Hello and happy 2017. I trust that all found time to relax and connect with friends and family during the Winter Break. We have had a smooth re-entry and the New Year seems to be off to a great start.
During my seventh grade classes yesterday I asked the students to think about New Year’s resolutions. [Tangentially, the practice of reflecting and making resolutions for the New Year is thousands of years old. Some articles found during my superficial search gave credit to the Babylonians. Other sites credited the Romans making promises to the two faced god Janus, for whom January was named, who had one face looking back and one looking forward. Either way, this is an old tradition.] The seventh graders were quite thoughtful and chose resolutions that were focused on essential parts of themselves and on important personal values. I was very impressed. Included in their resolutions were:
- “I want to acquire a new skill.”
- “I want to get out of my comfort zone.”
- “I want to take the extra step.”
- “I want to walk more.”
And, parents, you’ll be happy to hear:
- “I want to be nicer to my sister.”
- “I want to listen to my parents more.”
If the seventh graders are anything like yours truly, in the coming years they will have resolutions that are similar to those for 2017. This is not surprising because if we strive to foster and hone skills in areas that are essential, that define us, many will be the same each go-round. This is true, as well, for our work at LREI. As I made my professional resolutions, I found myself committing to hewing as closely as possible to the school’s heritage and mission as we move into our future.
Acknowledging the needs of our 21st Century world, I resolve to continue to work to “fit the school to the child,” as EI wrote almost 100 years ago. We will continue to support our outstanding faculty as they do what they do so well. We commit to creating community for our students as well as for their families, so that all members of the LREI community can learn and grow. And while there are a few additional more specific, get-the-job-done type of resolutions, a final big picture goal—we will continue to be what Elisabeth Irwin called her “experiment,” meaning that we will develop new and better ways to accomplish old and new tasks. We will, as all good scientists do, reflect on our process, our products, and on our original hypotheses, in order to learn and to achieve in an honest and forthright manner. Hard work, but worthwhile, and nothing we don’t ask of your children.