Torch - Fall 2017

Message from School Leaders

Academic Stretch and Challenge By Seonaid Davis, Michael Simmonds and Kate White

and express themselves in new forms. You’ll see the repetition of “new” there. It’s a word that indicates stretch and a concept that lies at the heart of challenge. So how exactly do we go about it? The short answer: in all the ways made possible by the active imaginations of our school community! But of course, our teachers share sound approaches based on both research and experience. One of those approaches is to encourage our girls to ask and answer what we call essential questions. What is an essential question? It’s one that is complicated, open-ended and requires that students activate several lines of inquiry to start putting together some answers. The two examples below illustrate the difference between an essential and non-essential question: • How has diversity shaped Canada’s identity? • Where were the earliest European settlements in Canada? It’s not that the second question doesn’t matter; it’s that it is simple, closed and requires little thinking in either approaching or answering it. On the other hand, the first question generates another series of questions before any answers can even be contemplated, such as: What is meant by diversity? How can a nation have an identity? What is “Canada,” anyway? And so on. Some heavy mental lifting—and healthy stretching—is required! Here are a few essential questions that challenge students in our Grade 9 Geography course. Should cruise ships be allowed to travel through Canada’s Arctic? Why is British Columbia at high risk for an earthquake and is it prepared for one? Should Canada accept refugees? To get started on the cruise ship question, as an example, students would have to investigate the cultural, economic, environmental and ethical issues involved. Some discussion with their classmates, further prompts from their teacher, perhaps even conversations at home would also help to shape and test their thinking. Inquiry-based learning asks a lot of our girls. And essential questions pitched at the right level foster the mental elasticity needed to become flexible and powerful thinkers. Another way we challenge our students is to ask them to work with real documents and evidence. While a textbook can play an

From left: Kate White, Interim Head, Junior School; Michael Simmonds, Vice Principal School Life and Operations; Seonaid Davis, Vice Principal Teaching and Learning.

Ask our coaches and physical education teachers about the value of stretching and they will provide a clear and succinct rationale: with the right technique, a gentle stretch improves flexibility and stability, and enhances the overall health of the body. On the other hand, poor technique or overstretching can cause pain and damage. And not stretching at all, of course, leaves a body tight and with limited mobility. The idea of academic stretch is built on the same premise. The right amount of challenge increases mental agility and leaves the mind both stronger and more flexible. A more flexible system—whether physical or mental—allows for a greater range of motion and generates more power. With exceptional teachers as partners and guides, young minds gently stretched in the right ways at the right times become more supple, responsive, creative and powerful. We emphasize academic stretch and challenge at Havergal, from Junior Kindergarten through to Grade 12, because we want our students to make a difference in the world. That requires challenging them to try new things, think in new ways, step into new contexts

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