One of the ways the school represents its values is through the 6 C’s* that we emphasize and practice. One of those C’s–Collaboration–remains one of the most essential aspects of our Upper School program. Working together on tasks, our students learn about cooperation and human behavior, appreciate complementary learning styles, navigate challenging group dynamics, and hold each other mutually accountable. They come to understand that the sum is often greater than its parts.

 

This weekend our Upper School Musical, Les Misérables, will be presented to packed houses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Certainly a production like this represents one of the best examples of what is possible through collaboration. Nearly 60 students and adults have had to work together over a long period of time to create this ambitious production. The coordination requires everyone pulling in the same direction; egos and individual needs must be set aside for the good of the group. That doesn’t happen by accident. The director, Maclain Looper, establishes the tone, gives the students room to grow and thrive, and keeps them on schedule, while older students with more production experience lead by example and help guide the younger players to success.

 

Another less obvious example from the art program happens regularly over in the Ponzio Arts Center. The Portfolio shows that Seniors put together are presented in teams. The artists must coordinate their efforts and work together to hang their shows. The gallery space is another gigantic canvas on which they all display their individual talents, and all students must present an artist’s statement to accompany the work. The result is almost always a stunning example of artwork complementing each other, with different photographers, videographers, and studio artists exhibiting side by side.

 

Recent examples from the academic side also come to mind. Ms. Law's and Ms. Wolf-Tinsman’s Tenth Grade American Studies classes combined efforts on a major collaborative assignment–a Huck Finn trial, for which teams of three or four presented their case for either teaching the novel or not. Also, Meg Hill’s Spanish Advanced Seminar class has been collaborating on children’s theater presentations and then going to local elementary schools to perform them. Students plan their skits together and have the authentic opportunity to take their Mexican legends to actual audiences.

 

It should come as no surprise that collaboration is one of the most sought-after skills in the work force today (LinkedIn recently rated it as #3 on its list of soft skills companies want.) At CA, we need to put students into collaborative spaces as regularly as possible in order to develop this skill.