January 28, 2010: From the Desk of the Headmaster…

Experientia docet – Experience teaches.

January is aptly named. Nothing strange about this; the Romans used metaphors fairly well. The etymology of the first month of the calendar year is based on the name of the Roman god of gates and doorways, Ianus – Janus in later Latin. Ianus is often depicted as a god with two faces, looking in opposite direction. The symbolism is appropriate in that as the first month of the new year, we can clearly see what the previous year held and look forward to what the new year may bring. For me, January inherently is an optimistic month. Within its lunar cycle, we can experience the increasing length of daylight hours, confirmation that spring is indeed on the horizon.

With this in mind, I think that January is a good month in which to reflect and to learn from previous experience, to reevaluate goals, and to grow. For students it is essential that they reflect on their achievements and challenges in order to keep the wheel of adolescence moving forward toward adulthood. And there is much upon which to reflect: a full half-year’s worth of academic and social opportunities. Given the mercurial nature of young students, at least some of these opportunities have been challenges that are beginning to shape who they are and who they will become.

There has been some talk about the exams recently. This is normal. However, it is important to remember that exams at MHS are an exercise in the process of preparation as much as they are an assessment of retained knowledge. We know that our students become, over time, comfortable in the testing environment, and thus best able to represent their knowledge and achievements on written assessments. Practice does lead to improvement.

In helping your child process the results of the exams, I recommend approaching the matter from a position of strength and optimism. Examine what went well and what needs improvement. First, focus on the areas in which your child did well. There are many. Ask probing questions about how they approached those segments, e.g., “How did you prepare for the multiple choice? You did so well there.” Get them to analyze, as much as they can, their successes.

Then look at areas that require further work or a change in approach. Ask questions, again, “The essays proved a bit challenging. What did your teacher say about how to approach these on the finals?” The key here is to model externally the internal thought processes they should engage in as they learn to assess their own work. Again, over time, they will do this naturally. The faculty has been working with the kids on these and other questions. Many have engaged in error analysis already. The advisors are ready to help students debrief the experience, also. It is traditionally at this time that advisors will reexamine goals with their advisees to make adjustments as we head into the second half of the academic year.

From the vantage point of January, we can see how much our students have accomplished and what more there is to do. With a new year and new goals, we continue to grow and learn happily. As always, if you have a question or comment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

November 20, 2009: From the Desk of the Headmaster…

I just returned from one of the best -spent hours I have had all week. This is often the case, by the way, when time is spent with students, no matter the purpose. In this instance, I was kindly invited to join the seventh grade and their class advisor, Ms. Whitman on their first trip to the Jerome Home in New Britain. What I was witness to illustrates the selflessness and spirit of giving that has become a hallmark of Mooreland Hill students.

This year the faculty and I decided that each class should determine for itself what community service activity they wanted to engage in. The plan was to allow our students to choose projects with attainable goals that are meaningful to them. As one might imagine, these projects are both age-appropriate and become ever more sophisticated, as students move through the grades. Activities can range from fundraising to commitments of time for a particular cause.

In the case of the seventh grade, the class advisors met with the class and began the discussion of service projects. From among several ideas, the class decided upon visiting the Jerome Home to work with elderly residents. Once the decision was made, Ms. Whitman initiated contact with the facility and worked out the details of the first visit. On the short ride from school, a few students expressed anxiety about the initial meeting, but all were enthusiastic and committed to making the visit a successful one.

I have come to expect much of our students because, in fact, they have much to give. They listened intently to the orientation and instructions. Each paired up with a resident and work on a craft project. I watched mesmerized at how easily they introduced themselves and engaged in conversation. Within minutes, genuine conversations were taking place, and everyone was busy talking and working together. Our time with our new friends came to an end after about an hour.

The ride home was filled with conversations about their experiences. These were interspersed with quick jokes and questions about what was for lunch. They were preparing for their reentry into school, easily making the transition back to the routine. It is during these forays, however, that we can find the real measure of growth in our students.

October 9, 2009: From the desk of the Headmaster…

There was an interesting article in the health section of the New York Times this week about how the brain reacts when confronted by an experience that defies logic and expectations. Apparently, the brain looks to match the new experience with previous ones in an effort to predict responses and potential outcomes. When this is not possible, the mind becomes confused and maybe disoriented. The article goes on to say that this may actually be positive and healthy. In these situations, our brains begin to look for analogues; in short, it tries to incorporate this new experience into the body of knowledge and memory in a meaningful way, to make it familiar.

