Spence News

Back to School Night Brings Parents, Teachers Together

The November 16 Parents’ Back to School Night, a special program in honor of the School’s 125th anniversary, extended the teaching day into the evening and allowed parents to become the students in classes spanning a range of academic disciplines.

(Click here to view a gallery of photos)
 
Nearly 300 parents eagerly immersed themselves in the life of the School—first filling the dining room for dinner and comparing notes on their class selections, and later participating in one of 21 hourlong classes offered by Spence Lower, Middle and Upper School teachers. Some parents picked a class that could teach them a new skill, such as the coding, ukulele, darkroom or Photoshop classes. Others selected courses they found intriguing, such as women’s history or constitutional law, and, for some, the night was a chance to return to a favorite subject from their school years, like Latin, English or math.
 
Spence faculty designed offerings to include some of the same question-centered teaching they do each day for their students: What is privacy, and how is personal autonomy protected under the Constitution? What is the impact of geography on human development? How does a society produce, exchange, consume or share goods and services? What are the differences between carbohydrates, proteins and lipids?
 
And there were plenty of opportunities for hands-on creative learning, from baking brownies in the kitchen chemistry class, to sketching a still life in an art class, to using a magnifying glass in the forensic fingerprinting class. The courses engaged parents in wide-ranging discussions whether it be about censorship and freedom of expression or distinctive voices of African writers or the evolution of the universe.
 
Parents and teachers found the evening to be exhilarating, and the special night focused on teaching and learning was a new way for parents and teachers to come together as a community.
 
“Rather than a mere party, this program was the actualization of what our school is all about: passion, purpose and perspective,” parent Adam Klein said. “…Each parent was so totally engaged in the treat that is Spence for our girls. Walking down the stairs afterward, the buzz of equally compelling experiences was palpable. Thank you for all you do for all of our daughters and us. Happy Spence 125th.”
 
“Non Scholae sed vitae discimus! The words never rang so true,” parent Christin Brecher ’86 summed.
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A K-12 independent school in New York city, The Spence School prepares a diverse community of girls and young women for the demands of academic excellence and responsible citizenship.

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