Modified Awareness Days

Modified Awareness Days, or MADs, take place twice a year at Fieldston — once in November and once in February. MADs are designed to be thorough examinations of important current events and issues, such as gender issues, immigration, and the war in Iraq. The fall MAD is based on the themes of the summer book, while the subject of the spring MAD is student-generated. MADs are comprised of an assembly for all students as well as various speakers and activities in the Stu-Fac Center that are voluntary.

The schedule for MAD days are normal, with sessions taking place concurrently in the Stu-Fac during every “band” or time period after assembly. The sessions include presentations by guest speakers, as well as interactive workshops and discussions led by both students and faculty. These sessions are completely voluntary; faculty are invited to bring their classes if they wish.

MADs are planned by a committee comprised of students and faculty.

Fieldston Awareness Day

A Fieldston Awareness Day, or FAD, is an all-day symposium on an issue, or series of issues, of local, national, or global importance.  FADs take place once every two years.  Students submit proposals to the Student-Faculty Senate, which then approves the event.  FADs are organized by a committee made up of students and faculty.

Our most recent FAD took place on February 15 and was entitled “A Class Environment:  Hurricane Katrina, Global Warming, and the Fate of Human Populations.”  It focused on Hurricane Katrina, and incorporated topics such as global warming, sustainability, class and race, displaced populations, and immigration.  Workshops were run by students, faculty, and guest leaders.

The FAD represents many of the most important aspects of progressive education, including: an authentic collaboration between students and faculty; a thoughtful attention to process; a commitment to interdisciplinary study; an opportunity to connect learning with the real world in a genuine and tangible way; and the prospect of engaging the school in an ongoing, meaningful set of discussions and actions that attempt to help remediate pressing problems in the world.