Jane's Pocket Change: The Work Ahead
There are many strands that come together as school begins each year, and part of our job as teachers and administrators is to weave these strands together in a way that makes sense for CSW as an institution.
There are many strands that come together as school begins each year, and part of our job as teachers and administrators is to weave these strands together in a way that makes sense for CSW as an institution.
For me this year, a major strand for us to continue to weave in is the deepening of our knowledge and understanding of diversity and inclusion. While this thread isn’t new to CSW – it’s a fundamental tenet of who we are and what we do – it is particularly on my mind since I attended the Diversity Directions workshop in early July at the Brooks School. During the workshop we referred to this focus on diversity and inclusion as "the work." This seems right to me.
The work at CSW of building a strong, resilient community -- a very particular kind of community that commits to always looking at real world issues -- is our work and the work of progressive education. At our opening faculty-staff meetings this week, I asked us to consider and remember two particular real world events that our students were presented with over the summer: the confederate flag coming down in South Carolina; President Obama singing “Amazing Grace.”
Both events were meaningful, powerful and even beautiful. Both occurred because nine innocent people were gunned down while at prayer. How do we as individuals and as a community make sense of the act of violence that precipitated these two events and how do we continue to build a school where difficult, real world issues may be processed in a meaningful way?
In his eulogy for the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the people killed by the gunman in Charleston in June, President Obama made grace in the face of violence a central theme: the grace that family members of the shooting victims embodied in the forgiveness they expressed toward the killer; the grace that the city of Charleston and the state of South Carolina manifested in coming together in the wake of the massacre; the grace God bestowed in transforming a tragedy into an occasion for renewal, sorrow into hope.
The work -- our work -- ahead as a school community remains complex in the face of a multitude of difficult and competing world issues and problems. As we enter this school year and renew our adult commitment to the work we do, what I know is this: we have a remarkable faculty and staff who love what they do and who are committed to struggling together with our students to take on the challenge of these, and so many other, real world issues, as we continue to build a diverse and inclusive CSW. I also know that this work will require grace.
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Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.
For me this year, a major strand for us to continue to weave in is the deepening of our knowledge and understanding of diversity and inclusion. While this thread isn’t new to CSW – it’s a fundamental tenet of who we are and what we do – it is particularly on my mind since I attended the Diversity Directions workshop in early July at the Brooks School. During the workshop we referred to this focus on diversity and inclusion as "the work." This seems right to me.
The work at CSW of building a strong, resilient community -- a very particular kind of community that commits to always looking at real world issues -- is our work and the work of progressive education. At our opening faculty-staff meetings this week, I asked us to consider and remember two particular real world events that our students were presented with over the summer: the confederate flag coming down in South Carolina; President Obama singing “Amazing Grace.”
Both events were meaningful, powerful and even beautiful. Both occurred because nine innocent people were gunned down while at prayer. How do we as individuals and as a community make sense of the act of violence that precipitated these two events and how do we continue to build a school where difficult, real world issues may be processed in a meaningful way?
In his eulogy for the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the people killed by the gunman in Charleston in June, President Obama made grace in the face of violence a central theme: the grace that family members of the shooting victims embodied in the forgiveness they expressed toward the killer; the grace that the city of Charleston and the state of South Carolina manifested in coming together in the wake of the massacre; the grace God bestowed in transforming a tragedy into an occasion for renewal, sorrow into hope.
The work -- our work -- ahead as a school community remains complex in the face of a multitude of difficult and competing world issues and problems. As we enter this school year and renew our adult commitment to the work we do, what I know is this: we have a remarkable faculty and staff who love what they do and who are committed to struggling together with our students to take on the challenge of these, and so many other, real world issues, as we continue to build a diverse and inclusive CSW. I also know that this work will require grace.
____________________________________________________
Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.
The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.