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
