Spring Break Send-Off

Derryfield has a tradition of an all-school meeting immediately before departing for spring break. The request goes out days beforehand asking the faculty and staff to consider performing or saying a few words or generally taking the stage the way our students do every Monday. In this way the adults return some of the favor that our students routinely model during our weekly all-school meetings.

I decided on an illustrated talk combining a few of my photos, as well as ideas that speak to some of what I have learned since being at our extraordinary school. The title of the piece, and the refrain that introduced each picture, is called “I Want to Find a School.” Enjoy.

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I want to find a school filled with fantastic people and an inspiring sense of education. All kinds of people and all kinds of life will recognize that something extraordinary is happening at that school, and they will all want to be there.

I want to find a school where I don’t understand everything that is happening at every moment. People will understand, though, that they are surrounded by a mysterious degree of excellence that ignites their curiosity and makes the atmosphere exciting. The community will be filled with smart people who think differently, respect each other, and learn from each other.

I want to find a school where people are having fun, being playful, not taking themselves too seriously. The school will have an innate sense of joy, both for its own sake, and because it actually makes the learning better. Sometimes the fun will happen when we are alone.

And sometimes the fun will happen when we are together. But either way, people will be putting their energy, their effort, their best out there – they will be trying to be their best all the time.

I want to find a school that has “change the world” on its To Do list. This school will be a place that always thinks about, and acts on, serving others. At the same time, that school will be aware of its own abundance, its own good fortune, and will have a pervasive attitude of gratitude in the hallways, in the classrooms, and on the playing fields.

I want to find a school filled with courage, where bold people embrace big ideas, big goals, and overcome big obstacles - always with respect and always with humility. But nonetheless, that school will always seek to go for it, to try.

I want to find a school filled with exceptional individuals, and exceptional individual effort. That effort will not always look squeaky clean - hard work and determination often leads to some messiness. But those individuals will always keep trying. The people in that school will bring their “A” game every day.

I want to find a school where exceptional individual effort is balanced, valued and complemented by caring, kind, supportive teammates. Everyone in that school will bring out the best in each other – teams will challenge individuals, and individuals will inspire their teams. The entire community will understand that the most important aspect of what they do each day is not for sale, is essentially priceless – I mean, of course, the act of caring. The people at that school will understand they cannot go it alone. They will understand they need help from caring friends and teammates.

I want to find a school filled with enthusiasm for its mission, and for each other. That school will be defined by cool, fun, passionate and committed teachers, and will be filled with great, inspiring young people.

When we find that school, it will be great in ways we won’t even understand in the moment. It will be filled with joy, spirit and a sense that we are all a part of something simply exceptional. It will combine inspiring individuals, pointing to the sky with conviction, and committed friends and teammates - people you can rely on, people with whom you want to share spring break.

When we find that school . . . great, wonderful, surprising things will happen.

Enjoy your spring break. Be safe, and we will see you in two weeks.

Athletics Assembly

Derryfield has a splendid tradition of having an Athletics Assembly at the end of each trimester to honor the high school student athletes who just completed a sports season. While the athletes and coaches are the stars of the gathering, I have the honor of introducing the event. The following are notes from my introduction of the Athletics Assembly on Monday, March 8^th, 2010.

"Every Sunday I get the New Your Times delivered, and reading it is one of the joys of my Sunday evening. I do my best to read it in order, but I save the magazine section for last. I know this all sounds very old-school to you – guilty! And every once in a while a cover story comes along that I particularly enjoy. Yesterday’s was called 'Building a Better Teacher' – here is a brief excerpt:

The testing mandates in governmental policies over the last several years have generated a sea of data, and researchers have been parsing student achievement in ways they never had before.

A new generation of economists devised statistical methods to measure the “value added” by a teacher to a student’s performance by almost every factor imaginable: class size versus per-pupil funding versus curriculum versus on and on and on.

When researchers ran the numbers in dozens of different studies, every factor under a school’s control produced just a tiny impact, except for one: which teacher the student had.

Some teachers could regularly lift their students’ test scores above the average for children of the same race, class and ability level. Others’ students left with below-average results year after year.

Statistician now agree that a student with a weak teacher for three straight years would score, on average, 50 percentile points behind a similar student with a strong teacher for those years. Teachers working in the same building, teaching the same grade, produced very different outcomes. And the gaps were huge.

Similarly, a Stanford economist, found that while the top 5 percent of teachers were able to impart a year and a half’s worth of learning to students in one school year, as judged by standardized tests, the weakest 5 percent advanced their students only half a year of material each year.

I can hear you thinking 'Mr. Sellers has forgotten this is an athletics assembly.'

No – hear me out. This is the point: Great teaching is the same as great coaching, and Derryfield is blessed with adult coaches at the top of their game, helping great student athletes at the top of their game.

