Lessons

Lately, Dr. Dienes has been teaching our 7th Grade history class about life in Colonial America.  As part of the unit, the class made soap by hand from animal fat and they made bees wax candles, with the tutelage and assistance of Ms. Marklin.  As is generally the case at The Beech Hill School, our students love the chance to actively learn.  I had the good fortune of observing some of these classes, and every student was fully engaged.

As part of this unit, Ms. Marklin’s father  - a candle maker and beekeeper – came by campus with a hive of bees.  Again, the students watched in awe as he handled the hives, showed them the bee’s wax and the honey.  They eagerly stuck their fingers into the warm honeycomb to taste the fresh raw honey.

If you ask the students, they would all tell you how cool this was and how much they liked making the soap and candles and handling the bees.  In my opinion, however, the best part of the unit occurred while the students were making the candles.  One of the students observed how long it took just to make one candle.  Then the other said, yeah, and then they had to make the soap, too.  One by one they all started to realize how hard colonial life was and how much we take for granted in our modern world.

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, I am so thankful to have dedicated and creative teachers, like Dr. Dienes, that allow our students to engage, observe, and discover. 

Takeoff

I lived in Philadelphia for seven years and loved it.  So, when I saw that Rocky was on the other day, I could not help but watch it.  I was especially excited to see the scene when Rocky triumphantly ran through the city and bound victoriously up the Art Museum steps.  This had to have been nearly the hundredth time that I watched this film, so I was not expecting to be struck by something new or different.  Of course, I was.

Soon after Rocky agrees to fight Apollo Creed, he is confronted in his South Philly apartment by Micky, and at that moment, Rocky begins his ascent from journeyman boxer and mafia muscle to heavyweight champion of the world.  The next scene is one of the famous city jogging scenes, but unlike the triumphant bounds up the Art Museum stairs, Rocky is laboring and his anguish shows in his face and his every stride.

This scene had never really impacted me, but this time, I was struck by the way that this scene depicts the pain it takes to make a change.  While we all aspire to jump in the air triumphantly, as Rocky eventually does after working extremely hard – and believe me, everyday hundreds of people, myself and my family included, recreate that scene on those steps.  I would guess that the first scene, of simply getting out and going, should be the real triumph.  Few people publicly mimic Rocky lumbering up the steps and wincing from a side stitch, but that is the hardest part to overcome.

At The Beech Hill School, we hold an all-school road race twice a year.  We just held our fall race this past week.  For me, I was wincing in pain throughout, as I have been nursing a sore glut for several weeks.  Many of the students too, could have done better.  And that is why we run twice – so that we can set a goal of improvement and work steadily toward it in the spring race.

Whether running, training for a heavy weight boxing match, or simply trying to understand how to divide fractions, one must start somewhere.  Getting out there – engaging – is the real work of a champion!

The Little Things

Last week I was touring colleges with my son, and we visited a school that had a thing called a “Speaking Tradition.”  Simply, there is a tradition that people will say hello to one another as they walk about the campus.  We walked about the campus quite a bit throughout the weekend, and it was not just some tour guide chatter, students were not buried in their phones or gazing at their shoes, they would greet others – almost always by making eye-contact, and with a smile.  It may not be a grand gesture, but it was enough to make clear that this college valued community.

Whenever I experience something I really appreciate at a different institution, I always try to imagine how I can implement something similar in a way that fits BHS.  While our campus is far too small to implement something like a “speaking tradition,” we can always try to be aware of how the small things really matter.  Things like holding doors, saying please and thank you – in other words, consistent, authentic gestures of thoughtfulness go a long way in making a community truly inviting and inclusive.

I shared this idea with the community this past Friday morning.  To help make my idea stick, I brought a 50 pack of Dunkin’s Munchkins in, and following Community, I let students take one – just one.  I asked them to consider how nice it was to get just that little taste of sweetness.  I asked them to consider that every time that they do little things like holding a door or saying hello, they are providing just a little bit of sweetness in the lives of others – like the little joy of a munchkin.

Not a single student asked if they could have more, and after they made their way to class there were a handful of munchkins left in the box. Several thanked me, and I watched as kids held the door.  I know that The Beech Hill School is a very kind and warm community – hopefully as we continue to work being consistently thoughtful, we too will have a community that others will emulate.

Humanities Now

In the last decade or more, there has been a great push for increased attention to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education.  At BHS, we have addressed this in a number of ways, from MathCounts and Robotics to Invention Convention and a variety of other programs.  While STEM education is very important, it is troubling to learn that there has been a decline in the number of students that are studying humanities.  A recent Wall Street Journal indicated that since 2012, there has been an almost 30% drop in students graduating college with concentrations in humanities.

The efforts to understand our shared humanity is very difficult and often hard to quantify, unlike much of what is studied in STEM fields.  While focusing on the humanities may not seem as practical as STEM, moral leaders and those that strive to help us understand the world in which we live are in short supply.  In the past week, the world has been repulsed by the savagery of terrorism, and too often we are left asking, how can this be.  Through the humanities, we can try to get at this.  Studying history, reading literature, developing, and debating ethics are as important as they have ever been.

At The Beech Hill School, we strive “to develop intellectually curious and capable young adults who will become contributing citizens and informed decision-makers.”  If we are to live up to this vision; it is critical that our future leaders are not only challenged by unique programs in STEM fields, but that they delve into the messy work that is understanding our shared humanity.

Bueller....Bueller....

Last year, I essentially worked two jobs – three, if one counts being a parent.  But at The Beech Hill School, in addition to my responsibilities as Head of School, I taught social studies.  It was an amazing experience, but my day was very full, and I had little time to do anything that was not “critical.”  This year, however, The Beech Hill School is extremely fortunate to have a faculty full of incredible educators, so I can return to focus on my role as Head.  In the opening weeks of school, I have found the reclaimed time to be a great gift, and it has helped me to see how many parts of running a school may not be “critical,” but are really important.

One thing that I have had the time to do again this year is to travel about the campus throughout the class day.  In my wanderings, I have witnessed so many great things, and have gained an even deeper appreciation of just how remarkable the opportunities are for the students at BHS. In just one week, I have witnessed: students gather pond water and discover the microscopic life in it; Dr. Dienes, dressed in full Victorian garb, create timelines with her students about the Victorian Era; 5th Grade students interact and care for their new class pet, a lion’s mane rabbit they named “Fuzzball;” students gather for Mr. Arruda’s movie night,  the student body successfully climb Mt. Major, students in Ms. Fries math class successfully solve the problem of the day before I could; and so much more.  I could write for hours about what I have witnessed in just one week at BHS. 

When I was in 7th Grade, I vividly recall going to the movies with friends to see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  In that movie, Ferris breaks the 4th wall to tell the audience, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”  I am so fortunate to have the chance to look around at BHS this year, because there is just so much great happening and it should not be missed!