While Friedman argues that the army "tends to be pioneer in a lot of education stuff," the civilian side of America is catching up. At the Nueva school in Hillsborough, California, nestled between the high-tech hubs of San Francisco and Palo Alto, children are actively encouraged to follow their passions, while teachers serve as investigative encouragers. For instance, in a class studying ancient Egypt, writes Friedman, "They first study all the fundamental information in depth, and then each student is encouraged to explore whatever aspect of that society that intrigues him or her--science, the pyramids, economy, culture--through collaborative project-based research."
Nueva's playful approach to education, commonly known as "Reggio Emilia," has been a hot-button issue for years, torn between the intellectual battle over how much control teachers should wield over classroom direction. In some cases, technology giants have taken it upon themselves to create schools in their own image, such as Google's ritzy play-oriented daycare or the Gates Foundation-funded Quest2Learn.
This article appeared in the San Mateo County Times highlighting the great work being done by the Middle School SPEW team.
Elementary, My Dears: Great kids going green
By Margaret Lavin San Mateo County Times
Lexus is giving back by asking students to go green, and we have some local middle schoolers who, with the help of their science teacher, stepped up to the challenge.
Students from Hillsborough's Nueva School were among the winners of the first round of the fourth annual Lexus Eco Challenge. The contest inspires young people to learn about the environment and take action to improve it.
Nueva's Diwali Celebration was mentioned in Asian Week magazine.
Nueva School Celebrates Bay Area Diversity and Indian Culture with Diwali Week Culmination
School children may have seen the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire," danced to Bollywood music videos, or sampled Indian cuisine… but how much do they really understand Indian culture, and the common thread it shares with the multitude of cultures that form the diverse social fabric of the Bay Area? Now, more than ever, Indian culture is making an imprint in the U.S., due to the waves of immigrants pursuing higher education and innovating in Silicon Valley.
This article appeared recently in Edutopia, highlighting our Stanford partners, Nueva's Design Thinking program, the I-Lab, and a terrific project done by Rebecca and Megan's first graders this past year.