On Creativity...

Last weekend I drove my daughter, Elizabeth, to a lacrosse event in Boston.  I spend a lot of time traveling with her for her sports, and as a teenager, there are many miles when she is completely absorbed by her phone.  Fortunately for me, she also enjoys chatting with me, and she is quite the conversationalist.   On the ride back last week, she was especially talkative, and we were discussing a book that I had an interest in reading – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act.

We spoke about this topic for some time before my daughter asked me point blank – “Do you think that you are a creative person?”  I was silent – which is rare for me.  I was not sure how to answer her question, as I would like to think of myself as creative, but I was reluctant to label myself as such.  In my mind, I was thinking that artists, musicians, and writers could claim to be creative  - but me?

Since that conversation I actually purchased the book I was discussing with EJ, and the very first chapter focused on this issue of being a creator.  According to Rubin, “to create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before.  It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a traffic jam.”  His broad definition resonates with me and gives permission for all of us to see ourselves as creative.

Too often, I hear students at BHS denigrate their own creativity.  This is especially true when I ask students to draw maps.  Without exception there are always a few that will claim – “I can’t, I am not an artist.”  I always respond that I am not seeking a masterpiece, but I just would like them to make an effort.  In all of my years, I have never witnessed a student that could not create a decent map, once they simply allowed themselves a chance to just create.

From my perspective, the students and faculty at BHS are extremely creative.  Moving forward, I hope that more of our students and teachers at BHS will embrace a broader view of creativity and embrace the moniker of creator.  I, too, will be much more willing to embrace my own creativity. So, if my daughter ever asks me again if I consider myself creative, there will be no pause -  I will answer with a full-throated and resounding – YES!

Dr. King and BHS

Earlier in my career, I worked at a school just outside of Wilmington DE, and I lived in Center City, Philadelphia.  While working and living in the Mid-Atlantic region, I discovered that region celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King’s holiday in a way that is very different from what is typical in New England.  Adults and children, supported by businesses and schools, actively celebrate Dr. King’s legacy in myriad ways, with most adults engaging in a day of service – volunteering their time and treasure to help others in the community.  I was moved by this and as Head of School, have tried to bring this sense of action to BHS.  This Monday brings an opportunity to consider Dr. King’s life and work, his message, and how we can help to bend the moral arc of the universe toward justice.

Tomorrow, we will not spend a day off, doing whatever we should choose – we will spend time together as a community.  In our time together, our students will be entertained, as they will be watching movies and eating pizza.  But they will also be challenged to think about the actions of the characters in these movies.  They will hopefully recognize that an “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and that in time, they will emerge as morally strong citizens and leaders.

It is true that we could do more, but it is also true that we could do nothing.  Like Dr. King said, “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”  On Monday, we will keep moving forward!

Travel as Teacher

Last week, I had an amazing opportunity to travel with my immediate and extended family.  This trip was originally planned to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.  Because of the pandemic, we had to reschedule several times, finally making it all happen last week.  To say it was worth the wait would be a huge understatement.

On one level, the trip was about spending time together as a family.  My sister and her husband live in Seattle, and my parents live in Connecticut, so it is rare that all of us can spend time together.  Throughout the trip, however, I found myself thinking about the value of travel in relation to personal growth.  For example, I taught my 6th Grade Geography class about the island of Hispaniola this year, but while in Haiti, I gained an entirely new sense of the island’s volcanic past and steep, lush mountains. 

In the end, I believe that travel is truly amazing and a humbling teacher.  On occasion, I have told my Geography class that if I were able, I would have them spend the entire year traveling the world, as that would far surpass any learning that we could do in the confines of our classroom.  Alas, I also teach them about economics and scarcity.  While it would be an amazing opportunity to travel the world, this is not feasible. 

As Head of School, however, I have always hoped that at some point in the future of The Beech Hill School, a significant travel experience would be a part of the required curriculum.  To make this a reality, it would require significant funding and staffing.  However, as I wrote about last week, it is good to be aspirational.  Hence, I will continue to build a foundation at BHS that will one day provide our students an opportunity to participate meaningful international travel.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I have high hopes for the new calendar year, and always look forward to the opportunity to make resolutions.  Every year around this time, there are many articles debating the value of resolutions.  Some suggest that there is a futility to making resolutions, as naysayers point out that most people will come up short and within a few weeks forget what it is they resolved to do.  For me, however, I feel that the annual ritual of making New Year’s resolutions allow for a moment of reflection and evaluation. 

In many regards, this process is not dissimilar from the work that we do on a regular basis at The Beech Hill School.  We ask that our students participate in a regular cycle of goal setting, followed by evaluation and feedback, then the resetting of goals.  Underlying this process is our belief that “aspiration” is one of the Foundations of Community.  We define aspiration in the following way:

“We understand that it is always possible to improve our communities and ourselves.  We achieve a sense of purpose through the creation of ambitious and meaningful goals.”

Thus, making a New Year’s resolution is a very BHS thing to do.

As I start 2023, I am excited, hopeful, and confident that, individually and collectively, we will continue to “improve our communities and ourselves,” and that 2023 will be a great year!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Snow Day!

It wasn’t long after I accepted the position of Head of School that I realized one of my responsibilities would be deciding when to close or delay school due to weather.  My inner child immediately thought – this is so COOL!  Unfortunately, I am a child no more, and balancing the need to keep people safe with the integrity of the BHS program is no easy task.  In the winter, I become an avid weather watcher and always rise just a little earlier to check for an unexpected snowstorm.

Recently, school administrators have begun to hedge their bets, instituting remote learning days, requiring students to attend school remotely and counting as a day of school.  I am all in favor of using technology to further our students learning; however, I feel that the joy of a snow day is something that kids in New England should know and savor.  So, while it might make it harder on my decision making, I do not intend to institute remote learning days.

Prior to this first snow day, I spoke to the students and let them know that snow days do not absolve them from completing work that is assigned.  Likewise, I encouraged them to go outside and have fun in the snow.  In the end, we have structured so many other parts of our kids’ lives, that it can seem that even middle schoolers are like young professionals.  By preserving snow days, we can hold sacred some of the joys of an unstructured and unexpected snow day.