Learning How to Fish
There are many ways to kick off a school year. We do it by first bringing together the 6th through 8th community and then coming together as a whole school.
There are many ways to kick off a school year. We do it by first bringing together the 6th through 8th community and then coming together as a whole school. Our message to the students is that we are ONE school composed of 14 grades. This matters and is one of the aspects of CA that makes it both special and unique. The little ones on the campus know that they are participating in a greater community and can look forward to one day being a middle schooler and then moving on to high school. At each stage and developmental level, the school helps students feel a part of the whole by supporting each to build skills and abilities to be ready to take on the next challenges.
Coming together as a whole school also reminds older students of the nature of the journey from being a young girl or boy to becoming a senior poised to launch in June. There is something powerful about witnessing this cycle of growth year over year. Of course, what I am most excited about are the Middle School years, not because they are better or more important than the others, but because they are so much fun. Middle School teachers get to see students come into their own as social, emotional, and academic beings. We get to mentor students through the rough edges of social awakening with all the precipitous joys and rocky pratfalls. We get to support young people to be more brave, as well as more empathetic than they thought they could be. We also get to encourage students to take their first sometimes shaky steps toward increased independence.
I’ve been thinking a bit about what the essence of education should be, and I’ve landed for the moment on the old chestnut, “Give a person a fish, and you feed her for one day, but teach her how to fish, and you feed her for a lifetime.” To get my full meaning, please substitute problem solving, being creative, collaborating, writing with clarity, including others, and taking care of oneself for the “fish” part of the adage. This really is what schools do; we teach students how to independently do ALL of these things and more. It is not easy to do, and it takes many years and many hands to do well. If we all pull together, parents and teachers, we help young people skill up and practice what we believe is important, so that when they leave our school and your home they are ready to jump in and swim in the unpredictable and choppy waters of life.
In my first article, I often emphasize the opportunity that students have to make of themselves whatever their imagination can conjure. If they want to be a great student, or kind friend, or thoughtful artist, or resilient athlete, they can with hard work and diligent practice. It is what is so amazing about a school year. It is a blank slate begging to be written on by each student. The sky is the limit. While all of this is true, this time, I would like to focus on the fresh start the school year offers parents. We often forget that we have this same opportunity each fall to reflect on how we can best support our children anew. We can’t change the decisions we made last year…how we spent our time, what messages we sent about gratefulness, kindness, inclusivity, achievement, and all the rest, but we can take stock of what our child needs now and do our very best to deliver. These subtle parenting changes year over year create the space for new growth in our sons and daughters.
One of the many things I appreciate about the CA community is the encouragement parents give to teachers and administrators to pilot new curriculum, new program, new organizational structures and the like. I believe this allows our community to evolve and to better meet our students’ future needs. Last spring I described our efforts to “right size” the middle school, and this year we get, I hope, to experience the benefits. By raising the number of students in each grade from around 73 to 75 or so and hiring two wonderful new teachers, we are able to run five, not four, sections of each subject area, reducing the average class size across the board. It has also allowed us to reduce the number of students in each advisory. Teaching is by no means just a “numbers game,” but slightly smaller classes do allow our teachers to spend more time supporting each learner and for our advisors to get to know each child just that little bit better.
We also piloted the start of the school year with off-campus adventures designed to be community building activities. For Sixth Graders it meant an intentional focus on community and integrating new students into the class right from the start. This entailed creating the right balance between getting off to a strong academic start and providing time for students to get to know one another through a variety of activities designed to build community. For Seventh Graders we piloted an advisory-focused overnight experience at Golden Gate State Park. Beyond learning camp craft, our aim was to build trust and community within each advisory, as this will allow each group to better support one another and tackle challenging issues that may come their way. Eighth Graders for the first time launched the year with a “personal goal setting” multi-day backpacking retreat near Rocky Mountain National Park. Since they are our oldest students and Middle School leaders, we believe that taking the time to be challenged in the outdoors and to intentionally reflect on how each would like to grow as a student, leader, and friend will pay dividends in the months to come.
There is so much that I am looking forward to this year. My hope is that we will support one another and not get too caught up when our students’ “fishing lines” get tangled, as they inevitably will. As their guides, we will help them untangle whatever mess may come their way, and hopefully, skillfully get them back on the water casting again. Ultimately, though, if we stick with it and support each student, we will one day be rewarded to see independent, masterful, and self-sufficient fisherpeople. If there is any way that I can be helpful to you or your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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