At Shorecrest, progressive education is not kept behind classroom doors, but something that is shared with the greater community. One could see a prime example on Saturday, January 27, as the School hosted the 3rd annual St. Pete STEAMfest. The outdoor, educational festival is centered on the study of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM). Over 1,000 students and families from all over the Tampa Bay Area experienced more than 40 exhibits and activities at the free admission event. There were robotics demonstrations, arts and crafts, design activities and engineering challenges. Local research and educational centers including Busch Gardens, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry), Great Explorations, iD Tech, and Mathnasium hosted exhibits.

Typically, parents have the knowledge and children still have something to learn. With tech, the tables are often turned. At Shorecrest, an Apple Distinguished School, technology and the iPad are threaded into our Middle School days. As a result, our Middle School students have a facility with the device that adults usually do not. However, there is a need for parents to monitor the way a student uses his or her device. Here are some starting points for a conversation with your Middle School student about using the iPad appropriately and avoiding distractions.

We’ve all heard the joke of the crotchety grandfather opining on his childhood: “When I was your age, I had to walk ten miles to school through the snow - and it was uphill both ways!” While the humor lies in the obvious exaggeration, this tongue-in-cheek statement also suggests its inverse: Our children generally ride to school in a climate-controlled vehicle with the windows rolled up. Indeed, much of their lives are lived indoors, or in a sanitized version of the outdoors, free of perils and bugs and other discomforts (as much as we adults can help it).

Imagine watching handmade animal masks dash across the stage as passionate performers sing and dance. The sounds of traditional African drums echo through the air as the performers beam ear to ear, filled purely with joy. At first, this spectacle may sound like a Broadway production, but in reality, it is an even more magical event.

In the wake of the Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville this past weekend, most Americans responded with shock and anger. Pundits from the Left and the Right expressed outrage and declared how un-American these victim-seeking, all-but-hooded, torch-bearing degenerates were. Their ideas were, after all, antithetical to American values. Representative Thomas Garrett of Virginia angrily declared that “these people are not who we are as Americans” and correctly pointed out that many of those assembled were not from Virginia. Our own Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that the "haters" are "agitators in search of relevance and publicity for a vile cause very few people support.” The popular CNN commentator Ana Navarro tweeted “America, this is not who we are! We must stand together and condemn this!” Sally Yates tweeted, “The poison spewed by Nazis, White Supremacists, and the KKK is not who we are!”