Praise the Work

As you may already know, we are hosting a screening of the film Race to Nowhere here at Casady on October 16th at 5:30PM in Fee Theater. If you'd like to attend, click here to buy your tickets.

I will facilitate a discussion immediately following. 

I encourage you to attend - this is an important film that deserves our attention...

Additionally, this article is a very useful resource and reminder to parents and teachers alike in outlining the reasons we should praise effort and determination rather than intelligence. As I've noted in prior posts, Carol Dweck is another strong advocate for this approach to education and child-rearing.

Keep watching this space!

Chris

I Have a Lot to Learn

Chapel Talk September 13, 2011

I have a lot to learn.

I’ve spent the past 45 years trying to make sense of things. I’m lucky to have had some incredible teachers along the way and I’m fortunate that many of my friends have had an interest in the way things work as well.

I’m reminded about just how little I know almost every day and for that I’m truly grateful. I’m a big believer in the idea that when we stop learning and when we stop being curious about the world is about the same time that we become complacent and when we stop wanting to understand other people’s points of view. That’s when bad things happen like war, injustice, racism, and prejudice. That’s when we stop working together to solve problems and begin to judge each other and make fun of each other to make ourselves feel better, bigger, and more powerful.

The overall reason for learning, it seems to me, is to find out about the world around us and all the interesting people and things the world contains. As we discover more and more about these things, we also develop a sense of ourselves and begin to understand our purpose in the world.

Here in Chapel, we hear stories about how others lived their lives, how we are supposed to make decisions, and why it’s important to try to do the right things. Here in Chapel, we dedicate ourselves to the enormous task of trying to make things better. Here in Chapel we are thankful to God for allowing us an opportunity to gather together in our shared work to improve ourselves and our world.

This is why we should have great respect for learning. Learning is, in its most basic form, the best way we have to connect to each other and to our world. We are all joined together through our shared desire to do the things in our lives that help to make a difference.

No single person on the planet has the whole story. No single person in this Chapel has all the answers, but if you listen, learn, and act with respect and a belief in yourself and in others, collectively, we answer the big questions each and every day.

The more I know, the more I understand just how little I, in fact, know. The more I have the chance to talk with people, hear their ideas and listen to their concerns, the more I understand that it takes a collective effort on the part of each and every one of us to figure out the hard problems and to learn to live together in peace. 

This is What Your Brain Looks Like on the Internet

Reading a great book called Now You See It by Cathy Davidson.

She was behind the iPods-for-all-freshmen experiment at Duke University a few years back and has written extensively on how the digital age is transforming not only commerce and communications, but the way people learn and how our brains process information in the Age of the Internet.

Well-researched and compelling, her argument stems from the notion that our schools have to embrace the opportunities and challenges this digital revolution has laid at our feet. I've written before that schools in general tend to prepare our students for our past, but not their future. Knowing what to do and how to do that in the classroom is difficult. And controversial.

That being said, her arguments are sound, her reasoning is clear, and her practical advice is compelling and, I believe, very useful for teachers in the classroom today.

I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the revolution in learning we're currently experiencing.

Blinking Lights - A Reminder to Pay Attention to the Right Things

We were connected, yet disconnected. Jana was next to me, texting, the kids were in the back: Sophie streaming an episode of The Office on her iPhone while Sam played Monopoly on the iPad. I was talking with my mother, who, at that moment, was driving through the deserts of New Mexico.

Auto-pilot fully engaged.

As soon as my phone call ended, I  looked over at Jana and joked:

“We’re out of gas.”

I've said this many times over the years and while I always think it's funny, I'm usually the only one laughing.

Yes, I know about 'The Boy who Cried Wolf'.

Much to my surprise and dismay, this time I was right. No more than three seconds had passed when a glaring red triangle appeared on the dash, accompanied by a loud and menacing beep. I pumped the gas to no avail. So, I carefully steered the car toward the shoulder, rolled to a stop and told everyone to turn off all electronics. I wanted to make sure they held enough charge so we would be able to get help, in case of an emergency.

Trucks flew by and our surprisingly roomy Prius shook. I sat, dumb, slow, and unable to think. We were out of water, there were no exits within sight, and the last three ice cubes in the cup next to my seat had been devoured by my son moments before.

And, it was hot. Really hot.

This wasn't supposed to happen. The Prius should have been immune to situations like this. Yet, here we were, a living, breathing definition of irony. 

