REAL Discussion

Great conversations take risks! Seeing your students make academic leaps always invites magic into the classroom.

There's nothing better than seeing R.E.A.L. "in real life." Our team loved visiting Patrick Farmer's classroom and filming footage to be used in next summer's teacher training. Thanks for having us, Patrick and Nativity Preparatory School of Boston. Go sixth graders!

This month, we are thrilled to spotlight our special projects intern, FRANCESCA! 🤩 Francesca Chirco our ball of energy -- for everything from the newsletter to breakout rooms here at R.E.A.L.! 🧡💙

"When we started doing REAL, I saw a boy who is usually quiet not only speak but take a leadership position. I could tell it changed how he thought of himself."

We LOVE hearing stories like this from master teachers like Weesie Cook. Learn more about her experience launching REAL with sixth-grade boys here!

https://www.realdiscussion.org/real-teacher-feature-weesie-cook/

REAL Teacher Feature: Weesie Cook Sixth grade English teacher Weesie Cook shares her REAL life with us, including how she uses R.E.A.L. Discussion in her classroom.

Who thinks the best conversation happens over a meal? We do! Here's to the many conversations our students have with their friends over lunch and families over dinner.

This month we are so excited to spotlight our Partnerships Director, Cotter Donnelll. A former Associate Head, Cotter brings empathy and strategy to his partnership conversations with school leaders. Read more about why he chose R.E.A.L. and his role on our website AND check out the first installment of his blog "Cotter's Blotter" below! 🧡💙

https://www.realdiscussion.org/cotters-blotter-ai-black-history-month-future-proof-skills/

This past Monday we held our second Roundtable for leaders in our R.E.A.L. network. Thank you so much to Julie Faulstich for her wisdom and strategies in managing change in independent schools. We're so excited to continue this Roundtable series in the future!

Deep relationships are the key to the “Good Life,” according to Robert Waldinger MD and Marc Schulz, authors and co-directors of The Harvard Study. Yet, at REAL we find ourselves wondering: are todays students learning the relational skills they need to develop deep relationships? Liza shares what she sees in the research here.

https://www.realdiscussion.org/skills-for-the-good-life-todays-kids-dont-yet-have-them/

Skills for "The Good Life": Today's Kids Don't (Yet) Have Them How can we proactively teach kids the relational skills they need to lead "good lives" as they grow up in a tech-centric world?

Teaching conversation skills are especially important in classrooms where students come from different cultural backgrounds and bring international perspectives! Thanks School Services for the opportunity to reflect on these deeply human skills. Read the full article here: shorturl.at/enQ18

"ChatGPT is smart, but not sentient - let our classrooms be the places where students learn the difference." With the development of this tech, in-classroom learning is more important than ever. Read here to see how discussions could change this.

https://intrepidednews.com/chatgpt-class-discussion-lets-augment-the-smart-with-the-sentient-liza-garonzik/

ChatGPT + Class Discussion: Let's Augment the Smart with the Sentient | Liza Garonzik - Intrepid ED News In a ChatGPT world, here’s to getting serious and systematic about teaching, practicing, tracking, and assessing our most deeply human skills!