Coaches who can help you improve two seasons worth in one season. People who are absolutely committed to helping you Aim High while improving your ability to have lead a balanced life.

So we are here to celebrate great coaching and great athletes, and from here our Athletics Director will take over. Mr. McCaigue, thank you once again for leading us in a fine season. I look forward to your words.

CNS

Thinking Like Google

In February I attended the National Association of Independent School (“NAIS”) conference. The theme this year was “Adapt, Survive, Thrive” and many of the presentations were organized around strategies independent schools must adopt to move through the recession. Doesn’t sound very uplifting? Well, the title of one presentation caught my eye – “How Can Your School Think Like Google?” I came away with the following seven points, as well as renewed appreciation for all that Derryfield does incredibly well.

1. Ideas come from everywhere - Google encourages people to attend meetings outside their field, even meetings outside their comfort zone.

2. Share everything you can - The institution should constantly be creating opportunities for convergence.

Most parents are not likely to have experienced some of my most favorite events at Derryfield. That is, our full faculty meeting on Friday morning that we call “Stand-up” (a remnant from when we did not have a room large enough for everyone to sit), or our All-School Meeting on Monday mornings (which you are invited to, but most parents find inconvenient to attend). Both “Stand-Up” and All School Meeting have a tone of respect for one another, and a sense that we are at our best when sharing the talents in or community. Both of these gatherings have a grand feeling of “convergence” about them, and in different ways they represent our school culture at its best.

3. You’re inspiring? We’re Hiring! Leadership that actively seeks diverse viewpoints, supported by a genuinely welcoming community.

Each year at this time I am inspired by the quality of people who want to teach at Derryfield, and the way the school’s reputation seems to excite them and bring out the best in them. Google’s phrase captures the essence of our mission statement (“The Derryfield School inspires bright, motivated young people . . .”) and helps to explain why both Derryfield and Google made it from young start-ups to mature organizations.

4. Give a License to Pursue Dreams – Explanation: Google has their famous “20% time” (that is, one of every five days employees get to work on whatever interests them – pet projects, passions, etc. G-mail, Google maps, and many others were developed because of the 20% time). But they are also developing a new idea at their phenomenal campus – they are pursuing a work-life that is “blended,” not “balanced.” The cynical view –now employees never have a reason to go home. Google’s view – This is what it takes to be a great company.

We have spent time this year in a variety of ways exploring our core value of “Balance,” defined as “inspiring academic, artistic, and athletic opportunities, promoting the development of healthy habits of mind, body, and spirit, and the skill to balance creative tension.” Best I can tell, Google has simply walked by any pretense of balance, opting instead to offer their employees a “blended” life – one in which their employees never have to leave their extraordinary corporate headquarters. Does this approach hint at what is to come if our children are to work at leading companies five or ten years from now? Is the value of “balance” already an outdated idea for our children and their future?

I cast my lot with Derryfield’s view of balance. Doubtless the world will give more opportunities for our children to blend interests, but schools – and the adults in them – must continue to promote the skills needed to navigate creative tension. I call that balance. Google disagrees.

5. Creativity Loves Constraint - The economy is the new constraint, and you have to surf it, not resent it.

No argument here. In fact, if creativity loves constraint, we may be entering a whole new era of creativity on a global scale.

6. Innovation, not Instant Perfection. In other words - Start, innovate and iterate.

I think this is an exceptionally important value to build into a start-up. It explains so much of Google’s success. So many young organizations have analysis paralysis. The best teachers, like the best organizations, find a way to create an environment of thoughtful risk taking. I was fortunate to inherit Derryfield’s healthy atmosphere in this regard, and yet I continue to see opportunities to move this value forward. We have some of the most innovative faculty, staff, students, parents and Board members anyone could ask for – but the phrase implies constant work, constant review, and a determined humility that always seeks improvement on behalf of students.

7. Data is apolitical - Data has no agenda

This was a raucous way to end a presentation, in part because the day’s newspaper headlines included a story about Google having good reason to believe that China may be tampering with their servers – in essence, with their data. In light of this, the mantra seemed naïve. And, one could argue, exposed a humanizing sense of fallibility in a company that has a Midas touch.

I hope you enjoy your spring break. Take some time to think, perhaps even some time to think like Google. And let me know your reaction to these seven points. Meanwhile, I am developing a presentation called “How Can Google Think Like Derryfield.” I bet it will be standing room only.

CNS

Saturday @ HMUN

It is Saturday morning at 9:15a and the Sheraton lobby is buzzing with tourists dodging the 5 degree winter weather outside, but the HMUN “delegate’s” (the term used for the participants) are moving a bit slower after two nights of not sleeping in their own beds, and probably not sleeping that much in general.

