by Joy Roberts What do 55 fourth graders and 9 senior citizens have in common? That is the question that BFS fourth graders put to the members of Heights and Hills as part of their creative and innovative Service Learning project this year, “When We Were Ten”. Established in 1971, Heights and Hills serves close […]
by Laurice Hwang This year the middle school focused on stewardship. Stewardship is not just taking care of the environment, but taking care of the people in our community. Service learning in 6th grade incorporated a bit of both: the Billion Oyster Project, which the whole middle school participated in, focused on environmental stewardship. The […]
by Laurice Hwang The Service Learning program for the 5th grade has been focused this year on two central themes – the elderly and (dis)ability. These two areas of focus have been integrated intentionally into the curriculum through specific units of study to raise awareness and inspire action. The first theme developed because of a […]
by Jesse Phillips-Fein For 7 years, the BFS 7/8th grade dance classes have collaborated with dance programs at several public schools, including 5th graders P.S. 95 in the Bronx (Nia Love, teacher), with 9-12th graders (and alum) at Science Skills High School’s Joe-Ile-Bailar dance company (Pat Dye, director), and for the past three years with […]
This winter at BFS, Teacher and Dean Laurice Hwang’s 5th grade students rose to the occasion to rally around and learn from a differently abled student. by Jeffrey Stanley A problem for someone in a wheelchair is carrying things. If they are carrying things and have them on your lap, you also have to grab the […]
11th Grader Patonya P. and 10th grader Emmitt S. volunteered to participate in the April 22nd Advocacy Day in Albany with Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC) in support of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act. Joining a powerful, diverse group of 120 advocates from throughout New York State (including several local Quakers), Patonya and […]
The seven and eight-year-olds in our second grade classrooms are developmentally inclined to care deeply about fairness. They have a clarity of conviction around issues of equality that is often inspiring. The newly developed Change Maker curriculum taps into their emerging concept of justice, as we learn about individuals and groups who have contributed to […]
The State of our Union: Nurturing Community, Equity, and Justice at BFS Through Diversity and Service Learning Thanks to all who united for this gathering of the BFS community, including: members of the PAT Diversity and Service Learning Committees who planned the day BFS special events and communications staff who supported committee efforts school leaders […]
NYCoRE Conference 2015: Justice Not Just-Tests Date: Saturday, March 21, 2015 Location: James Baldwin School, 351 West 18th Street, Manhattan, NY 10011 11th graders Abby M, Grace M, Jade HP, Patonya P, & Sierra V presented at the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) conference during Spring Break to raise awareness about solitary confinement […]
As part of the PAT Black History Month Celebration this year, the BFS Service Learning Office partnered with the Brooklyn Historical Society to offer an oral history service learning workshop for Lower School Students. Emily Potter-Ndiaye from Brooklyn Historical Society shares an oral history and photograph of Mary deSaussure Sobers. Oral history is a unique […]
Students in Natania Kremer‘s service and justice seminar participated in a pen pal program with a California prison inmate and joined with him in creating Power, Love, Education and Justice for Liberation. “I really enjoyed writing to Mume this semester. I think it is a valuable experience to have this interaction with people who have […]
Service Learning is an experiential approach to teaching and learning that integrates meaningful service with instruction and reflection. At Brooklyn Friends School, we have a social justice approach to service learning that is grounded in C.A.R.E. (Community, Accountability, Reciprocity, and Equity) and this starts in the earliest years! We encourage students to see themselves as […]
