Greetings GreenMount Community,
Today, at
our Morning Meeting, I asked the students the significance of the number
twenty-four. I received several unexpected
answers, such as, “It’s the reverse of 42,” which has some astrological
significance that I did not understand.
Someone else contributed, “May the 4th be with you,” which
was interesting, but not exactly what I was looking for. A student did mention that he thought it was
the number of days left in the school year.
Indeed, that is true and the topic of my discussion with them.
There are
certain phenomena which occur in schools every year. In 44 years at this education business, I can
tell you that in a typical school year the teachers and students go through
several cycles, which result in, shall we say, personality
reconfigurations. Every year, for
example, at least one teacher comes to me in September to say that the students
she/he has in the class “don’t know anything!”
Of course, that’s not true. They
know just what they are supposed to know based on their entry to the next
grade. The problem is that the teacher
has just left her/his “end product” – students who are producing just what they
should produce at the end of the
year. This then becomes a testament to
what great things are accomplished in 170 days.
The end of the year brings with it
several of the “reconfigurations” I mentioned.
The kids and the teachers are
looking forward to the summer while trying to complete everything, including
all parts of the curriculum, preparing for the last theme event, and concluding
projects. This year is especially
frantic as we continue to embark on many field trips associated with the
Baltimore theme. So, I spoke to the
teachers and students about the need for all of us to be patient with one
another during these last 24 days.
Tensions can run high and students can make poor choices. Adults can also add to the mix with their
choices and some frustration as they attempt to get everything done. Let’s all relax, have fun with the remaining
days and look forward to a summer during which we sharpen the saw in
preparation for another successful year at GMS.
Finally, I
am pleased to announce to you that we have hired an additional full-time
teacher to handle much of the language arts instruction, especially for our
middle school students. I am
purposefully vague about “much of the language arts instruction” as we are
still working on the schedule, which will determine her full assignment. Our
new teacher, Allison Fistere, has a master's degree in secondary English
education. She has been teaching since
2004 and continues to grow as a student herself as she is taking coursework in
AP Language and Composition at Goucher College.
She also has taken coursework in special education and writing workshops
at St John’s College. Allison will be a
great addition to our staff.
Deliberately seek
opportunities for kindness, sympathy and patience.
Evelyn Underhill
Cheers,
Steve
