Re-entry
The beginnings of a new school year are apparent once again as teachers, new and returning, reappear at CSW. These first few days, preparing for opening days, are always exciting and rewarding. This year, all adults who work at CSW will participate in a day-long series of activities designed to build community and introduce new staff and faculty to the school.
As for me, well, I am lingering over a last couple of books before I embark on the all-school read There Are No Children Here. I just finished Let the Great World Spin (thanks to Paige Williar, Dakota McHenry '12’s mother, for recommending it). This was definitely my standout book of the summer, an absolutely memorable read – compelling, poignant, with the beauty of the writing at times so intense that it inspired deep emotion.
My current read, The World in Six Songs, thanks to Greg Moody, our director of communications, seems to be a perfect bridge to this re-entry. Daniel Levitin writes about the musical brain and how it created human nature. He develops a structure of six songs, each focusing on a type of emotion and explains how music enhances, guides and affects our development as humans. His fundamental premise is that ultimately, what separates us as humans from other primates is the centrality of art in our lives. Our drive to make art is vital to what it means to be human. Pretty wonderful that CSW's belief in the importance of creative thought is about as fundamental as it gets.
Got to go, books to be read. Talk soon.
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Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.
