WHAT SHOULD KIDS LEARN IN SCHOOL?

In the bustle, excitement, and nervousness that always accompanies the start of the school year, it’s easy to forget to ask fundamental questions of purpose. Why go to school? What are the essential lessons our students should learn this year? After two days of faculty meetings during the week prior to the start of school – and after we reviewed topics like playground expectations, earthquake drills, and communication plans – we paused to reflect on this crucial question:

What are the qualities, attitudes, and skills that we want Valley School graduates to exhibit?

To ensure that all voices were heard, we broke into small groups of four to contemplate and discuss what lessons our students will have learned after their years at The Valley School. In the report-back discussion, we heard a consistency of purpose that was both remarkable and expected. I was both pleased and reassured about how aligned we are with each other in identifying what matters most.

We want our graduates to be optimistic, playful, imaginative, creative, and resilient problem-solvers. As they move on into middle school and the rest of their lives, we want kids from The Valley School to be self-confident, independent, trustworthy, well-rounded, inclusive, and kind members of their communities. We want them to love learning and to love the challenge of trying new things. And we expect all of our graduates to have good reading, writing, speaking, math, and thinking skills, the academic building blocks for continued success in school.

In leading this discussion, I deliberately left comments about our Mission Statement and Values until the end. As I expected, our exploration of the outcomes of a Valley School education provided a natural transition into a review of our Mission and Values.

The Valley School creates educational experiences that encourage children’s innate passion for learning through abundant opportunities for intellectual exploration, imaginative thinking, and the practice of kindness.

And we value Collaboration, Fairness, Respect for Individuality, Kindness, Creativity, and Inclusiveness.

Published September 18, 2015 Print