Like many
schools at this time of year, Bosque teachers and students are preparing for
end-of-the-semester assessments, whether they be exams, papers, labs, or
projects. These summative evaluations
enable us to gauge what our students have learned at this halfway point of the
school year. We encourage our students
to do their very best to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
However, it’s important for our students to remember that “doing well” in school is not just about their grades. It’s equally important, if not more crucial, that they demonstrate integrity, which means not only to “do” their best, but also to “be” their best. I was reminded of this as I recently read an NPR piece sent to me by a fellow Bosque parent. In this article entitled, “What Every School Can Learn from Preschool,” Anya Kamenetz looks at certain programs that attempt to teach students the following values: “Listening. Sharing. Following directions. Making friends. Managing big emotions. Planning for the future.” These are character traits and tools for life that children are taught in preschool, but all too often, are not emphasized as students age.
As I often tell people, Bosque may be a secular school, but that does not mean we cannot teach children values— like integrity, compassion, honesty—and other character traits that we all admire and wish for our children. As we have seen again and again, being smart does not necessarily make someone a good person. We can probably agree that Bernie Madoff is brilliant; we can probably also agree that he made some decisions we would not want our children to emulate.
At Bosque, we want our students to develop their minds and their character. The two are not mutually exclusive. I heard someone at a conference a couple of years ago say, “Yes, we must teach young men and women to be resilient, but not to be merely resilient. They must have the grit to do good. Perseverance is necessary, but it is not sufficient, and if it’s applied to a bad cause, it can be destructive.” As educators, we look forward to working with you to help your children be good students and excellent people. Kamenetz ends her article by saying, “This doesn't mean replacing an emphasis on academic rigor with something fuzzy and hard to quantify. ‘It's a false choice,’ says Tooley [Melissa Tooley of the New American Foundation]. Schools can and should be doing both.”
However, it’s important for our students to remember that “doing well” in school is not just about their grades. It’s equally important, if not more crucial, that they demonstrate integrity, which means not only to “do” their best, but also to “be” their best. I was reminded of this as I recently read an NPR piece sent to me by a fellow Bosque parent. In this article entitled, “What Every School Can Learn from Preschool,” Anya Kamenetz looks at certain programs that attempt to teach students the following values: “Listening. Sharing. Following directions. Making friends. Managing big emotions. Planning for the future.” These are character traits and tools for life that children are taught in preschool, but all too often, are not emphasized as students age.
As I often tell people, Bosque may be a secular school, but that does not mean we cannot teach children values— like integrity, compassion, honesty—and other character traits that we all admire and wish for our children. As we have seen again and again, being smart does not necessarily make someone a good person. We can probably agree that Bernie Madoff is brilliant; we can probably also agree that he made some decisions we would not want our children to emulate.
At Bosque, we want our students to develop their minds and their character. The two are not mutually exclusive. I heard someone at a conference a couple of years ago say, “Yes, we must teach young men and women to be resilient, but not to be merely resilient. They must have the grit to do good. Perseverance is necessary, but it is not sufficient, and if it’s applied to a bad cause, it can be destructive.” As educators, we look forward to working with you to help your children be good students and excellent people. Kamenetz ends her article by saying, “This doesn't mean replacing an emphasis on academic rigor with something fuzzy and hard to quantify. ‘It's a false choice,’ says Tooley [Melissa Tooley of the New American Foundation]. Schools can and should be doing both.”
