18. How a One-room School is Changing Lives in Brooklyn NY (Stephen Haff)
An amazing teacher has the power to change children’s lives and open doors to a brighter future. With knowledge, empathy and creativity a teacher can design the type of learning that brings the best out of their students. Stephen Haff is one such teacher who went beyond the classroom to creating a magical sanctuary for learning.
Stephen founded Still Waters in a Storm, a one-room school in Brooklyn, New York, in 2008. Stephen’s approach to teaching and learning at Still Water incorporates his experiences as a teacher, his passion for language and theater, as well as what he learned in his personal journey to overcome depression. The school is for children aged 6 to 17 and many are children of undocumented Mexican and Ecuadorean refugees. The curriculum revolves around reading classic novels, such as Milton’s Paradise Lost, and translating it into present-day vernacular. The students learn to translate Latin, read complex texts, create a play, build empathy and confidence, and so much more. Stephen also invites many famous authors – among them Salman Rushdie, Valeria Luiselli, George F. Walker, Mary Gaitskill, and Michael Ondaatje – who visit the school to read their own work and help the students with their own writing projects. This unique school, where the only rule is, “everyone listens to everyone” is an example of teaching to the whole child. Stephen beautifully tells the story of what the experience of attending Still Waters is like, as well as how he came to create the school, in his new book, Kid Quixotes: A group of students, their teacher, and the one-room school where everything is possible.
Still Waters in a Storm: http://www.stillwatersinastorm.org/
Book: Kid Quixotes: A group of students, their teacher, and the one-room school where everything is possible.