But then, I had an epiphany. We were on the side of the road without water and over 100 degree heat without a reserve tank or a plug-in to recharge while surrounded by the most sophisticated technology imaginable. However, none of those devices would be walking down the road, buying a gallon of gas and returning to us to fill our tank.

These devices had served as purposeful distractions from the monotony of a 12 hour car ride, and now they needed to be re-purposed as survival tools.

While I certainly regret ignoring the blinking indicator on the fuel guage, and driving past two off-ramps crowned by Shell, Conoco, and Texaco stations, I don't regret the opportunity this presented for myself and my family. So, slowly, I remembered that GPS, cell service and so on could connect us to someone who could assist us. Using the map app on the phone, we located the nearest gas station, and, to make a long story short, we purchased gas, walked back, refueled and started up again.

We need real distractions to engage our thinking in ways that connect us to the real world. Virtual life is engaging, being connected through technology to others and vast streams of information is real and can be very useful, but there are times when we need to realize that using our own two feet and remembering what we really need to live is the only way we get to move forward.

As we travel both on the sun-beaten tarmac highway and the virtual information highway,  let's try to remember to take time to connect in the real world, our eyes on the road ahead, and our minds attuned and ready to respond to real-world warnings.

2011 Graduation Address

Welcome parents, grandparents, friends, students, faculty, staff, and the Board of Trustees. I am honored to address you all and to celebrate the class of 2011, the 61st graduating class from Casady School in the 64th year of its existence.

According to Malcom Gladwell, author of a great book called Outliers, it takes about 10,000 hours of study and practice before ‘mastery’ is achieved, no matter what the field of study – piano, mathematics, chess, etc. That’s a lot of time. And, although you’ve spent the last two million minutes of your lives as High School Students - roughly 33,333 hours (including sleeping), and, assuming you studied and practiced various topics/instruments/skills one or two hours per day for five days per week, that amounts to around ten hours per week per activity, which equals (excluding summer, Christmas, spring break and other vacations) about 340 hours per year (given 170 or so school days). Since many of you continue your studies during the summer, it’s probably fair to add another 200 or so hours on top of that, netting around 1400 solid hours of work in each of your pursuits in the past four years. You’ve done a lot, but you haven’t quite yet reached the 10,000-hour threshold. So much to learn, so little time…

Despite that, you’ve already achieved amazing things: You are rowers, divers, mathematicians, national merit scholars, long-snappers, poets, dancers, violinists, actors, singers, service providers, health promoters, scientists, journalists, photographers, politicians, historians and linguists. Fortunately, few of you have narrowed your focus and have chosen to follow a single pursuit, in fact, most of you have a multitude of interests and passions. Because you chose Casady School for your high school experience, you’ve logged more hours, and have been challenged to perform at a higher standard in pursuit of your goals than you would have elsewhere. We’ve expected you to show up and embrace challenges, on the court, the stage, and in your classes and you’ve exceeded our expectations. The status quo has never been good enough for you and nor has it been for our School.

For decades, Casady Alumni tell us that they are more prepared and better able to handle the pressures of university and the workplace because of what they experienced at this School. I have no doubt that when you come back to visit in the coming years, we’ll hear the same refrain. Knowing that we’ve had just this one chance to educate you, your teachers have gone above and beyond the call, arriving early and staying late to help you reach and surpass your goals and their expectations for you. They’ve answered late night phone calls, attended your concerts and cheered you on at your games. They’ve been by your side, believing in you and encouraging you to raise the bar and not settle for just good enough. Your relationship with them has already shaped who you are and who you’ll become for the rest of your life; try to find the time to thank them.

In each of the past 64 years, teachers at this School have wrestled with the same question we wrestle with today: How can we educate our students so that they are in the best position to make a difference in the world? The importance of this question cannot be overstated: our future literally depends on getting it right. The actors have changed but the mission has remained the same. And, knowing your many talents, abilities, and who you are as people, I am confident that you are not only prepared to, but that you have already made our world a better place to be.

Much of the work you’ve done and will do in your lives will not be recognized in a public forum like this one, but at events like this it is important for us to make time to recognize individuals who exemplify qualities that we believe are important for a life lived well. Each year we wring our hands and argue with one another as we select the winners of our major awards. Tears flow when your teachers advocate for you – they know you, they care about you, they are deeply aware of the impact you have had in their classes and on their teams and they know that selecting the right individual to receive public recognition matters to you, to our School, and to the greater community.