Derryfield students, representing Austria, are now assigned to certain committees (“Security Council” or “World Health Organization,” for example) that meet in given rooms, so I have the freedom to walk around and listen to bits of conversation, both in the hallways and in the meeting rooms themselves.

Examples:

• “It has come to Sri Lanka’s attention that the working papers submitted by the Democratic Republic of Congo contain elements that are not in keeping with the tone of compromise needed to make progress in the area of creating sustainable refugee resettlement areas . . .”
• “Isn’t it true that NGO’s must have freedom to move about in country if we are to leverage all the improvements they are capable of bringing to Azerbaijian?”
• “Luxembourg, you are recognized for one minute.”
• “If we join together we have a better chance of hammering through a resolution, especially if we wait to the end of the caucus period, providing the US has already spoken.”
• “In exchange for North Korea introducing a motion to responsibly dispose of its nuclear waste the Security Council would entertain a motion from China that would include many of the elements of the working papers already introduced by Germany.”
• “Can we just slow down and read this new clause on indigenous rights together before introducing it in front of the entire committee?”
• “We are going to amend clause 12-D now and we are not going back in that room until everyone here agrees to how we construct boundaries in safe zones! If we can’t agree to a simple sub-clause amongst ourselves, how can we expect the entire committee to support our solution?”
• “Delegates, decorum!”

These last two words, which I heard from the podium in a few different committee rooms, seems to be the standard way that committee chairs reprimand the roomful of delegates when they get too loud. Each time I heard the phrase, the crowd instantly quieted down. Again, I depart with an appreciation for the sense of manners that these students have toward each other, and the respect they show for the institution of the HMUN.

The HMUN

Those who need hope should work in education. Educators who need hope should come to the Harvard Model UN (“HMUN”).

I am blogging from the Sheraton in Downtown Boston – really the first time I have written the way blogs were meant to be (note: the first time I witnessed such behavior was during John McCane’s visit to The Derryfield School Auditorium, and the entire back row was occupied by bloggers with laptops reporting live) – and the scene needs to be described to be believed.

Imagine 2500 high school students dressed in the 2010 version of what Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers wore, and that is a start. Don’t let that opening image take away from the seriousness of purpose – it actually adds considerably to creating an atmosphere of formal, proper, interaction. The boys are in dark suits and ties, the girls in a variety of elegant quasi-evening wear that would not be out of place in a board room. In an age of diminishing decorum captured by “You lie!” this fact alone is uplifting.

Last night’s Opening Ceremonies were in The Hynes Convention Center Auditorium at 5p, and the keynote address was delivered by The Honorable Joseph H. Melrose, United States Mission to the United Nations on the General Assembly. He set the right tone – global thinking, serious purpose, but enjoy yourself. One sour note for me (see my previous column) – about one in five students around me were staring onto their cell phones while he was talking. Perhaps I should be pleased with that ratio!

Today, Friday, is the first full day of a gathering that started Thursday afternoon and will end Sunday afternoon, with the majority of the participants staying in the cavernous Sheraton and simply coming downstairs to gather in committees in their dozen large seminar rooms. The organization of the entire event thoroughly seems safe, well run, and completely engaging for the students. As well it should be, since the front of the program announces “Welcome to the Fifty-Seventh Session.”

The HMUN is a well oiled machine, and it is really impressive.

Snapshot: A student just hurried by and handed me a xeroxed invitation to come to a seminar at 2p today titled “Global Issues in Medicine and Medical Training, a Presentation by Dr. Colleen Kigin, Chief of Staff at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.” High school students are not only interested in these topics, but will show up, ask great questions, and leave you with a sense of optimism. They see the concerns, recognize the obstacles, and still – no cynicism.

Stay tuned.

On the Eve of the iPad

Tomorrow Apple announces a new product, widely expected to be a tablet of some kind, and I’ll confess that I want it already – clearly for all the wrong reasons, because I don’t even know what it does. Since purchasing a 128K Macintosh, the first Apple digital camera, the first laser printer, and a variety of other Steve Jobs inspired gems (yes, including the iPhone), the latent consumer in me tends to fall in love with the shovel while I am supposed to concentrate on digging a ditch. I obtain the newest offering, and within days I cannot imagine life without it. The point is how can the tool make one’s life better, make you a better teacher or a more compassionate person. Agreed. But I seem to keep falling for that new shovel.

When I think about thinking about technology in our school, I am aware of three distinct stages I have moved through. Summary: Etiquette, Engage, Empower.

Of late, I find Clayton Christensen’s work (including Disrupting Class) amongst the most visionary and practical in this field.

