Greetings, GreenMount Community,
On
Thursday evening, we will present our first theme event for the year, We All Come from Somewhere. The purpose of this theme has been for
students to investigate and understand that our country - or any country, for
that matter - is made up of people from many different backgrounds. Consequently, we feel that our students now
have a greater appreciation for the valuable role that diversity plays in the
success of a country, a state, and even a small organization like The
GreenMount School. We feel that it is
important for students to have a global view of the world and to value the
contributions of each individual or group.
This is part of who we are as stated in our philosophy: “Students develop academic, behavioral, and
personal skills that enable them to thrive in different environments.”
At
the AIMS conference last week, heads of school listened to Ron Goldblatt,
Executive Director, as he presented data that shows the decline in enrollment
in independent schools since 2006 (a dilemma that we are not
experiencing). His point was to connect
the economic downturn to this change in families choosing an independent school
education. He and his audience discussed
ways to create a resurgence of enrollment in spite of the economic woes that
will be with us for some time, it seems.
I spoke with him
later and offered a different perspective – the GreenMount perspective. I told him about Grandparents and Special
Friends’ Day. When I meet with the
grandparents that morning, I will be focused on the difference between the
education they received and that which is needed today. The teachers those grandparents had probably
had some idea of what their future might look like in 15 or even 20 years. Indeed, when I was in high school, it was
common for kids in Baltimore to go to work at Beth Steel right after graduation
(or before), and have a good paying job, a pension and a small, paid-for house
with a front porch on which we could rock away in retirement. This is not the case with our kids
today. The fact is, we have no idea what
20, 15, or even five years from now will look like. Paradigm shifts are occurring so quickly now
that to predict the future our kids will face is nearly impossible. Scary, isn’t it?
So, I told Ron
that the draw that independent schools could have is that we allow students the
“time and space to learn,” to delve deeply into subjects that increase our
understandings. A school like GreenMount
prepares students for that uncertain future by making them independent learners
who are creative, confident and capable.
All those projects, experiments, discussions and debates prepare our
kids to be able to adapt to any situation.
This has been proven true on many occasions as our students are hailed
as leaders and learners by the high schools they attend. A phrase we have heard many times is, “Oh,
you’re from GreenMount? We love your
kids!”
So, let’s
celebrate the fact that our students are finding ways to “survive” in this
unknown world we face. They will be the
leaders, the inventors, and the solution.
Happy Veterans’ Day
Cheers,
Steve
