Lise's Lens: September 17, 2026
This week I reflect on one of the summer’s most popular reads, the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, and a video about the impacts of rising sea levels on coastal homeowners.
WHAT I'M READING
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
There are a few books that it seems EVERYONE read this past summer. In the end, I succumbed to reading two of them, one of which was The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I am someone who processes her thoughts and ideas by putting pen to paper, and I do my best thinking and writing in the early hours of the day, so I was quickly able to relate to the protagonist, Sybil Van Antwerp. I also love to write and receive letters. So, I guess what I’m saying is, don’t be surprised to find me in my 70s, writing away to all sorts of folks. Another thing I liked about the book is that it takes place in the Baltimore area, where I lived for almost 30 years. It was an added bit of fun for me to be able to identify the places Sybil references. Overall, it was a solid summer read.
WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT
The 25th Anniversary of 9/11
I’ve been thinking about the 25th Anniversary of 9/11 and the many memorials that took place last week. It is truly staggering to consider that 25 years have already passed since that horrible day. I’m pretty sure we can all remember exactly where we were when we found out what happened. I was in a stairwell at the Friends School of Baltimore, going about my day, and wondering why school leadership was so frantic. The scope and impact of the tragedy was so vast, it was almost unbelievable. I couldn’t make sense of it. Anniversaries like this one compel us to look back and observe just how pivotal that moment was. Everything changed after that day, and it was never quite the same again. For today's students, that tragic day is a chapter in a textbook rather than a world-shifting shock. By sharing our lived memories, we help young people understand the world they inherited while showing them how resilience, empathy, and community carry us through seismic shifts.
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
Of course, by now we all know about rising sea levels and the dramatic shifts in landscape that occur because of it. But I thought this video from NPR about houses that are falling into the ocean did a great job of illustrating the reality of what is happening. As the video explains, coastal towns that were once losing a few inches per year are now losing feet, a change that can be hard to visualize, but the photos and videos show the full story. The video also does a great job illustrating the flaws of the insurance system, which actually incentivises homeowners to let their homes and possessions literally fall into the ocean, which is obviously an environmental hazard. It’s mind-boggling!
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
The Fall Athletics season is officially underway, and it has been a blast to watch our student-athletes in action! Here’s a recent pic from an exciting volleyball match. Be sure to save the date for the first annual Pumpkin Spike Volleyball Tournament here at CSW on October 23 and 24!
CSW — a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12 and PG — is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.