Back to the Classroom - Adults on a Field Trip

Instead of Take Your Student to Work Day, the roles were reversed Monday as students got to take the adults in their lives to Overlake. The parents and guardians met on campus a little after 9:00 and by 9:35 they were in their first block.

For Ajoke ter Meulen, it’s a chance to see her sons in a different light. “I like the fact that Leonard, who is more of a math and science guy, likes art. I like that he’s being creative. I don’t get to see that side of him at home.” ter Meulen started her morning in Dana Len’s middle school painting class. “I just like being connected to school and the kids. It’s important for me to see what they’re doing and how they’re connecting with their classmates.”

And while the adults got to observe, they also participated. Up in the fieldhouse, parents were getting involved in tennis, basketball, all sorts of activities alongside the kids. In Karl Olson’s Humanities class, a whopping eight parents and guardians were looking over the shoulders of their fifth-grade students as they worked on their research papers. “Having it toward the end of the year and parents being able to see the culmination of almost all the work we’ve done over the year is helpful.” Back to the Classroom was originally scheduled in February but was cancelled due to snowy weather. “The kids have brought all their skills to bear, especially on this assignment, since it’s the research process, the drafting, the note taking, the citation; all that in one and the parents get to see that before the final polished piece.”

Adults were invited to stay through the day and get the full Overlake experience. It also makes for interesting fodder around the dinner table. “I think they’re always surprised at how busy their kids are and they understand why their kids are so tired at the end of the day,” explains Olson.

“The feedback that I get most often from parents is how much they wish their school experience had been more like Overlake,” explains Middle School Head, Mike Davidson. “Specifically, they mention the sense of agency and self-direction even our youngest students have as they move around campus, the diversity of classes over the course of a day, from the arts, to languages, to PE, the amount of collaboration they see across so many different classes, and the expectation that students will show up ready to grapple with their own answers to more abstract questions instead of just receiving information.  And, of course, they comment that there is a LOT of walking.”

Check out a slideshow of activities here.