I describe my first stage as an awareness of the etiquette, or lack thereof, around how we use technology. The most dramatic example happened three years ago after helping a school principal in Thailand prepare for days for an important meeting of a dozen of his colleagues. Throughout the 90 minute gathering, at least three people were talking loudly on their cell phones, while three others were checking e-mail or listening to voicemail. My friend said nothing, but felt completely rejected by his colleagues – a message I was certain no one wanted to send. Cell phones had swept so quickly into the culture, that a common understanding of what was appropriate did not have time to emerge. Time and time again, I saw cell phones keeping people apart and disrupting communication.

My next stage is an ongoing inquiry around how students and faculty engage with technology. In a world where digital immigrants teach digital natives, adults-in-charge routinely need help simply operating devices from those who grew up in a world of iPods and internet. Teachers and parents can easily feel we are competing, and losing, for attention with any number of digital devices. At the same time, the adults can’t fully understand the social implications to a teenager of being connected 24/7/365. And the following story illustrates the way adults are still understanding the academic implications: recently a teacher began to reprimand a student he found using a cellphone in class, but first asked “what are you doing?” The student explained s/he was researching a question that the teacher had mentioned a moment earlier, and the teacher moved instantly from the possibility of anger to admiration for the student’s ingenuity and motivation. The teacher felt the student had become unengaged, but the truth was exactly the opposite.

For the last few years we have spent considerable time thinking about how to use technology to empower our community. This question is bold, clear, and ultimately packed with exciting questions and answers – exactly like the best teaching and learning. How can we empower our students to ask great questions and follow-up with even better answers using distance learning techniques or Google docs? How can we use social media to empower our alumni and keep them connected to our school? What are the most effective ways to empower parents and faculty to work together on behalf our children?

We have to continually clarify our community’s etiquette around the use of technology. We have to continually engage our students in best practices around the use of technology. And we must continually seek to the distribute the “power” of electronic technology to our community.

I see very exciting developments in our school in these areas, and I look forward to sharing them with you as they evolve. Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing the first iPad in our school.

Left Handed Lay-ups for the Holiday

December 21^st 2009

Have you heard the phrase “the teacher arrives when the student is ready”?

The idea speaks subtly to the magic of timing in one’s life – academically, and beyond. When I look back on a year, or even several decades (easier for me now as I move closer to fifty than forty), I see how that ineffable quality called “timing” keeps mattering.

At our All School Meeting last week our History Department Chair, Bruce Berk, spoke about service, and his timing could not have been better. He spoke directly to a core value at our school, making it accessible to 6^th through 12^th graders, as well as the adults.

“What is the relationship between left-handed lay-ups and generosity?” he asked. He captured my attention instantly - in part because I had been thinking in the previous moment about Derryfield’s basketball teams, the extraordinary good fortune of our community, and the holiday season. He managed to tie my disparate thoughts together, capture the community’s attention, and get us thinking - all at once.

The teacher had arrived and, just a few moments into our meeting, the students were ready to listen.

“You see, left handed lay-ups and generosity are about the same thing,” he continued. “You cannot be good at either unless you practice. And you cannot understand the experience unless you try it and keep doing it. Generosity does not necessarily come naturally, just like left handed lay-ups.”

The Derryfield School continually offers our students opportunities to practice. We require a variety of academic, artistic and athletic experiences so that our students are continually stretching themselves and practicing what may not come naturally at first. From these requirements come one of the most common and uplifting sentiments I hear from parents and students: “I am so pleased my child had to play a sport. She loves field hockey, and would never have known that but for Derryfield.” Or “If I did not have to take Latin in 6^th grade I would have never known how much I love it.”

I believe the time is right for our school to move toward a service requirement for all our students. At present, the majority of our students have a profound, Derryfield-based service experience before graduating, and many describe it as “transformational.” And yet I think of Mr. Berk’s observation – that one must cultivate the habit of service before it becomes integrated into one’s personality, before it has a chance of becoming natural. No doubt creating a requirement has the capacity to diminish the sincerity that comes with making an unfettered choice – but philosophically, I believe our school has arrived at the point where requiring some form of service prior to graduation will detract very little, with enormous potential for a lifetime of value for our students.

I have been heartened by our community’s embrace of our core values exploration this year, and cannot resist the urge to “Aim High” in the realm of service, too. By routinely practicing the generosity of spirit that is at the core of serving others our students will continue to honor their Derryfield education – and their Derryfield education will continue to serve them. My twin hope is that it would be unthinkable for our graduates not to continue to serve others as they grow beyond our campus, and that all our alumni can trace the routes of their passion for service back to the parent/teacher/school relationship that is the hallmark of Derryfield at its most inspiring.

Both Susan Grodman, our Director of Service and Global Education, and I are interested to know what you think about a service requirement at Derryfield. Let us know your stories and your insights.

Enjoy the holiday break – perhaps you will even have a chance to practice your left-handed lay-ups. In any event, may each of us be on the lookout for the transformational teachers in our lives in 2010 and beyond!

CNS