Magnolia Elementary's Mission/Vision Statement

Director Eden Mack went on a tour of the almost-finished Magnolia Elementary and posted photos at Facebook.  I assume the one below is their vision for Magnolia.   I'm just not sure that most kids would understand it.  I'm not sure I even understand "perspective validation."

Also, I assume that "M" with a swish blue watercolor is their school symbol - interesting choice.


No photo description available.

Comments

Anonymous said…
It's interesting or troubling that there's not a mention of academics, you know the main reason that public schools exist. I guess they just take that for granted.

Learn
thrive
prosper
care

2cents
6/19/19, 1:03 PM
Anonymous said…
Do they validate all perspectives, or just certain ones? Is a racist, sexist, homophobic, classist, etc. perspective "valid"? This sounds potentially like a "good people on both sides" type of philosophy, or, alternatively, like a "we'll teach you the acceptable/valid perspectives" approach.

QuestionAuthority perspective
6/19/19, 1:09 PM
Anonymous said…
The school is absolutely magnificent. Beautiful view of downtown and mountain Tahoma(I expect that the perspective of the displaced Native population will be respected, although I doubt Nazism will, as suggested by the previous poster).

BTW, Ms. Mack gave a rather bizarre speech at Ballard graduation about suicide, her father's in particular. Kind of a downer for high school graduation, but whatever.

Looking forward to the public tour of the new school, anybody know when that will be?

JJ
6/19/19, 1:27 PM
Anonymous said…
I did not hear Eden's speech at the graduation, but am speculating it could have been related to a very recent event (2 weeks ago?) at the school on suicide prevention. Apparently there was a survey and an astounding percentage of students reported suicidal ideation.

SPSMom
6/19/19, 4:25 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree that suicide is a very serious and growing problem with teens in the Ballard service area, and I appreciate Ms. Mack's willingness to discuss her own experience; I think perhaps a school assembly would be a more appropriate venue.

On the other hand, Mr. Wynkoop gave a great speech about how far we have come as a society but also how destructive we have been and continue to be to our home, the earth.

In a weird,yet positive way he told the students they were the last hope for humankind and they needed to get to work fixing all the globe-threatening disasters his generation had left for them.

We'll see if the kids can save us.

JJ
6/19/19, 5:34 PM
Anonymous said…
How are "belonging" and "inclusivity" different? "Perspective validation" is not kid speak. Neither is "culture" or "cultivation".

asdf
6/19/19, 6:49 PM
Anonymous said…
@ JJ Suicide ideation is not limited to a serious and growing problem "in the Ballard service area", it is actually quite widespread and not just in Seattle and surrounding suburbs but nationwide. Regarding aspects of Wynkoop's speech it echoes what I have been hearing elsewhere at student graduation ceremonies.

JK
6/20/19, 8:47 AM
Andrea Leigh Ptak said…
As a professional graphic designer, I find the "logo" truly bizarre. The first thing a designer considers is the market. Looking at this symbol, I wonder what market this is intended to attract. Parents? Donors? It doesn't seem like children are the target market here. Maybe it's supposed to represent finger paint? Sea? Sky? Watercolor? I don't get it.

When we were at Graham Hill, the school symbol was a fanciful whale—representing the school mascot. It was a great symbol, which allowed for so many uses—especially environmental tie-ins. The kids all loved it. It was so cute on T-shirts, banners, the school newsletter. How are children supposed to relate to a trendy watercolor smear?

And the BIG question is? WHO did this? I sure hope it was a parent volunteer and not a PAID marketer/advertising group.
6/20/19, 11:02 AM
Anonymous said…
I find it offensive to ink blots everywhere. It marginalizes the important use of ink blots as important mental health diagnostic tools.

HeHe
6/20/19, 11:47 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
Read more

Education News Roundup

From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18.  Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18.  Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program.  The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
Read more