Happy First Day of School

Did you happen to see the rainbow this morning? As I drove with my daughter to school this morning, there was a beautiful rainbow in the western sky. It remained there for our entire trip and was still visible above the treeline when we walked across the schoolyard. May it bring good fortune to our new school year!

My next happy experience for the morning was being greeted by a bouncing third grader telling everyone how excited she is to be back in school. Indeed, there were many happy children walking through the blue doors as grades one through five had their first day of school. I look forward to pre-k and kindergarten to join us on Monday, and for our new preschoolers to arrive on Tuesday.

I don't know if you or your children were able to watch the President's speech to the nation's school children on Tuesday afternoon, but I know you could not avoid news about the controversy around it. I'd like to share the perspective of Will Richardson, posted on his blog. Will writes about educational use of technology and schools in general, and he co-leads the 21st century learning professional development program that a team of our teachers took part in last year (see my post of September 15, 2008). While I don't agree with everything that Will writes, his commentary on why it actually is appropriate for students to watch speeches like this in school resonates with me.

I sat in with the fourth grade as they watched an archived copy of the speech today. When the students were asked what they thought about the speech, one girl said she learned that it is o.k. to ask questions, and that asking for help is necessary for success. Teacher Rachel agreed, and pointed out that the fourth grade progress report even includes an assessment of whether or not a student asks questions when needed. Following the President's reference to Michael Jordan, T. Rachel told the class about Babe Ruth who, in achieving his "most home runs" status also accumulated the most strike-outs. It is important for our children to develop a sense of themselves that allows them to make mistakes and accept moments of failure with grace; to seek help and ask those questions that are, as our fourth grader said so well, important to success.

Finally, I'd like to share a moment from this morning's Meeting for Worship. One student observed that she saw a number of new faces and, as a fifth grader, she thought it was her responsibility to welcome them. I am proud of the poise she exhibited and the fact that, even on day one, she took the initiative as well as this example of leadership.

I echo her words of welcome to you all, and look forward to seeing you soon as the school year gets underway.