Pinpoints Pinpoints Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 17

More Good Stuff
The importance of elevating the quotidian
moment is emphasized in The Power of Moments by
Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Dr. Laura Bonzo-Sims
refers to the faculty summer reading book when she
describes the power of spaces, in this case, the new and
different spaces in Middle School. One large room,
sometimes called the Huddle Room, is on the science
hallway. With two big tables and accompanying tall
chairs, that space is filled all day long with various-
sized groups of sixth through eighth graders and their
array of supplies and “stuff.”
For Capstones, one of the eighth grade groups
incorporated Claymation. The students worked
in one of the project rooms the entire week before
presentation and left their clay and creations in the
room each day. Being able to spread out in that large
space and knowing no one would interfere allowed
that group to get much more done since they didn’t
have to move their materials every day. Set-up and
clean up only had to happen once.
Around the corner from the Claymation/Huddle
Room, closer to the T, two smaller, glass-enclosed
meeting rooms offer opportunity for solo work or
one-to-one conversations. As Susan O’Brien, TLS
CFO, explains, “For Middle School, we intentionally
IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
created smaller learning spaces so students can work
together, independent of adults, in a supervised,
collaborative environment.” Mrs. O’Brien goes on to
comment, “The middle school commons [unchanged
in location, but refurbished in purpose] creates more
learning spaces for project-based learning.”
Students of Dr. Bonzo-Sims are learning the arts
of logic and critical thinking through debates on
a variety of topics. As in The Power of Moments,
changing locations for practice and performance
elevates the experience. Dr. Bonzo-Sims points
out, “The students are stretching through being
challenged. They are learning to go beyond obvious
points and delve more into nuance and subtlety.
To do that, they have to use logic. Essentially, I am
showing them that the transitive property of equality
isn’t just for math. If A=B and B=C, then A=C works
for argument and debate too. It’s definitely not an
easy concept. Modeling and practice help them see
patterns, and that helps them develop richer critical
thinking and logic.”
The transitive property of equality says to head to
the Huddle Room, one of the two meeting rooms,
or the comfortable commons. There is something for
everyone.
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