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Life Lessons for the New School Year
I would like to share with you some thoughts on the life lessons I have re-learned during the past nine days and how I think those lessons apply to the school lives of young children.
As some of you may know, I got out of town in a hurry on Tuesday, September 10. My son, Colin, who is a sophomore at Rhode Island School of Design, was admitted that day to the Miriam Hospital in Providence and underwent emergency surgery for th removal of an abscessed appendix. During the anxious hours and days that followed, I had plenty of time to think. Here are four conclusions I have come to--and what I think they may mean to you as Lower School parents.
1. There is no more powerful force on earth than the love of a parent for a child. There was nothing--no time, no distance, no cost, no other earthly duty or obligation--that was going to keep me from getting to Colin that day. Everything else in my life faded to gray because,415 miles away, my son needed me.
What this means for you: I know and remember every day how deeply each Lower School child is loved by his or her parents. I think of that when I watch teachers interact with your children or when I interview candidates for teaching positions. I think of your love for your children when I watch them cross the street or play on the playground. I remember your love for them when I get your anxious phone call. I know how much you want to give them and I am determined to make their school experience the best it can possibly be.
2. People need and depend on one another. From the moment I learned of Colin's surgery, I needed help! Airline reservations, hotel reservations, rides to and from the airport, directions to the hospital, help in understanding what was likely to happen thereafter. Where is the all-night pharmacy? May I extend my hotel stay another two days? What does an elevated white blood cell count mean? Would you please excuse my son's absence from studio? Do you have any Pepto Bismol? Everywhere I turned and every time I asked, someone was there to help me. It is good for one's humility, I learned, to be dependent on other people for a while.
What this means for you: Teachers depend on parents for insights about children that only mothers and fathers can give. Parents depend on teachers for insights about their children as students in this school setting that only knowledgeable, perceptive educators can give. Children benefit most when parents and teachers recognize their dependence on one another and help each other toward the greatest understanding of each and every child.
3. Expertise plus extraordinary devotion equals excellence. During the past nine days, I met some exceptional human beings, many of whom I will never forget. There was Dr. A. Gaston Greenberg, chief of surgery at the Miriam Hospital, whose gifted hands restored my son to health. There was Nicole Adoum at the front desk of the Providence Marriott who remembered me by name and asked how Colin was doing each time she saw me. There was Celeste Perkins in the hospital cafeteria who set aside a serving of chicken noodle soup for me to pick up each evening before the cafeteria closed because that was all I wanted to eat. What set these people apart, what made them extraordinary, was not just their great skill at their work, but their love for it.
What this means for you: Your child has teachers just like this. The professionals you will spend time with tonight know what they are doing, and they do it with all their heart. Teaching young children can be demanding and difficult but teachers do it because they want to make a positive difference in the life of a child. Experience plus extraordinary devotion equals excellent teaching.
4. It is important--and it feels good--to say "thank you." I have thanked God repeatedly and fervently over the past several days for my son's successful surgery and on-schedule recovery. On the evening before Colin was to be discharged, I wrote a 12-page letter of gratitude to the president of Miriam Hospital for the care my son received and I used the names of as many hospital staff as I could remember. I followed that with a five-page letter to the general manager of the Providence Marriott, thanking him for the many kindnesses extended to me by his gracious staff. I returned to my office today and spent a good part of the day thanking my colleagues for their prayers, well wishes, and heartfelt expressions of concern. I haven't been able to stop saying "thank you."
What this means for you: Each year, Lower School parents volunteer and amazing amount of time and energy in support of our many programs, events, and activities. Thank you! Each year, Lower School parents encourage and express gratitude to the teachers and staff who work so hard on behalf of their children. Thank you! Each year, hundreds of parents entrust us with the education of the hearts, minds, and spirits of little people who are more important to them than life itself.
To close, I will quote Shakespeare and say, "I can no other answer make but thanks and thanks and ever thanks."
I would like to share with you some thoughts on the life lessons I have re-learned during the past nine days and how I think those lessons apply to the school lives of young children.
As some of you may know, I got out of town in a hurry on Tuesday, September 10. My son, Colin, who is a sophomore at Rhode Island School of Design, was admitted that day to the Miriam Hospital in Providence and underwent emergency surgery for th removal of an abscessed appendix. During the anxious hours and days that followed, I had plenty of time to think. Here are four conclusions I have come to--and what I think they may mean to you as Lower School parents.
1. There is no more powerful force on earth than the love of a parent for a child. There was nothing--no time, no distance, no cost, no other earthly duty or obligation--that was going to keep me from getting to Colin that day. Everything else in my life faded to gray because,415 miles away, my son needed me.
What this means for you: I know and remember every day how deeply each Lower School child is loved by his or her parents. I think of that when I watch teachers interact with your children or when I interview candidates for teaching positions. I think of your love for your children when I watch them cross the street or play on the playground. I remember your love for them when I get your anxious phone call. I know how much you want to give them and I am determined to make their school experience the best it can possibly be.
2. People need and depend on one another. From the moment I learned of Colin's surgery, I needed help! Airline reservations, hotel reservations, rides to and from the airport, directions to the hospital, help in understanding what was likely to happen thereafter. Where is the all-night pharmacy? May I extend my hotel stay another two days? What does an elevated white blood cell count mean? Would you please excuse my son's absence from studio? Do you have any Pepto Bismol? Everywhere I turned and every time I asked, someone was there to help me. It is good for one's humility, I learned, to be dependent on other people for a while.
What this means for you: Teachers depend on parents for insights about children that only mothers and fathers can give. Parents depend on teachers for insights about their children as students in this school setting that only knowledgeable, perceptive educators can give. Children benefit most when parents and teachers recognize their dependence on one another and help each other toward the greatest understanding of each and every child.
3. Expertise plus extraordinary devotion equals excellence. During the past nine days, I met some exceptional human beings, many of whom I will never forget. There was Dr. A. Gaston Greenberg, chief of surgery at the Miriam Hospital, whose gifted hands restored my son to health. There was Nicole Adoum at the front desk of the Providence Marriott who remembered me by name and asked how Colin was doing each time she saw me. There was Celeste Perkins in the hospital cafeteria who set aside a serving of chicken noodle soup for me to pick up each evening before the cafeteria closed because that was all I wanted to eat. What set these people apart, what made them extraordinary, was not just their great skill at their work, but their love for it.
What this means for you: Your child has teachers just like this. The professionals you will spend time with tonight know what they are doing, and they do it with all their heart. Teaching young children can be demanding and difficult but teachers do it because they want to make a positive difference in the life of a child. Experience plus extraordinary devotion equals excellent teaching.
4. It is important--and it feels good--to say "thank you." I have thanked God repeatedly and fervently over the past several days for my son's successful surgery and on-schedule recovery. On the evening before Colin was to be discharged, I wrote a 12-page letter of gratitude to the president of Miriam Hospital for the care my son received and I used the names of as many hospital staff as I could remember. I followed that with a five-page letter to the general manager of the Providence Marriott, thanking him for the many kindnesses extended to me by his gracious staff. I returned to my office today and spent a good part of the day thanking my colleagues for their prayers, well wishes, and heartfelt expressions of concern. I haven't been able to stop saying "thank you."
What this means for you: Each year, Lower School parents volunteer and amazing amount of time and energy in support of our many programs, events, and activities. Thank you! Each year, Lower School parents encourage and express gratitude to the teachers and staff who work so hard on behalf of their children. Thank you! Each year, hundreds of parents entrust us with the education of the hearts, minds, and spirits of little people who are more important to them than life itself.
To close, I will quote Shakespeare and say, "I can no other answer make but thanks and thanks and ever thanks."