In addition to our major awards, this year, a scholarship fund has been established in honor of Mr. Gayle Davis, longtime mathematics instructor and beloved educator. Because Mr. Davis held the bar high for each of his students and was always here to help them get over that bar, his students not only learned mathematics, they also learned how to live. His example, along with Margaret Tuck, Geneva Hood, Ian Rennert and others, serves as an important model for us as we strive to reach our own goals and aspirations.

The relationships you build and the bonds you create are the things that really matter, whether or not you win public acclaim or acquire monetary wealth. After tonight, as you think back on your time at Casady and try to make sense of how it is, exactly, that you ended up here today, some memories will persist in their clarity forever, some will change over time, and some will disappear. You’ll work on the narrative of your life for the rest of your life and you’ll strive to make sense of things within the boundaries of your own peculiar and unique story. This is central to who we are as human beings – we create stories to make sense of our lives, to make predictions and plan for our future. Be comforted that we are part of something larger than ourselves, and that there is indeed a purpose to all of this. We just don’t know how the story ends - we don’t even know what the next chapter will bring.

Life may not be linear and our stories haven’t exactly followed a predictable and rational arc. Don’t worry about that - embrace it. Our motto - Fideliter et Fortiter – with faith and with courage – reminds us to act boldly knowing that our faith will guide us in the right direction in order to do what is necessary. Our mission has been to prepare you, in mind, body and spirit to make a difference in your lives and in your world. We’ve done our part, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and you’re well on your way.

Congratulations.
 

Fourth Grade - Radios and Freedom

Fourth Grade Closing Exercises

May 27, 2011

I enjoy the news. On my drive to work, I like getting caught up with the latest local, national and global events and being generally aware of what’s happening in politics, the weather, and so on. I specifically like listening to NPR. It’s generally been the only station I’ve tuned into on my short commutes to school for the past decade or so. But something changed this year and my radio horizons have been broadened, despite my best efforts to resist such broadening.

Over the course of this year, as I’ve taken turns driving my 4^th grader to school, guitar lessons, baseball practice, and various other places around the city, he has slowly gained control over the tuner, and, as a result, I’ve, once again, 35 years later, become fluent in top-40 radio - specifically “KJ103-ese”.

In my life, I have had many goals, one of the most important is that I will be a life-long learner, be curious about the world and try to make a difference. What is absent from my long list of goals, however, is to learn, by heart, most of the Bruno Mars, Keisha, and Black-Eyed Peas songs, including instrumental breaks. Also absent is the desire to have those songs constantly in my head, all day long.

That probably wasn’t the case when I was in 4^th grade in 1976. Back then, I did want to know all the words to “Afternoon Delight” by the Starland Vocal Band, “Don’t Go Breakin’ my Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee, and “Play that Funky Music” by Wild Cherry. I’m fairly sure my parents fought the impulse to hum those tunes during quiet times in their days back then, but I’m also certain that they were just as powerless over them as I am today. As a ten-year-old, it was one of the first times I realized that I had my own music, separate from my parents - it was empowering to know that those songs were mine. Independence was just over the horizon…

Fourth Graders: Whether you know it or not, you are educating your parents not only in the language of top-40 music, Ryan Seacrest and the cultural realities of pre-adolescence in the year 2011, you’re also teaching them (and your teachers) about patience, compassion, and humility.

We adults sometimes think we have all the answers, but we don’t. Lucky for us, you’ve been teaching us for a long time. And while we may not always enjoy the lessons, believe me, we’re learning them because of the amazing and wonderful things you do and are interested in. Because of who you are, how you live your lives, and what you want to become, you remind us every day how important it is to be curious, to work hard, to be kind to one another, and to try our best.

In school, while we have a set curriculum and a well-planned sequence of what gets taught when, we also know that there are countless other problems that need solutions that are outside the walls of the school. We hope that your musical tastes evolve appropriately, but it’s inevitable that you’ll like what you like despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise. You need to become your own person with your own peculiarities – those are the things that make you who you are and will become. We need to understand that and guide you with an open and flexible heart and the belief that you will, in the end, do something to make your world a better place.

This beginning has ended. Next year you’ll take on more responsibilities and you’ll have more freedom. You’ve shown us that you’re ready for those changes and we know you’ll rise to the challenge. As your taste in music evolves I hope you’ll never waver from your work to become the best person you can become and to make a difference. We know you can do it… 

Congratulations!

