2011-2012 Lecture Series
Come to Conversations with Parents: A New Lecture Series at Mustard Seed School
We're excited about the line-up of speakers and topics. Whether you are a parent, educator, or new to the school, we hope that you will join us. All conversations are open to the public and free unless otherwise indicated.
Everyday Parents CAN Raise Extraordinary Kids, Saturday. Oct. 15, 2011
What should we be looking for in school? Tuesday. Oct. 25, 2011
On the Frontline of Education: STEM, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011
Moving into Adolescence, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012
Math: The Art of Explanation, Thursday, March 1, 2012
Everyday Parents CAN Raise Extraordinary Kids
Saturday, October 15, 2011, from 8:45 am-2:30 pm
A one-day seminar* with co-authors and national speakers Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN.
Learn how a heart-based approach differs from behavior modification, understand your own convictions and learn how to teach them to your kids, teach children to take initiative and be responsible, using five tools, develop a plan for change in 30 days, coach children to handle their own emotion. Parents of all backgrounds are invited to attend. Sponsored by Redeemer Hoboken Church. Read more.
About the speakers:
Dr. Turansky and Mrs. Miller are the co-founders of the National Center for Biblical Parenting. They are the co-authors of several faith-based parenting books including Parenting is Heart Work, GOOD and ANGRY: Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids, Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids, and Home Improvement. They are known for their engaging workshops that use drama, humor, storytelling, and audience interaction.
Watch a video introduction of the speakers.
Registration fee: $25 Register now
What should we be looking for in school?
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 7 pm
A conversation with Dr. David I. Smith, author, Editor of The Journal of Education and Christian Belief, and Director of the Kuyers Institute of Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin College
We daily encounter public debates about how and why our schools are failing and what they ought to be doing better. Many feel that we do not get what we need from teachers and from schools. What should we be hoping for? Can grades and standardized tests capture what is most important about children’s learning? We will consider some of the less heralded things that happen in classrooms, and what they can tell us about what schools can be. Free. RSVP
More about the speaker:
Dr. David I. Smith is Director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning and Professor of German at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is Senior Editor of the Journal of Education and Christian Belief and Editor of the Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages. He has written numerous books and articles on Christian education, world language education, and intercultural learning, and travels widely as a speaker and consultant to schools and universities.
On the Frontline of Education: STEM
Learn about STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education and why President Obama and Mustard Seed School have made it a priority.
Thursday, November 10, 2011 7 pm
A conversation with Sam Choi and Melissa McCallihan, MSS Science Teachers and Cohort Members at Stevens Institute of Technology
In 2009, President Obama launched a nationwide effort to advance STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the U.S. At the Smithsonian Institute, the National Science Resources Center has organized powerful sophisticated efforts involving many national leaders in order to reform STEM education. Some of the cutting-edge work is happening right here in Hoboken. Mustard Seed School teachers Sam Choi and Melissa McCallihan have been chosen to participate in a three-year program with Stevens Institute of Technology as a part of an $11.5 million dollar National Science Foundation Math-Science Partnership Grant. Learn about STEM education and how schools like Mustard Seed can integrate 21st century skills into their curriculum. Free. RSVP
Moving into Adolescence
Developmental changes, friendship and conflict, and the non-verbal communication of tweens
Thursday, January 12, 2012 7 pm
A conversation with Natasha Rupke, Sixth Grade Teacher.
In a world that has become more advanced and complicated, parents of “tweens” (ages 8-12) are suddenly faced with new challenges and demands as they help their children negotiate this awkward and exciting phase of their lives. During this evening, we will consider the developmental changes that influence how tweens look, feel, and behave, and the new landscape of friendship and conflict. We will look at resources that will help parents better understand what tweens are saying through their often non-verbal communication. Free. RSVP
Math: The Art of Explanation
Thursday, March 1, 2012 7 pm
A conversation with Gary Lawrence, Chair of Mathematics at Mustard Seed School
“Mathematics is the art of explanation. If you deny students the opportunity to engage in this activity— to pose their own problems, make their own conjectures and discoveries, to be wrong, to be creatively frustrated, to have an inspiration, and to cobble together their own explanations and proofs— you deny them mathematics itself.” (The Mathematician’s Lament, by Paul Lockhart) This late winter conversation follows our annual I Love Math Day Celebration and engages parents in the same problem solving challenges and concepts that have engaged the students. At the same time, parents will become acquainted with the mathematics program at MSS, which leads children from basic understanding of number to increasingly complex understandings of algebra, geometry, statistics, and more. Free. RSVP