Why Active Learning Matters
By Inês Peceguina, Guest Author One of Clonlara School’s most fundamental beliefs is that children learn best when their interests guide their activities. Thus, for a student to learn a subject at a deeper level, they must be actively engaged in the learning process. However, a recent Harvard University study suggests that many students do […]
Student Presentations Reinforce Learning
By Clonlara School How do you know when a student has really learned something? When they can teach it to someone else! Giving students the opportunity to teach others through presentations helps young learners retain information, strengthen the connections between new material and their background knowledge, and build confident communication skills. At Clonlara, student presentations are […]
Rose Edwards ’14: Drawn to the Sea!
By Clonlara School Rose Edwards, the ocean, and its creatures are deeply connected. Since tidepooling on the coast of Maine as a child, Rose has spent most of her life at, in, on, or thinking about the sea in one way or another. In 6th grade, her mom brought home a book from the library […]
Problem Solving 101
By Pat Montgomery, Founder Editor’s Note: From time to time, we’ll “look back” through our archives to share articles that are as relevant today as when they were printed. In this piece that was originally published in the August 2002 issue of The Learning Edge, Clonlara’s founder offers practical advice for resolving issues in a […]
Tools for Getting Organized
Photo by Jeff.lasovski/CC BY-SA By Melissa Lefevre, Online Program Teacher Clonlara School students have autonomy to learn however they learn best. This kind of freedom can be powerful for young learners, but it also requires them to develop efficient organizational skills early on. Because every learner is different, it is important for students to find […]
Jesse Millek ’07: Living and Loving Ancient History
By Clonlara School Jesse Millek, Ph.D., has always been fascinated by ancient history and archaeology. This fascination was fueled during high school, when Clonlara School’s Home-Based Education Program (now the Off-Campus Program) enabled him to immerse himself in these topics. Today, Jesse is a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan, having been awarded a […]
A Few (More) Good Reasons to Play
By Clonlara School We’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: “Not enough can be said about the importance of play.” In fact, play is so important that we have always made time for it at Clonlara School, even when the trend in traditional education has been toward limiting and structuring students’ playtime. Free and unstructured […]
Congratulations, Class of 2019!
By Clonlara School Clonlara School’s Class of 2019 included 115 students, representing 20 U.S. states and 17 countries. They earned scholarships and awards totaling more than $400,000 to help pursue their passions and goals next year in the colleges and careers of their choice. In keeping with Clonlara’s philosophy of empowering students to participate purposefully […]
Volunteer Service @ Clonlara School
By Clonlara School In a recent interview with KHFM Classical Public Radio, world-famous violinist and Clonlara graduate Rachel Barton Pine (Class of 1991) shared how Clonlara’s volunteer service requirement inspired her to think about using her violin to “serve others beyond the stage.” Today, her foundation provides instrument loans, education grants, and other support to […]
Is Your Student an “Outlier”?
By Danielle Smith, Off-Campus Program Advisor “The tallest tree in the forest came from a good seed—that is not in question. But it did not become the tallest tree in the forest simply because it grew from a good seed; it became the tallest tree because it was planted in good soil and because no […]