Lise's Lens: December 7, 2023
This week I am reading about the 2024 color of the year, contemplating coursework from my Haiti class, and getting ready to watch our basketball players in the Gryphon Goblet tournament this weekend! Don't forget to wear blue and gold tomorrow (Friday).
WHAT I’M READING
- Pantone has announced their Color of the Year for 2024. That’s right — it’s time to say goodbye to Viva Magenta and usher in the era of Peach Fuzz. Does this annual designation really have any meaning? Probably not, but I found the thinking behind the color-matching company’s choice for this upcoming year to be timely and thoughtful. “From the warm colors of a sunrise or sunset to the coziness of a fuzzy blanket, the color affirms moments of internal tranquility with the deep need for community, gathering, and connection,” the executive director explains. Regardless of what you think of the color, it’s a nice message. What are your thoughts on this choice?
WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
- One of the readings this week for the course I’m team teaching is an article entitled “Why Caribbean History Matters” by Lillian Guerra (March 1, 2014). First, I admire her capacity to put so much history and analysis in three pages. Second, the points and questions she brings up are so important and continue to be crucial to our understanding of the past and the present and our planning for a more just world. I recommend reading it. To give you a tease, here are two quotes that stood out to me to share.The first was her comment about a surgeon who went to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and made comments and judgments about what he experienced there: “This otherwise liberal-leaning physician’s inability to grasp the reality of Haiti was matched only by his lack of reflection on how the Caribbean’s history shape his own position in society. We who live in the US — regardless of our class or our color — enjoy a wide array of historically accumulated advantages that Haitians and other people of the Caribbean do not.”She ends the article with the following: “Knowing about injustice often means doing something to change it, and so, more often than not, people decide they would rather not know. Ignorance continues to be the benefit and the bliss of privilege.”
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
- This week I will be watching our varsity basketball teams compete in The Gryphon Goblet Basketball tournament. This is the second year we will be hosting this exciting tournament and I hope to see many of you in the stands cheering on our players! What a pleasure to be able to host this event in our beautiful Fit. Don’t forget to wear your blue and gold CSW gear on Friday!
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
I was thrilled to be able to stop by the Library’s read-a-thon on Saturday. After they were done reading, students were able to select from an array of custom-made bookmarks. How fun! Many thanks to Jenna and Sharon in the Library for organizing this wonderful event.
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.