Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 26, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 26, 2011.

 

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            This morning, at our Monday Morning Meeting, I talked to the students about being active listeners and engaged learners, which are numbers 3 and 4, respectively, under our Academic Pillars.  I received some good responses and even though it was Monday morning, they were, in fact, being active listeners.  Some students defined active listening as using your mind to think about what you are hearing.  Another student mentioned that to demonstrate active listening you should be quiet and make eye contact with the speaker.  Still another student pointed out that active listening is also showing respect.  These excellent comments came from students at all levels from kindergarten to middle school.  I was very proud of how they are developing these core learning behaviors.

            When talking about engaged learning, several students gave examples of when they have felt engaged and interested in what they were learning.  Teachers also chimed in with examples of times when they saw children engaged.  It was a very good 10-minute meeting.

            Somewhat apropos of this is an interesting article that a parent sent to me this morning.  It is based on research that was done comparing the achievement of students in a very exclusive private school to that of students from low-income families.  I will need to read this again for more detail, but the result of the research was that, while the “rich kids” did well academically and got into great schools, they often floundered and ended up dropping out, whereas the “poor kids” who got to college had a much better shot at graduating.  Though surprising, it is understandable when you realize that those low-income families really had to work hard and persevere in order to get their children into college in the first place.  The research showed that while the private school kids had a great deal of support, it was that enabling that may have led them to crash the first time they had to survive on their own.  The students from the low-income families knew what it meant to work hard and overcome obstacles so that when they faced them in college, they were able to handle them. According to the researchers, all of this exemplifies the importance of character. Students with strong character will live happier, more productive lives and be able to handle those problems that life throws at us from time to time.

So where does GreenMount fit into this scheme of things?  We are very diverse, with families of many income levels and a school where we value many of the character traits that lead our students to become independent learners.  We focus on many of the character traits mentioned in the article through our Pillars.  It is good to know that in many ways we are teaching our students that to struggle and fail occasionally (and what to do next) is going to help them as they become more and more independent people.  It will also be a good idea for us to keep the idea of character education, as we have and to perhaps use some of the ideas from the article to enrich our efforts.

            My thanks to parents who share their ideas and research as we continue to find ways to make our program at GMS better each day.

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.” - Alan Simpson

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 19, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 19, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            There must be a high-pressure system over us today.  Students, parents, AND teachers were just shuffling in as we began the day among many yawns and sighs. And this is our first full week of school!  Later, however, I visited every classroom, and things are chugging along quite nicely.

            Also this morning, I had a good discussion about excellence with the students at the Monday Morning Meeting.  We talked about the first bulleted item under the Academic Pillar, which states, “put forth my best effort.”  How many times have we, as teachers and parents, told our children to “do your best” and “try to do your best”?  What does that mean?  As adults, we understand that if kids or adults give something their best effort, it is likely that they will be successful.  Just like many of you have reached some pinnacle of success, you can look back and see that the success is based largely on the effort – the time and energy you put into your goals that led to success.  But was it simply a matter of doing your best, or was it more than that?  At some point, did you realize that your work had to be more than just a result of your best effort?  Did your best effort result in excellence? 

            Today, we talked about the fact that sometimes we call our work our best effort just to be done with it and move on to the next thing.  Sometimes, our “best effort” is simply just getting things done.  The students admitted that, sometimes, something they acknowledged as their best effort may not have actually been excellent.  Then the conversation led to a discussion of what it means to have done excellent work.  One student said that excellent work shows that you are committed; that you are determined to “do your best.” Another said that excellent work demonstrates that you care about what you do.  Ms. Elaine added that excellent work requires many revisions as she described her attempts to draw the Lorax, a favorite Dr. Seuss character.  The analogy was a good one because her final product, not yet completed to her satisfaction, will show a commitment to getting it right and her caring for producing something that is excellent.

            So, how are our students to be led to think consistently about creating excellent work?  First, they need the vocabulary to understand what we are talking about and then they need the tools to do the job.  Parents built an excellent deck for our learning cottage.  They were committed to quality, cared about the final product, and were willing to do things over until they reached their goal.  Our staff is working to develop the language of excellence that we all can speak.  Today, that language came from the students.  Let’s all talk about being committed to quality work.  Let’s all talk about caring about that which we produce. And let’s all be willing to refine our work until it is indeed excellent.  If parents and teachers are all speaking the same language, and if we are all providing our students with the tools they need, excellence will become the standard that is not just a word, but an ethic.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” - Mario Andretti

“Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.” - Benjamin Franklin

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 12, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 12, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            In last week’s message, I mentioned the book that our staff read, An Ethic of Excellence Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger.  It occurred to me that it might be very interesting if some parents also read the book and then came together at school to discuss it.  Our staff discussions are very engaging and the ideas are flying around.  I think it would be helpful if parents had the opportunity to join the conversation as well.  We have so many knowledgeable parents, some of whom are educators themselves, who could add to our process as we unfold the ideas presented in the book.  Additionally, as this is the fifth year of our current vision document, it is time to revisit that vision to see if we are on course.  So, let me know if you are interested, and I will arrange some times at school when we can get together to have a “book talk” and possibly contribute significantly to the direction of the school.

            One of the things that Ron Berger discusses in his book is the idea of creating a culture of craftsmanship.  In his small school, children work and rework projects and other assignments until they are considered excellent (by the student) and worthy of publication or display.  When you were in school and your teacher asked you to try again and to do another draft of a piece of writing, what did that mean to you?  It usually meant that your first draft wasn’t good enough.  And how did you feel about that?  In Berger’s school, the culture of craftsmanship is part of every student’s mind set. There is no such thing as a second draft; they know and accept the fact that their first draft will need revision.  In fact, they expect to have four or more drafts before their work is excellent.  And what happens in between drafts is learning – learning by critique, not only from the teacher, but from classmates as well. I thought about that and realized that in my writing, I often have three or four drafts.  Even a two-line email gets at least two reads before I hit “send.”  Of course, sometimes there are still mistakes, which is why it is important to have another set of eyes review correspondence that is especially important.  The administrative staff does this for each other often.  So, consider joining us as we explore the ways to create this culture in our school, a place where I believe we are already leaps and bounds ahead of the conventional thinking about excellence.

            Speaking of excellence, I will say that most of our teachers are well beyond their first draft as professionals.  However, we all know that each of us needs to improve.  Some say that there is nothing new under the sun in education.  I say that teaching and learning is always new and exciting.  If we are to continue to create learners at GMS, we must grow with them as adult learners, reading books, trying new ideas, and using research and outside resources to improve our craft.  As we work to build a culture of craftsmanship with students, we will do the same as educators.  I’m so excited about this year!

“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 6, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 6, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            WELCOME BACK!  This morning, our families finally returned from what I hope was a productive and enjoyable summer vacation.  It was great to see the students all cleaned up and eager to begin a new year.  It felt good for me to be out there in the gated area listening to the excitement, watching kids reunite and laugh.  A school is but a hollow shell without children, and now we feel fulfilled as 100 students flow into the building and we anticipate that this will be one of GreenMount’s best years ever.

            The summer has been busy as many of you know firsthand.  The learning cottage is up and running with all the appropriate approvals and permits hanging on the window.  It was at times an arduous task to get this building ready for students, but with the help of many parents and our dedicated staff, we are ready to begin the year.  As late as yesterday, staff members and parents were here putting the final touches on classrooms so that students would feel welcomed and happy to be back.  We are certainly happy to see them.

            This year is going to be a year of change and polishing.  All of you have chosen to bring your children here because of our philosophy and the community of learners that GMS fosters.  And to date we have done well creating a love of learning and that inquisitive spirit that our students typically have.  This year, we are focusing our efforts on excellence.  Our school is at that point where an organization can become an institution, where ideas and ideals are shared in an unspoken understanding of who we are and what we believe.  The staff summer reading was a book called An Ethic of Excellence Building a Culture ofCraftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger.  Our summer staff development and all subsequent staff development for the year will be based on this book.  We will also be sharing many of the ideas in the book with the students to create an understanding and a quest for excellence.  The author explains through his experiences as a teacher in a small town in Massachusetts how he was able to create a culture in the school where students are never satisfied until they feel that they have created an excellent product in their work.  Our goal this year will be to create that spirit at GMS and to have our students understand the value of excellent work.

            The good news is that at GMS we already have much of this ethic in place.  This is why we chose to use this book as a way of improving our program for all of our students.  I encourage you to purchase a copy of the book so that you too can understand our direction and contribute to it.  I will be informing you weekly through this newsletter of our progress as well as more specific ideas from the book about which teachers are excited.

            The next time you visit my office, please notice the picture of the eagle hanging as it has for the last five years.  You may have seen the picture, but did you read the words?

E X C E L L E N C E

“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise; risking more than others think is safe.  Dreaming more than others practical and expecting more than others think is possible”

“Excellent!”  -  Wayne

Cheers,

Steve