourage it after school by limiting the amount of homework, thereby allowing for more unstructured time to pursue passions and interests.
It is our overall goal to deepen our communication with parents through shared digital portfolios, in-person conferences, and revised report cards that reflect not only key benchmarks in our curriculum but also our focus on understanding and supporting every student as a learner and community member.
We were pleased to host Charis Denison once again for a recent PKS学习 event. Each year when she visits, we take a moment revisit our approach to what used to be called “sex ed.” Schools like ours base this part of the curriculum on research that shows that “the biological, cultural, and ethical components of ‘sex ed’ must be part of a holistic effort to help each child develop an integrated, confident sense of self.”
One of our main goals at PKS is to foster a lifelong passion for learning and exploration, not only among our students but also among our parents, faculty, and staff. A few weeks ago, however, the pedagogical team wanted to try something innovative and engaging to provide our faculty and staff with a different type of professional development (PD) opportunity; something we call “Pinterest Live” or “Old School Pinterest.”
As many of you know, I have a P3 student here at PKS, and a 2 year old son whom I hope will join us when he is old enough. Both kids were in the car with me on Thursday morning as I tuned in to the Judiciary Committee hearings in which Dr. Christine Blasey Ford courageously told her story. I found myself feeling confused, and a bit helpless, as I tried to balance my civic impulses and my fatherly impulses.
Almost ten years ago, I wrote an article titled "Academic Rigor and Student Engagement: A Perfect Match." While many feared that they would need to sacrifice student engagement in the service of academic rigor, I argued strongly that academic rigor could ONLY genuinely come together with student engagement, and that truly rigorous learning at its core needed to be about exploration, discovery, creativity, inquiry, and pattern recognition.