My Garden

I am an enthusiastic gardener. I have high hopes for my flowers and vegetables each and every year, and yet I know that with each success I must endure disappointment. Some of my plants will flourish and others won’t. But, despite gardening’s inevitable pitfalls, it reminds me that taking time and energy to do the difficult work in the cold of winter and early spring leads to at least some success in the Spring and Summer.

In gardening, as with all things, we need to be humble. I have a chance to tend to my garden only temporarily and to try my best to guide it toward healthy development and hopefully to provide some beauty along the way. Sometimes ice storms and hail rain down and divert the plan and sometimes drought and wind make the work that much more difficult. But, despite the obstacles and diversions, life has a way of continuing on and if I’ve planned well and prepared well, enough of my labors will bring the results that make things a bit better.

Thinking about this in terms of the Episcopal tradition, it’s much like the season of Lent in preparation for Easter. We send time preparing ourselves for the coming hopefulness that is characterized with the Easter season. And now, with the passing of Easter and the appearance of the first blooms of Spring, we look with optimism toward the conclusion of the current year and the opportunity to put things in place for the coming year. We’ve reflected comprehensively throughout our ISAS accreditation process and having been evaluated, we’ve now begun to put in place those things that our reflective work has identified as important and necessary.

Putting a plan in place involves making choices – we choose to do some things and we choose to ignore others. We make thousands of choices each and every day, some minor, some major. Thankfully, we tend to try to make choices that improve things. This year, once again, the School has made choices that are designed to make our school better. This has been the case at Casady for nearly 65 years and it will be the case as long as our School continues to exist. To be specific: we’ve chosen to improve our schedule for next year, we’ve begun to transition to a new way of approaching our lunch program, while keeping the family style dining firmly in place and offering additional healthy options, and we’ve analyzed and evaluated the way we assess student work and the kind of work we ask our students to produce.  

The kind of analysis and implementation necessary to make those kinds of initiatives work doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it involves many minds and being disposed to listen to many, and sometimes, competing perspectives. Understanding that each person who has helped to prepare the foundations for next year and the years to come has done so knowing that the benefits of the many hours in committee meetings and in finding compromises won’t be immediately apparent. We prepare the ground, cultivate seedlings, and make sure each plant has the opportunity to benefit to the fullest of its potential, but we have to be patient, thoughtful and diligent to ensure we’ve done all we can to ensure success.

Preparing the ground is tough and the rewards are usually not apparent until much later, but it’s the day-to-day attention to the plan, and everything that’s necessary to provide the proper conditions for future growth that makes the difference. This important work isn’t nearly as rewarding as watering a newly effulgent flowerbed and picking the first ripe tomato, but without it, our plants wither and struggle to survive.

Excellent gardens have a thoughtful mix of perennials and annuals; anchors and pillars that frame and provide stability, and those that are temporary and provide needed color and texture that change depending on current conditions or necessities. We rely on the perennials to keep our framework strong and our ability to plant annuals is linked directly to our understanding about whether they are appropriately placed and actually fit appropriately within the structure established over many years of cultivation.

Perennials in our school are things like our commitment to daily chapel and the importance of a strong academic program. Our Episcopal identity is anchored in the promotion of faith and reason. Here, in this chapel, we pause to reflect and think about those things that bind us together; in here, we are inspired to do things that make our world better and make our community stronger; in class, we strive to understand complexity, learn to become responsible for our own work, and we think creatively in order to understand our world and to make a difference. Annuals, on the other hand, are the kinds of courses we offer and our daily schedules. We make changes to these, year in and year out to meet the needs of our ever-changing society. We adjust our program and the way we divide our day to make sure the skills and knowledge we promote are those that colleges, universities, and our communities demand from our graduates.

Our perennial mission is to educate, each of our students, in mind, body, and spirit so that they are prepared to and have the desire to make a difference in their world. As we tend to our mission, we’ll evaluate what kinds of annuals will highlight and promote that mission to the best of our ability. Not all of the annuals we’ll plant will survive – we’ll remember not to choose those again as we make plans for the next year. But some will, and we’ll remember those as well. Obviously, the choices we’ll make won’t please everyone, but we’ll make these choices with the very best intentions: to ensure that our mission remains strong and dedicated to the most important work there is.