You can imagine the implications for learning. A little discomfort and unease in the classroom is not necessarily a bad thing. “Sitting on the edge of your seat” can lead to more focus and a drive to understand than being at ease and comfortable, which implies that one already knows the material and can predict the outcome.  Active minds are always more engaged.

In the last week, I have had visits from seven secondary school representatives. It is a great opportunity to learn about each other’s schools. After touring these people around campus, I became accustomed to hearing how happy and genuine our kids are. The natural thing is to take this for granted: the comment being simply a nice platitude. Yet, when nearly all of them make this observation in the span of one week, it makes me wonder.

The last representative to visit embellished on this observation. The night before her visit while relaxing at her hotel with another school representative, her colleague, who had come to Mooreland earlier in the week, said that she found Mooreland students to be a surprisingly happy and active bunch. And now after her visit, she had come to the same conclusion.

Obviously, there is something about our students that is not easily identifiable elsewhere. Next week, I expect to see a few more secondary school admissions people on campus. I wonder what they will say?

New York Times Health, October 6, 2009, Mind: How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect.

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September 10, 2009: From the desk of the Headmaster…

“In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too; to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and future, which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line.” – H.D. Thoreau, Walden

Welcome to the Year of Living Deliberately! We stand in the present, here in September, finally. One week of school nearly done, we are beginning to find our routines and settling in for what will be a year of growth and discovery. Our school year is taking shape as is our student body. We have a new student in our seventh grade class who joined us on Thursday.

Ms. Whitman has already planned the first outdoor education activity for the sixth graders. On Friday, September 11, she, Lt. Gosselin and fellow Berlin Police Department officers will lead our students down the Mattabesett River from Cromwell to Middletown. Ms. Johnson will also accompany the class in the capacity of class advisor.

The purpose of the trip is many-fold. On the surface, it is a science field trip. It is also a trip designed to provide students the opportunity to work together and learn about teamwork. While thus engaged, students learn water safety procedures and gain experience with paddling techniques and maneuvering canoes. More information will be forthcoming from Ms. Whitman.

It has been a good first week, and I have enjoyed getting to know our new students and their families, as well as catching up with returning families. I also am looking forward to field hockey and soccer games in this beautiful autumn weather. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me at the school or stop in.

On Poetry

I have always struggled with poetry. It is not to say that I do not enjoy it; I do immensely. I struggle with its meaning and interpretation. I confess that I like the poems that transport me places in my imagination*, and I find meaningful those lines of verse that express emotions in words that I am not able to string together for myself.** I enjoy ideas and grappling with meaning and understanding; and poetry allows me to engage in thought and contemplation.

I believe poetry is constructed on many levels. A poem’s medium is language, and with the advent of large, national bookstores and the Internet, we have greater access to poetry collections than ever before, but primarily in its written form. Thus our understanding is shaped by our knowledge of language as a written medium.

Metaphors and similes aid in conveying understanding. Our knowledge of diction also determines how accessible a poem is, and, in many instances, our knowledge of words and usage is deliberately challenged when poets bend and stretch literary convention. John Ashbery’s Pulitzer Prize winning collection, Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975), does this. Ultimately, we rely on personal experience to make sense of what we read. This may not be enough. Luckily, a poem has one more chance at revealing itself – through its recitation.

It is in the verbal rendition that a poem offers itself up fully. The meaning of the words, the cadence, the emotion with which a poem is read allows us a three dimensional view of the work. And when a poem in its ultimate form takes on the qualities of that which the poet intends to convey, it transcends the concrete nature of black and white print to become its own abstract expression. Anyone who has heard Dylan Thomas’ reading of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night knows what I mean.†

April is Poetry Month, a good time to reacquaint ourselves with our favorite poems or to learn new ones. Please remember to mark April 30 on your calendars. Our Second Annual Poetry Recitations will give us all an opportunity to experience a wide variety of poems in their fullness. Listen for each student’s interpretation of the selected poems. I look forward to seeing you there and to listening to our students breathe life into mere words.

* One of my favorite “transportive” poems is by W.B. Yeats, The Lake Isle Of Innisfree.

I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

**The Roman Poet Catullus (84-54 bce) did this very well. Though at times he can write from the gutter, he also is able to express emotions with bold brush strokes with the subtlety of a fine brush in his poetry.

Carmen LXXXIV
Odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris.
nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.

I hate and love. Why I do so, perhaps you ask.
I know not, but I feel it, and I am tormented.

†The following is a link to the You Tube site for Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. It is transformative.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Dylan+Thomas&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=apXbSeT5BJPrlQfX6NCWCA&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=5&ct=title#