To the Editor:
Re “Giving Kids Autonomy Has Surprising Results,” by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 4):
Those looking to understand how agency enhances achievement need look no further than our school in the hills of Vermont.
The 2023 World Cheese Awards — the most important cheese competition that exists — received over 4,500 entrants. Only seven “Super Gold” awards were given to U.S. cheesemakers, and two Super Golds were awarded to Parish Hill Creamery in Westminster, Vt.
casinoslotsParish Hill’s milk comes from the Putney School, where I serve as head, and where high school students milk and manage the herd every single day. Which is another way of saying that the milk that produces the best cheese in the United States is brought to market by a crew of teenagers.
We have a dairy farm not because we are raising the next generation of agricultural workers, but precisely to offer students a potent mix of purpose, agency — and accountability. The kids rise every morning, even when it’s below zero and still dark,phswerte login because the animals rely on them in the most life-or-death way.
It is not unusual to excuse students from class who have chosen to stay all night in the barn assisting a birth. Their time in a classroom might be a bit less, but their curiosity is a lot more.
Daniel O’BrienPutney, Vt.
To the Editor:
I was fortunate to spend my career as a teacher in an elementary school, founded in the early 1960s, that encouraged, even required, student choice in learning — an old idea coming back around.
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Ms. Harris may give remarks about border issues during the visit, according to the people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a trip that has not yet been made public. The people said final details about exactly where Ms. Harris would visit or what else she might do on the trip have not been decided. The Harris campaign did not immediately provide a comment.
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