Presentations by three teachers and Jean Kim, Founder and Head of School of The Cambridge School, will be featured at an annual Classical Christian Education conference this summer.
The Society for Classical Learning (SCL), which hosts the annual conference, is a national organization dedicated to cultivating conversations and ideas among schools that emphasize Christ-centered education and liberal arts. The annual conference is one opportunity the society provides for professionals in the field to gain more knowledge through plenary speakers and workshops as well as informal interactions with other educators. This gathering of thought-leaders and educators will be held in Dallas, Texas from June 16-18.
In addition to a presentation regarding Board of Trustees by Jean Kim, three of the workshops will be led by staff from The Cambridge School. Colleen Dong, Kindergarten lead teacher, will present “Teaching Grammar School Literature with a Rhetorical Lens.”
Mrs. Dong’s presentation seeks to encourage teachers to incorporate more robust tools, questions and conversations in their literature instruction. It will also hone the skill of asking good questions during rich literature lessons in order to build good question-asking skills in students. This approach to teaching literature will also prepare Grammar School students for their future Rhetorical training and discussions.
Louise Fougner, Student Academic Services Director, will present “Executive Functioning: Supporting These Essential Skills.” Mrs. Fougner describes her workshop as intended for classroom teachers as well as educational therapists who work with students with ADHD or specific learning disabilities. The workshop will explore eight essential skills of executive functioning and how these skills relate to learning. It will also provide practical suggestions on ways to support students that struggle with organizational skills, impulse control, weak visual and auditory memory skills and self-monitoring.
Catherine McChristian, 6th grade lead teacher, will present “Teaching Sentence Diagramming as Story Telling.”
According to Ms. McChristian, the aim of the workshop is to explore how to set up the task of diagramming sentences as a mystery to be explored. It will instruct teachers on how to guide students so that they will delight in the challenges of road-mapping sentences and solidify their understanding of the structure of language when it begins in wonder.
“I’m looking forward to presenting at SCL because it gives me a chance to collaborate with other teachers and grow in my teaching skills,” Ms. McChristian said. “The process of preparing this workshop has challenged me to solidify my own thoughts about how to teach grammar using story-telling techniques, and I am excited to share these techniques with other teachers.”
For more information about the Society for Classical Learning or their summer conference, please visit: societyforclassicallearning.org
