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Mark Day School's Cross-Disciplinary Literacies: Where Are We Now?

Mark Day School's Cross-Disciplinary Literacies: Where Are We Now?
Sophie Shulman

For decades, we have recognized that foundational skills and competencies in traditional disciplines—arts, athletics, English language arts, history, math, science and world language—are both necessary AND insufficient to educate today’s students to thrive. The current century is a complex, ever-changing world with advancing technology and shifting landscapes; we are preparing students not only to overcome challenges posed by that world, but to see and take advantage of the many opportunities it also presents. 

In 2014, the Mark Day faculty began a multi-year process of more deeply defining learning goals for four cross-disciplinary literacies that had long been part of the school program. These cross-disciplinary literacies equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate through life now and into the future, whether it’s through continued education, relationships, or a career. It is the Mark Day way to systematically embed these cross-disciplinary literacies into daily life and learning. We are constantly fine-tuning our academic program, and ensuring that all four cross-disciplinary literacies are interwoven in the same meaningful way for all students.

Below is a refresher about how we define each of our cross-disciplinary literacies, a sampling of the ways they show up in the classroom, and how we’re continuing to advance and integrate their curricula. 

Cross-Cultural Literacy

What is it?

As members of a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community, it is our responsibility to encourage students to reach beyond themselves and to understand and embrace the inextricable links that exist among people everywhere. This begins in each and every classroom as students learn first to understand and honor one another and the diversity each person brings to Mark Day. Beyond the school community, through our formalized partnerships, as well as via individual classroom-to-classroom connections, our reciprocal relationships afford our students unique opportunities to experience the richness of diverse cultures, navigate differences, both teach and learn simultaneously, and pursue equity and justice in a wider world.

What does it look like in the classroom?

  • 1st graders begin to discuss classroom literature using the lenses of “windows and mirrors.” This means recognizing when they see themselves reflected in a story (a “mirror”), which can help them understand themselves and their identity more deeply. It also means recognizing when they are getting a peek into someone else’s lived experience (a “window”), which fosters understanding and sparks curiosity about the experiences of others.
  • 5th graders study systemic racism from different perspectives and draw connections between historical policies and the impact they continue to have in Marin communities. 
  • 7th and 8th graders taking Spanish may visit our partner school in Costa Rica, Pan-American School (PAS), where they learn side-by-side with PAS students, participate in homestays, and immerse themselves in Costa Rican culture.

What’s been happening lately? 

Teachers continue to challenge students and to increase critical thinking in the classroom through the integration of diverse voices and multiple perspectives in every subject area. After several years separated by the pandemic, we are excited to welcome two delegations from our partner schools—Kliptown Youth Program (KYP) and Pan-American School—this school year. We are also thrilled to be able to send a Mark Day delegation to South Africa this summer to visit KYP and eSibonisweni. We are continuing our local partnerships with organizations like Adopt-a-Family, the Ritter Center, Hamilton School and Play Marin. As part of our 2022 Strategic Plan, we will be working to embed cross-cultural literacy even more fully into our curriculum.

Ecological Literacy

What is it?

Responsible world citizenship is a core value of Mark Day School. Good citizens need to be knowledgeable stewards of local, national, and global resources and ecosystems. Our goal is to develop environmentally literate students who understand the environment in total—both its natural and human-made aspects.

What does it look like in the classroom? 

  • 1st graders participate in a project-based learning unit about redworms and vermicomposting that includes becoming stewards of the Mark Day garden’s worm bin. They consider, “How can we, as stewards of the garden’s worm bin, help others to understand the importance of redworms and vermicomposting?”
  • 4th graders grow and harvest vegetables from the school garden or grow native plant seedlings to sell to raise funds to support microloans to people around the world through Kiva.
  • In a climate justice unit, 7th graders learn about the science behind climate change and practice looking critically at the impacts of climate change through the lens of intersectionality and the variable impacts of climate change on different populations.

What’s been happening lately? 

We are fortunate to learn and work everyday on a campus that strives for environmental sustainability through the use of solar power, LEED platinum construction, an increasing number of community EV chargers, and more. Our garden continues to be a central learning space for many grade levels. Increasingly sophisticated units of study related to climate change have been developed and implemented in recent years, especially in the Upper Division. Expanding our ecoliteracy education for every grade and better integrating it into curriculum is part of our 2022 Strategic Plan. Over the next several years, we will commit to aligning the K-8 program and schedule to systematically embed ecological literacy.

Media and Information Literacy

What is it?

The ability to analyze, understand, and shape the information landscape, to read between and behind the lines, and to act responsibly as an online citizen are now indispensable skills. Our program develops the habits of mind students need to thoughtfully interact with the information they encounter and use their own voice and creativity to express themselves in video, audio, and the written word. Students learn how to think critically about all types of information and how to participate constructively in online life.

What does it look like in the classroom?

  • 2nd graders examine the packaging of food marketed to children, such as cereal boxes, and analyze the various strategies companies use to grab kids’ attention. They also look at the labels to determine the products’ actual nutritional value.
  • 6th graders learn how to be laptop learners through a series of lessons and activities that cover topics ranging from digital literacy to cybersecurity to digital citizenship.
  • As part of the 8th grade media literacy project in the spring, students step into the role of media creator by choosing a media-related topic, conducting research to uncover facts and insights about the topic, and finally creating a video to persuasively convey a message to an audience.

What’s been happening lately? 

Throughout the pandemic, especially in the days of distance and hybrid learning, we learned just how vital technology can be to life in the current century. Now that we are on the other side, transitioning out of pandemic mode, we also understand the limitations of technology more keenly than ever. As before, students use digital tools at Mark Day to write, to analyze, to design, to create, to build, to code, to research, and so much more.  They must also learn when to set the digital tools aside and how to resist the persuasive allure of media. We have focused more intently than ever before on teaching students to create boundaries between digital work and digital play and how to make intentional choices about technology use.

Social and Emotional Literacy

What is it?

Social and emotional literacy, or SEL, is in all we do. Our program, developed and supported by our school counselors, teachers, and administrators draws on a variety of resources to help children develop both as individuals and as members of the community. It includes recognizing and managing one’s own emotions effectively in a variety of situations, building and sustaining meaningful relationships, and making responsible and ethical decisions.

What does it look like in the classroom?

  • Kindergartners use their Toolbox tools—like the breathing tool and trash can tool—to work through the challenges of working and playing with others, both in the classroom and on the playground.
  • 3rd graders practice courage and embracing the unfamiliar to participate in outdoor education for the first time.
  • 6th, 7th, and 8th graders participate in Open Session, a structured discussion during which students share joys, appreciations, struggles, worries, or concerns and receive support, empathy, and insight from their peers.

What’s been happening lately? 

Another lesson learned during the pandemic was just how important the S (social) is to the EL (emotional learning). We believe that social-emotional work is integral to children’s development, so it has long been implemented throughout our curriculum and valued as part of the academic program. This work is even more essential now in the context of transitioning out of a pandemic that, for a time, significantly limited the social experiences and behaviors of developing children. Our SEL program can be seen in all areas of campus; sometimes it’s a dedicated class and sometimes it’s resolving a conflict on the tire swing at recess or while collaborating with partners to complete a group project in the classroom.