December 15, 2020
Sixteen faces appear on Zoom as Upper School English teacher Lauren Drake begins her Western and Global Literature course. It’s a Wednesday afternoon and these tenth graders listen patiently as Drake explains how the main item on today’s agenda will work; the class’ first Socratic Seminar of the quarter. Today’s Socratic Seminar is a comparison of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Nature”, and a collection of William Wordsworth poetry. Drake explains the grading rubric, recaps the seminar’s norms, and reminds students to think about the space they inhabit in group discussions. Then it’s go time and students jump right in, starting with an examination of prompt one, a comparison of the uses of light and dark imagery in “Allegory of the Cave” and “Frankenstein”.
Different schools have their own unique way of engaging students in learning through classroom discussion. For some, there’s the Harkness Table, for others, the Fishbowl Model, and still others use the Jigsaw Method. At MPA, Upper School humanities teachers use the Socratic Seminar to create engaging, hands on, discussion based learning opportunities that facilitate deep dives into complex content knowledge. Read More
The realization for Mike Velin ’06 came over several weeks in 2002. An excellent student in his elementary and early middle school years, school stopped coming as easily when Mike entered eighth grade. “I was getting straight As all the way through middle school, and then all of a sudden, I was getting Ds,” he says. “Something just switched where I wasn’t engaged. I wasn’t happy or passionate anymore.” In response, the Velin family started thinking about Mike’s education as an investment, and recognized that part of his struggles could be attributed to the fact they weren’t investing in Mike’s education as much as they could be. “Going through that experience was very transformative for our family,” he says. “Because in the end we found MPA, and it influenced the rest of my life, the way that I approach my career, my relationships, how I view the world.”
Thirty-nine years ago this week, 13 people from throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul gathered with Bob and Lois (now Sandy Kreischer Smith) Kreischer to articulate their shared dream of founding an independent school in the east metro of St. Paul. In his introduction that evening, Bob said, “We are aware that this could be the start of something big and equally aware that this could totally end in a month or so.” At the end of the meeting, a vote was taken to officially establish Mounds Park Academy. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on December 11 with the State of Minnesota designating Mounds Park Academy as an educational nonprofit on December 14, 1981.
Each year, nearly nine out of every ten newly enrolled families have some previous connection to MPA. It could be that their colleague is an alum, a neighbor has kids here, or a friend from dance goes to MPA. Word of mouth is an incredibly important way to share MPA, and here are three easy things that a busy parent can do to help spread the word.
This interview
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
Looking back over the past 30 years as a Lower School teacher, one of my most challenging subjects to teach was math. Some students were successful, and some were not. Some students loved math, while others didn’t care for it at all. How would I address these challenges? I knew it was my job to teach math concepts and make sure these skills could be applied. At the same time, I wanted students to love math and feel confident. I was not alone with these concerns.
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
Maddy Wolfe ’12, Middle School English Teacher
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School