Skip to main content

Courage

"The best way out is always through."
—Robert Frost

As I write, a February blizzard is barreling up the coast, burying streets and sidewalks under piles of snow. We needed this. It points to eliciting good from bad, courage from fear, resilience.

We have been dealing with the adversity of Covid-19 for a year now. It has not been an easy journey for any of us, but I am grateful for the way the Saint David’s community has come together and risen to the challenge. The exceptional professionalism of the faculty and staff, the unwavering support of our parent body, and the optimism of our boys exemplify the courage that times like these demand. 

 

We are in the middle of that marathon I mentioned at the beginning of the school year—the end is somewhat in sight but now our muscles ache, we feel thirsty and tired, it’s painful, and even though we see the end it still feels a long way off. Wouldn’t it just be easier to quit now? Call it a day? . . . No, never. The only way out is always through. When you’re going through hell, Churchill said, keep going. It’s not the place you want to stop. We will arrive at the finish line, safely, even if it takes longer than any of us might have wished or hoped. As shared here in the Journal of the American Medical Association, schools can be open and are not significant sources of transmission when proper precautions are taken. We are committed to those precautions and to keeping Saint David’s open, in person, for as long as it’s safe.

Our school-year theme of resilience ties into this notion of courage. In living through this pandemic, we are actively experiencing resilience as a shared, collective experience. It’s easy to be resilient when everything is going our way, when all the moons are aligned. Real resilience is forged when presented with hardship and challenge. This is where character is forged, too.

We may feel overwhelmed and anxious, like we are failing at school, work, or home. At times like this we all need to be easier on ourselves, take care of ourselves mentally, physically, spiritually. Our boys don’t learn by listening to what we say. They learn by watching what we do; and right now they are watching how we navigate an exceptionally challenging time. They are learning in real time—especially from their teachers—what courage actually looks like. It can be important to release our internal pressure valves and remain confident that we are teaching our boys something essential: how to navigate life—not when it’s easy, when it’s hard. We are teaching them the value of relationships: with their teachers, each other, their families.

Ut viri boni sint. 

 



Popular posts from this blog

Resilience in the Teaching of Languages

Above: The Nerf microphone ball enables boys learning remotely to hear their classmates well. The pandemic has challenged educators to reinvent and reimagine units of study to keep learning engaging, regardless of how it is delivered. The following article, written for Saint David’s Magazine by our Modern Languages Chair Dr. Victoria Gilbert and Lower School Spanish teacher Flor Berman, addresses how this was done in the Spanish immersion language program at Saint David's. Ms. Berman and Dr. Gilbert, recipient of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers' Ruth E. Wasley Distinguished Teacher Award, presented on the topic at NYSAIS’s Flexible Classroom Conference last summer. How Spanish Classes Have Bounced Back Resiliency implies an ability to bounce back, but as teachers working with the youngest learners in the school, we would reframe resiliency as the opportunity to reimagine. Whether boys are learning through a face-to-face experience or through the med
Read more

The Role of Faith in Social-Emotional Learning and Psychological Well-Being

The following article by our School Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine : During one of my first observations in a Saint David’s classroom 15 years ago, I witnessed two first grade boys in a verbal altercation. Although it was contained just between the two boys, their observant teacher had them talk it through and then shake hands on being in a better place for having done so. I was very impressed, and still am, with this approach that the school takes many times throughout the day.  It helps establish a firm idea of how to behave, especially in social situations where emotions can be stirred and run high. Through this experience repeated consistently day in and day out, better, more productive ways of engaging become increasingly integrated by the boys as they develop socially and emotionally in interaction with each other.  As the School Psychologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about the touch points for student and t
Read more

Storytelling Demonstrates Understanding

Their time had arrived. As the lights dimmed in our Otto-Bernstein Theatre, the astrophysicists, a mix of jitters and excitement, awaited their opportunity to share insights and stories about the workings of the universe. Which planets might support life? Is there water on Mars? What are Dwarf Planets?    "Let's take a look at our closest neighbor, Venus," invited one presenter, before revealing that the planet - while ideal in proximity - has surface temperatures of 900 degrees F: "Imagine - standing on the surface would be like being burned alive!"  Later that same day, in our Graham lunchroom, early 20th century immigrants of all ages from Italy, China, Ireland, Russia, among other countries, waited, with hope and determination, their turn to be interviewed for admittance to America. It wasn't going to be easy. They would be asked pointed, potentially life-altering questions by various processors. "What's that cough? It doesn't sound good,&qu
Read more