Head of School Blog - Valuable Ideas and Reflections

Light It Up! The Parents We Hope to Be

1/6/2020

Allison D. Webster, Head of School

As parents and educators, we often hold two different goals side by side that can create some dynamic tension. On one hand, we try to shape our children and guide them towards values, behaviors, and attitudes that we believe and respect; we have conscious or unconscious ideas about who we hope our children will be. At the same time, we work to embrace our children for who they are, allowing them to become the fullest version of themselves. At times, these two goals can become inconsistent, since our children – in being fully themselves – may exhibit values, behaviors, and attitudes that do not align with our own or our hopes for our children. So what to do then? The way parents shape children, and in turn, the way children shape parents, is one of the most nuanced, challenging and beautiful aspects of parenting.

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On Managing Uncertainty and Loss

2/12/2019

Allison D. Webster

Reflections from reading Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan and Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

How do we develop the ability to manage the loss and uncertainty that is inevitably part of life? As both a parent and an educator, I’ve found it challenging at times to simultaneously help children acknowledge and accept loss and uncertainty while fostering the feelings of security and predictability I know children need. I’ve talked before about our VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous – and know that helping children gain comfort in VUCA times, rather than trying to rid life of its uncertainty, can prepare them to thrive in the full lives they will lead. Two of my favorite recent reads offered insights into how to navigate this terrain of acknowledging and tolerating life’s uncertainty.

Appreciating Our Shared Humanity on this National Day of Mourning

12/5/2018

Allison D. Webster

Wednesday was designated a National Day of Mourning to reflect upon the life and contributions of former President George H. W. Bush. Democrats and Republicans joined together in praising President Bush’s commitment to both public service and family, providing us with a less partisan moment than what we’ve experienced over the past months.

Connecting the Process of Learning and Self-Creation

10/11/2018

Allison D. Webster

Tara Westover’s memoir Educated considers the role formal education plays in our lives, as well as the many ways we learn about the world through our experiences outside of school. Westover was not enrolled in formal schooling during her elementary years. Much of Educated focuses on what Westover learns outside of the classroom, whether exploring the Idaho mountainside where she was raised, or the lessons she is required to learn because of the challenging – sometimes traumatic – circumstances of her upbringing.

Fueling Meaning with Awe-Filled Moments

4/30/2018

Allison D. Webster

Even though I’ve been a New Englander my whole life, I’ve never developed a true love of winter. I’m filled with delight as soon as the signs of winter’s end come into sight, and no harbinger of seasonal change makes me happier than the rise of the daffodils. Just the other day I was walking around Stoney Lea and saw a full hillside of daffodils. It filled me with a moment of delight and awe.

Setting Compass Points for Children

1/23/2018

Allison D. Webster

I wrote in my last blog post about peak moments and all they do for a child’s memories and well-being; last week we had a peak moment for both children and adults at DCD. Mr. Clifford, wearing a top hat and tails, led a parade of students and penguins through the Lowell Center, which was packed with students and families.

Building Peak Moments

12/14/2017

Allison D. Webster, Head's Blog

December is often a time when we reflect, take stock of the year that has passed, and think about hopes for the year ahead. When you think about the past year, what events are most memorable? What events do you think your children would identify as memorable? Take a moment and think of a few.

A Message of Gratitude

11/23/2017

Allison D. Webster

Here’s wishing everyone in the DCD Community a wonderful Thanksgiving. In the spirit of gratitude, I’m sharing this poem about noticing each of our days.

I am thankful each day for the privilege of leading our wonderful school, and for my partnerships with DCD’s kind, skilled, and thoughtful adults and children. We are a hard-working community, and I hope you all enjoy a well-deserved break in the days ahead – and some days filled with “just the right amounts of sunlight and shade.” I’ll look forward to seeing all of you when we return.

Relationships and Innovation: Connecting these Two Concepts

11/17/2017

Allison D. Webster, Head's Blog

Innovation is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the introduction of something new, or a new idea, method or device.” By this definition, there is nothing especially innovative about innovation, since people and societies have been adapting and finding new approaches to problems and opportunities throughout time.

What is Grit Anyway?

9/7/2017

Allison D. Webster

Last spring, two of our faculty members, Duane Claussen and Gerry Clifford, read the book Grit by Dr. Angela Duckworth, sparking conversations about teaching and learning that led a group of DCD faculty, administrators, and staff to decide to read it together over the summer. During our opening faculty and staff meetings in late August, the group had a conversation about the book with Dr. Duckworth (who joined us by phone).

Head's Blog: Lessons from Homer's Journey to Ithaka

5/25/2017

Allison D. Webster

DCD’s 5^th grade is presently captivated by melodic sirens, menacing cyclopes, and the wrath of Poseidon as they prepare for their story-telling performance of the Odyssey coming up shortly. What better reading for the end of the year than Homer’s Odyssey, an epic story of challenges, relationships, and growth?

Head's Blog: Shaping News of the World

4/5/2017

Allison D. Webster, Head's Blog

How do children shape a coherent narrative about the world from the many disparate bits of news and stories they gather? In Paulette Jiles wonderful new book, News of the World, Captain Jefferson Jiles Kidd, a seventy-two-year-old veteran of two wars, travels from town to town reading aloud the news of the world. He reads in assembly halls, churches and feed stores across Texas, and prepares by collecting newspapers from near and far. The Captain circles the stories he thinks people most need to hear, and he makes his selections with great care. He knows people always like gathering practical information, so he starts all his readings with a report about which roads are clear and which are impassable. But he also understands that people need to be transported by stories in order to learn about the wonderful, curious, and mysterious occurrences in our world. These stories of beauty and wonder, over time, become the core of his readings.

Resilience: A Key Ingredient to "Magnificent Things"!

3/9/2017

Allison D. Webster

A recent lower school assembly began with two second grade helpers enthusiastically coming to the stage. Their task was straightforward: one child was charged with bouncing a beanbag, and the other one was charged with bouncing a bouncy ball. We then asked the kindergarten to solve a mystery. A bouncy ball and a bean bag bounce differently when thrown to the ground, but what did this fact have to do with the story we were reading at assembly?

Navigating politics with your children

1/31/2017

Allison D. Webster

I just came from recess where children were laughing, running with friends, inventing games, and simply engaged in a joy-filled moment outside. Their harmonious play stands in contrast to the current dialogue in our country and the level of tension that exists as groups struggle to define the direction for our country.

The news - and its many implications - comes through our doors each day, as children tell stories of participating in protests, have the opportunity to witness first-hand the peaceful transfer of presidential power, or ask questions about the experience of immigrants. Children are absorbing the many stories that are in the media, and they are forming ideas based on the pieces they hear and see.

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