meet our expert
DEREK SPENCER
DANCE DANCE DANCE
KINDERGARTEN, palms elementary school
lausd CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
“I moved from essentially teaching students how to be good employees and started helping my kids think like decision makers. Think like the boss.”
Derek’S kindergarten Grade CLASSROOM
I love listening to the students build on each other’s knowledge. It’s like every kid has a different piece of the puzzle, brings her own knowledge, and with systems it all fits together. One day we were talking about driving cars to the beach, and guess what, there is a connection!
A fish nibbles coral, poops it out as sand and talking about the sand prompted another student to get super excited and speak up: Yes! Sand is melted and becomes glass…That’s your car’s windshield! See how the ocean system connects so many more systems? Even the transportation system, even our cars.
Systems shift
Teaching with Systems, I started challenging the kids more: “You solve this problem — You figure it out, be creative!” That was the big shift for me. I realized that asking kids to memorize, have good penmanship, that was too narrow.
Derek’S Experience
The planets are a system that kids can easily identify. Even kindergartners, they know the sun and the moon and we grow the knowledge from there. I also teach kids to dance. Movement always aids in memory. And a line dance? That’s a system in motion.
Take a look.
STEP INTO Derek’s CLASSROOM
Derek’s lesson plans
coming soon!
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Systems Thinking Schools is a program of the Wildwood Outreach Center
at Wildwood School
Elementary Campus / 12201 Washington Place / Los Angeles, CA 90066
Middle-Upper Campus / 11811 Olympic Blvd. / Los Angeles, CA 90064