Speaking of our Mountains

In reference to the Mountains Beyond Mountains post from yesterday, as a father of a child with multiple challenges, I have experienced first hand the incredible frustrations and the debilitating definitions placed on any of us who struggle with some aspect of our learning, development or functioning, often by those around and even closest to us. Aimee Mullins presents an incredible story of how she turned her mountains into opportunities.

Aimee suggests that we are "changed" and "marked" by a challenge. She sees adversity not as an obstacle to get around; but part of our life. The question isn't whether we will face adversity in our lives, but how. Our job as parents and teachers isn't to shield our children from adversity, it is rather to prepare them to deal with it well. Instead of trying to "overcome" adversity, Aimee suggests our goal should be to see adversity as natural, consistent, and useful.

Conflict is the genesis of creation. It is not the strongest or the most intelligent of a species that survive; it's the most adaptable. I enjoyed her reference to Darwin.

Our society often struggles with "disability" and "difference." I was reminded of how careful we as teachers especially must be not to limit or cap a child's potential. Our job is to unlock, inspire and lead out. Aimee's story is a powerful one.

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OLIVER!

This morning our fifth graders continued a great year-end tradition at Saint David's, The Fifth Grade Musical. The boys performed Oliver! and they were fantastic, providing impressive performances and demonstrating great vocal ability. They have been mastering the dialogue and musical numbers for weeks, and clearly gave it their all. Congratulations to the cast on a job well done, and to their Producers/Teachers James Hubbard and Jamie MacNeille, Director Phyllis Clark, Musical Conductor Jeff Moore, and the Parent Committee of Cynthia Chapman, Susan Kissane, Tara Neumann, Joyce Restituto, and Ann Roberts. Musical theater is alive and well at Saint David's!

Sixth Graders Meet with Dr. Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History

Dr. Carter Emmart with Saint David's Sixth Graders This past Friday, as part of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, sixth graders had the great honor to attend a private lecture given by Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at AMNH. Dr. Emmart told the boys about his passion for science along with an overview of the history of the Hayden Planetarium. He also gave the boys advice on how to take scientific information about the universe and compile it into an interesting and captivating show for an audience. The boys were able to see Dr. Emmart's original sketches, which helped create the Uniview program they are using to develop their presentations. The session provided our boys with an opportunity to learn how art and science come together in the planetarium, and to obtain expert advice on developing their own space shows from one of the creators of Uniview . You can learn more about Dr. Emmart's work and Univie...

Tales of a Good Man

"Sometime in the midst of all this, we became friends. And his story, and all its vast world passed into mine." --From the Introduction of Blood & Oil by Roxane Farmanfarmaian. "Stories are so important; they become traditions that tell about the good that often comes out of bad experiences..." So began Roxane Farmanfarmaian's fascinating talk Monday night at Saint David's Seventh Grade Father-Son Dinner. Dr. Farmanfarmaian, Affiliated Lecturer of Modern Middle East Studies at the Political and International Studies Department at Cambridge University, was introduced by her nephew, Saint David's seventh grader Cyrus '17. She spoke to the seventh grade boys and their fathers about what makes a "Good Man" through the prism of her book Blood & Oil : A Prince's Memoir of Iran from the Shah to the Ayatollah (Random House 2005), which she co-authored with her late father, Prince Manucher Farmanfarmaian. The memoir i...

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