David O'Halloran, Headmaster - Saint David's School, New York City

The energy in Price Gymnasium soared last month as our faculty exhibited their professional development work to each other in a Summer Grant Showcase.  One faculty member researched boys' sense of self-efficacy in art—exploring how the integration of visual language prevents rejection of oneself as a competent artist, another anticipated employing her travels in Central Asia to incorporate a new art workshop in conjunction with fourth graders' Silk Road study, still others revised music and science units to deepen learners' understanding, according to our Teaching for Understanding framework. And there were so many more.  In total, during this past summer, 44 Saint David's faculty honed the art, craft, and science of their chosen profession, participating in professional development opportunities that varied widely in scope and type, but all with a common purpose: to advance their work in teaching and learning for boys at Saint David's School. In addition, two membe...

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 ...

"A Boy's Will is the Wind's Will" * Today we opened the school's 73rd year .....Below, I share thoughts from my Opening Letter which introduced our school-year theme, kindness . While on the rocky shores of Lake Como late this summer, enjoying family time before dropping my daughter off for study abroad, I couldn’t help but reflect upon my childhood on the banks of the mighty Clarence River. Ahh, the thoughts that race through a boy’s mind when he is playing on, in, or staring out over water—as Longfellow reminds us: “A boy’s will is the wind’s will” and sometimes, like William Kamkwamba’s parents**, we have to help our boys harness that wind. It’s not enough in the 21st century to be bright, intellectually engaged, physically active and healthy, and aesthetically aware, our boys also need to be spiritually attuned—people of character, respectful and appreciative of difference, connected to a sense of the greater good and grounded in a strong sense of who they ar...