At Berkwood Hedge School, the month of February includes our Annual Teach-In, a school tradition going back decades. To learn more about the history of teach-ins, head to our School Traditions page.
This year, for our 22nd Annual Teach-In, the theme was: Geography. Our students spent three days diving deeply into the question of how place, location, movement, interaction with the environment, and region impact our lives. Each day begins with an all-school presentation—families are invited, too! Opening presentations provide a “big idea” for our learning community to ponder and help give context to workshops. Students then attend cross-grade workshops on their campus throughout the day, each modified to serve a K-2, 3-4, and 5-6, 7-8 group.
DAY 1:
PRESENTER:
Darin Jensen, Guerrilla Cartography
Our Teach-In kicked off with Darin Jensen, the founder of Guerrilla Cartography. A professional geographer and data visualization analyst, he holds a BA in geography and an MFA in creative nonfiction. Through his work with Guerrilla Cartography, he promotes the art of cartography and collaborative knowledge caching and sharing. Darin showed us how maps can document history and tell a story. He shared how community-based map-making can be used to help persuade people to a cause, or make the case to preserve or restore rights.
WORKSHOPS:
Lower School students learned about a teacher’s family recipes, brought from Palestine, and the power of taking small actions, like making native wildflower seed bombs. They investigated where dinosaurs were found, learned about one family’s journey by following a quilt and made traditional quilt squares from paper.
Middle School students explored what it means to decolonize geography and how to navigate by compass. They created topographic maps and paper watersheds!
DAY 2:
PRESENTERS:
Ajayi Jackson and Leiriane Gregorio, The African Diaspora Through the Lens of Capoeira
Music teacher Ajay Jackson and PE teacher Leiriane Gregorio partnered together to share a kinetic presentation exploring the blending of African, European, and Indigenous cultures in Brazil. On the Lower Campus, they introduced us to the berimbau (a stringed instrument resembling a bow) and the caxixi (a shaken percussion instrument), and taught us a traditional call and response song. On the Hill Campus, they expanded their demonstration to include Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of music, dance, acrobatics, and spirituality.
WORKSHOPS:
Lower School students learned about the international origins of their favorite foods, compared and contrasted different maps of the world, dove deep into the details of Lake Merritt, created seed bombs for guerrilla gardening, followed the evolution of the English Language, made hummus, painted their path to school!
Middle School students navigated to a secret location using their compass skills, mapped the Bay Area, investigated mythical monsters as navigation landmarks in Greco-Roman sea adventures, learned the power of naming geographic features, and more!
DAY 3:
PRESENTER:
Cynthia Cudaback, Ocean and You
The day opened with Cynthia Cudaback (Dr. C), an oceanographer and marine educator with a passion for helping people find better ways to coexist with the ocean. After teaching college-level oceanography for seven years, Cynthia developed her K-12 program, Ocean and You. Utilizing her unique style of science and storytelling, she gives students the tools they need to make informed decisions about the ocean. She shared her adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s The Fog Horn (with an evolutionary twist!), a story of Raven based on tales from the Pacific Northwest, and a short story about how otters help save kelp forests!
WORKSHOPS:
Lower School students learned the origins of bananas, studied the history of Lake Merritt, finished their “quilt”, and compared poplar, red oak, and walnut as woodworking materials. We finished the day with a visit from Eco Luna from Eco Heroes, who got us all singing and dancing as we learned about taking care of the Earth.
Middle School students created maps of their neighborhoods, learned about the power of naming landmarks, and more! The middle school students gathered at the end of the day to share their Teach-In reflections and honor their classmates and teachers.
We look forward to seeing everyone at next year’s Teach-In!
