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

Professionals learn their entire lives. They keep current with the research and development in their field, innovate, implement, reflect, and seek continual improvement. This is the case in medicine, in law, and must also be in education—in particular, teaching, the most noble of professions. At Saint David’s, there’s exciting work going on in professional development under the leadership of Jamie MacNeille, our Director of Teaching and Learning. Faculty members regularly seek out and engage in mission-driven professional development opportunities that include conferences, Teaching For Understanding and innovation workshops, and a new program in exploring action research, which brings academia’s inquiry process into the day-to-day lived experience of our teachers.  For example, several of our faculty recently garnered valuable takeaways to implement with their students after participating in the International Boys School Coalition’s relational teaching conference. We know from rese...

We live in uncertain times, where answers aren’t so easily found, and when they are, they often rapidly change. The questions, however, remain. This is true, in fact, always. Life isn’t about the answers; it is about the questions. Although a baseline of foundational knowledge is important, the true purpose of education is to attain wisdom and understanding, which come to us not through answers, but through questions.    At Saint David’s, questions drive our program. We see this in action this year as we embrace our school-wide theme “scholarly and creative.”   One signature Lower School example is our recently completed collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum for a second-grade fall unit on art. During this unit, our boys engaged in an inquiry process with their art teachers and art educators from the museum. In sessions held both at the museum and at school, the boys examined masterworks by Etel Adnan, Paul Gaugin, Henri Rousseau, and Vincent Van Gogh. Guidin...

Boys don’t learn subjects; they learn teachers. Great schools appreciate that all learning is social and that the best learning is achieved through relational teachers--educators who take the time to know and see exactly who their students are, not only as learners, but also as people. This is what Saint David’s teachers do. They see and appreciate a boy for who he is, and then work with him to draw him out to help him realize and, as our mission states, fulfill his potential. This requires patience. The importance of patience is demonstrated throughout our program. Our eighth grade art history students have just completed their NBS Lectures, one of several experiences in our humanities course. Guided throughout by teachers Ms. Milligan and Mr. Burton, each boy researched a notable work by a renowned artist, then prepared a lecture and visual presentation that included in-depth analysis of such components as impact of the artist, iconography, color, and balance, among others. Their pee...

Back around the turn of the first century, the stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote, "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." In the throes of a pandemic, it can be difficult to rejoice and not grieve. I was reminded of this recently, when one of our Loaves and Fishes families delivering meals to Mr. Murphy, our Director of Security currently on leave, called me from the Long Island Expressway with a story they had to share. After the family dropped food on his stoop, Mr. Murphy insisted they come in: "No, no, please," Mr. Murphy said. "I have something important back here." Still recovering from major surgery, he returned from another room with several large bags of cans. "Here, for the Eighth Grade boys and Mr. Ryan ... for the drive. I've been collecting for weeks." In need himself, Mr. Murphy wasn't thinking of what he didn't have; instead, he was thinking of the boy...

Meaningful, relevant, mission-driven experiences incorporated throughout our school program, call upon our young learners to stretch and grow as thinkers, and encourage autonomy and self assurance. When they design and build mini-cars to meet a racing challenge, engage in debate during Socratic seminars, critically examine and discuss works of art at the Guggenheim by masters like Etel Adnan, deconstruct a play in soccer, or reflect upon the meaning they derive from their own family’s faith or spiritual tradition, our boys are cultivating crucial independence of thought from which all other independence springs.  In all disciplines, boys work collaboratively and on their own. Each boy's idea is considered respectfully by his peers. Peer feedback is constructive and kind. In the youngest grades and up, boys gain confidence in the many chances they have to develop and hone presentation and public speaking skills: be it presenting the books they write, illustrate, and publish in Kinde...

At Saint David's, we believe the development of compassion, kindness, and empathy builds and strengthens connection and belonging among all our boys--whatever their belief traditions, backgrounds, or family circumstances. In service of this imperative, Saint David's is in its sixth year of collaboration with  Dr. Derrick Gay , an internationally recognized consultant on issues of Diversity and Inclusion, and Global Citizenship. These efforts to promote empathy, cultivate cultural competency, and deepen inclusion are grounded our school's mission and values, and in the shared values of our families.  On Friday, Dr. Gay was the featured speaker at our Parents Association Meeting, giving parents an inside look at the work done during developmentally sound assemblies he leads with all grades. Dr. Gay shared some of the videos he screens in various classes to spark discussion, and provided strategies and approaches parents can also utilize at home.  The approach taken in sessi...

Bulgaria may be of small size geographically, but the Balkan nation possesses a rich abundance of ancient history, culture and tradition.  Our first graders recently explored Bulgarian culture and language with class parent Rali Dimitrova, who visited the boys in our Lower School Library to share her family's culture and traditions with her son's class.   The boys learned that Bulgaria is world famous for its roses and holds a Rose Festival every year.  They explored the country's music and dance traditions, watched a video of the national horo dance, and a few even got up and tried it out. They also discovered that Bulgaria is one of the few countries that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, invented by Bulgarians in the ninth century; and that Bulgarians welcome guests to their homes with bread (pita), honey and salt.  Most intriguing of all was discussion of Bulgaria's "Golden Treasures" including Varna --the mysterious and oldest known golden treasure in the world...