To encourage dialogue and reflection about the ways we can be sure to look after our own well-being, our question(s) for the week is: How do you make time for yourself? Why is that important? Listening to Ourselves (Week of 10/15/23) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
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Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
With the knowledge and understanding that this past week has brought forth a lot of feelings and emotions, both local and abroad, for many, I hope that the weekend brought forth some space and ‘room’ for whatever it is that was needed. Katie and I were able to do a couple things that we have not been able to do in a while, so it felt like a mini-vacation for us - watching a movie on Friday night and going to see The National Parks in concert on Saturday night in Somerville. Both of those ‘things’ (watching movies and seeing live music) have been more rare for us as of late and we do not always make room for them (easier said than done to do that too!). Sunday afternoon was spent with the boys and their sports - definitely a constant in our house!
Grant’s post resonated with me as it speaks to the importance of acknowledging feelings, self-awareness, and recognition of the impact/reality. As I continue to learn about myself, I increasingly experience how critical this is - to have a heightened awareness of how I am processing things (experiences, information, situations) and the resultant impact on myself, and in turn, others. And, as I am processing this while writing, the connection between this awareness and ‘self care’ is clear. When working with others, and I believe kids in particular, it’s important to notice when that exhaustion and overwhelming sense is creeping in (or has crept in). How do we respond? Go for a walk, listen to music, rest, read - it differs for all of us, but I do believe this is important to recognize - and, it’s important that we name this for our students, as we hope to build their own ‘toolbox’ for their growth. I have shared a recent podcast episode below and an op-ed that Grant wrote back in April - both speak to the ‘hurried nature’ of our culture, as well as the need to reflect, grow, rethink some norms, and hopefully learn.
Your Email Does Not Constitute My Emergency
by Adam Grant in The New York Times
Apologizing for slow replies is a symptom of unrealistic demands in an always-on culture. Work is presumed to be the dominant force in our lives. Instead of making space for leisure and rest, we have to keep monitoring our communication channels, ready to drop everything at any time. Being reachable around the clock means living at the mercy of other people’s calendars. It’s a recipe for burnout. And it prizes shallow reactions over deep reflection. We wind up rushing to get things done instead of doing them well.
When we place too high a priority on the speed of our email replies, we destroy our ability to focus. Interruptions derail our train of thought and wreak havoc on our progress. When you know you don’t have to reply to emails right away, you can actually find flow and dedicate your full attention where you wish.
Resetting the expectation that we all live on-demand lives will require a broader culture change. A first step is for everyone to stop mistaking promptness for politeness. I used to take pride in answering quickly, promising my students I’d reply to all emails within 24 hours. And when someone wrote me back promptly, I felt valued, viewing swift responses as displays of care. But the pandemic forced me to rethink that.
How quickly people answer you is rarely a sign of how much they care about you. It’s usually a reflection of how much they have on their plate. Delayed replies to emails, texts and calls are often symptoms of being overextended and overwhelmed. If the message isn’t time-sensitive, we should count delays in weeks or months, not days or hours.
For most of human history, being responsive meant paying attention to the needs of a small group of people in your immediate vicinity: family, friends, neighbors, colleagues. Now there’s no limit to the number of people who can barge into your inbox, ping you by text, and slide into your DMs. Digital overload cries out for us to redefine what it means to be responsive. The true test of a relationship isn’t the speed of the reply. It’s the quality of attention you receive.
Hidden Potential: How to Become Your Better Self
From Summa & Friends podcast
(42 min)
We're not formed as one individual with no ability to change, says Adam Grant, organizational psychologist at Wharton and best-selling international author, we can retrain, we can all grow and change, we can all find our hidden potential. The question is, what do we need to do to bring out the best in ourselves and those around us?
In this episode of Summa & Friends, Adam discusses boundary setting, why we need a network of disagreeable givers, why we need to ask for advice rather than feedback, and why his ultimate passion is self improvement.
“Steve Jobs understood the value of a challenge network, he surrounded himself with disagreeable givers who saw a better way to advance the mission, even though it conflicted with Jobs’ vision, and, hey, if you could challenge Steve Jobs, you could probably challenge anyone.”
To find out more, download and listen to this episode today.
On today’s podcast:
- The importance of setting boundaries
- How to create a culture of radical transparency
- Build a network of disagreeable loyalists
- How to elevate yourself and others
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What do you believe is the purpose of school? Why do you believe this?
- To educate everyone so that they can succeed later on and get the right support for their needs.
- I believe school is meant to help kids learn important things in life
- I think the purpose of school is for education and to give kids a chance to get to choose what they want to do in life by educating them on topics. I believe this because of colleges.
- I believe that the purpose of school is to learn and grow as a person. I believe this because I have experienced it as a student myself.
- To teach us academic and social emotional skills,
- The purpose of school is to learn and have fun doing the classwork. I believe this because then people wouldn't go to school because it was boring.
- The purpose of school is to educate because there is no other type of building that does this.
- I believe the purpose of school is to learn what you didn't know already, and to see your friends everyday
- The purpose of school is teaching kids basic and hard things that they will need to know in life. I believe this because if we didn’t have school, we basically wouldn’t know what to do with the rest of our lives. We couldn’t read or write or go shopping because we didn’t know how to drive.
- To create a positive and safe community. To facilitate conversations between students that are respectful and positive. To have a place for students to create and feel safe and respected and ASK QUESITONS.
- To get an education
- To learn and be smart so we don't rely on instinct like animals
- I think the purpose of school is to learn and understand a topic. I think this because there are teachers that are there to teach and you listen and try your best to understand and use that information in late life.
- Schools keep our children safe and engaged in great intellectual work while parents are working to sustain their family's survival. Schools help develop our children's social emotional maturity, and teach our children how to use higher order thinking skills. I think the purpose of schools is to help sculpt children of the future to become successful, for humanity to continue to thrive!
- So we can learn how to grow as a young adult and learn how to be mature.
- School is preparing us for the challenges in life and teaching us valuable and necessary skills.
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Take care.
Nat