The Power of Moments

When I reflect on the traditions and experiences that bond our students as classmates and as members of our Bengal Nation at Greensboro Day School, I think of the many shared experiences that they have together. These range from the plays they are in beginning in the Lower School to being members of the student council, participating on teams, engaging in class projects and going on day and overnight trips together. I’m sure that there are many other shared experiences that take place on buses to games, during clubs and activities at parties and casual get togethers.

In their latest book, The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath extol the importance of creating memorable moments whether for children, customers, families, friends or partners.  In each case the intent is to find ways to design instances of joy that create great memories and lasting bonds.

I am intrigued with finding opportunities to create memorable moments which can draw families closer together during the holiday season. Fortunately, the Heath brothers have some great thoughts on how to do that. They describe the importance of thinking ahead about ways of making deeper, more meaningful connections with families and friends.

 A great way to begin thinking about creating memorable moments is to consider your own memorable experiences. As I reflect on special times with my family, one of the most memorable was a Christmas tradition designed by my parents. 

We usually celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with our cousins, and none of us could wait until dark and Santa’s arrival. My parents, aunts and uncles decided that in order for Santa to put gifts under the tree, all of my cousins and I would need to be out of the living room. My grandmother offered to read T’was the Night before Christmas to all her grandchildren in one of the back bedrooms of the house. This allowed our parents to put gifts from Santa under the tree and created an incredible tradition in our family.

Somehow, through a timing system I've never figured out, toward the end of my grandmother’s reading, we would hear the jingling of bells and our parents calling out to us,“Hurry up or you’ll miss Santa!” You can imagine the pandemonium as all of older and younger kids began falling over each other as we raced tumbling down the long hallway toward the living room and our parent’s voices. And, imagine our excitement and wide eyes as we turned the corner to see our parents waving goodbye to Santa as they lifted us up to the window to search for him. Then, after searching the skies, we would turn to see a sparkling tree surrounded with the gifts that Santa had left.

What a memory! I don’t know how many years this went on; I do remember some winking between the older cousins, after a few years, as they began to understand the trick, but they played along, encouraging the younger cousins race out first and to look hard for Santa through the windows.

I think that this is just the kind of “moment” that Chip and Dan Heath imagined when they wrote their book. It takes planning and commitment to create such moments, but from my experience such moments bring back warm memories of family and fond, bonding remembrances when we get together.

What powerful “moments” are you creating this holiday season and over the course of the upcoming year? I would love to hear about them!

Growth Mindsets and Exams

This week our students are concentrating on exams and it's eerily quiet in the Upper School.

But, if you walk outside and look at the sidewalk there are signs of energy and support written in chalk. Our students are so great about working together and supporting one another during times of stress. And, they have an incredible can-do attitude about most everything they do.

Many of you have heard or read about Carol Dweck and her work at Stanford University on Growth Mindsets. She defines this mindset as a belief that one's basic qualities are things that can be cultivated and improved. This, she says, is in contrast to a Fixed Mindset in which a person believes that they are born with certain talents and abilities, or disabilities, that cannot be changed.

Time and again in sports, the arts and in academic achievement I have had the opportunity to see our coaches and faculty help our students to see that they can improve both their natural talents and those that do not come easily to them. As a result, our students develop a passion for stretching themselves and sticking to it, even when things are not going well. Developing a Growth Mindset allows our students to thrive during exams and some of the most challenging times in their lives.

What impresses me the most, though, is how our students support each other when things get tough. Just another example of how we work to foster a caring, trustworthy and joyful learning community at GDS!

GDS Value Added

Part of our re-accreditation process with SAIS includes a dinner in which we invite students, parents, board members, teachers and administrators to sit a mixed tables for discussion.

I wish we could have such a gathering every night! It was like the perfect family meal where everyone jumps in with a story and tells about what they learned or did during the day. It was an incredible opportunity to hear from so many different viewpoints about what makes GDS a special place to be as a student, parent, board member or on the staff.

I was particularly impressed with the senior student at our table. She was articulate and clear about both the academic advantages and social connections that she had gained since enrolling. When asked what she thought the "value added" was to a GDS education she didn't hesitate to say that it was the day-to-day interactions with other students who were as inspired and determined as she was to do well. She described study groups that formed in her classes, teachers who held high but reasonable expectations and the many opportunities to be involved in clubs and to take leadership positions.

Most impressively, when asked how we could communicate the "value added" component of a GDS education, she quickly volunteered, "Just video tap any of us, and we will tell you!"

So, I'm dropping in a video that tells the story of two of our graduates, Jake Keeley who is now a sophomore at St. Olaf, and Katie Glaser who is now a sophomore at Georgetown.  Enjoy!