IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
In his career, Karl has worked with the most privileged and least privileged students in the United States. The former were at pricey prep schools in hyper-educated communities; the latter were in prison. There are some fundamental principles to our work that are common to nearly every educational environment.
They are:
Play. Learning and fun are not mutually exclusive.
Needs. Care for the person so you can build the mind.
Humans. What kids need is a lot like what adults need, and vice versa.
Relationships. Nothing is one-tenth as important as relationships.
Disciplines. Academic disciplines have value.
Expectations. We rise and fall to the level ofexpectations.
Amidst. Walk amongst them; better to be Gandhi than Mussolini.
Humor. Humor is a core principle.
Skills. Teaching skills are relevant to most jobs.
Hypocrites. We are all well-meaning hypocrites.
Kindness. Kindness is not weakness.
Karl Sikkenga earned a PhD in education from the University of Michigan. He has spent 35 years in the field of education, serving as a teacher, principal, dean of students, teacher educator, coach, proctor, and director.
