"We can encourage active citizenship by fostering literate citizenship."
In the most recent edition of the NAIS Bulletin, author and teacher Sarah Cooper from Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada (California) wrote, "as teachers can work to ensure that all students make their voices heard, in activities that feel authentic to them. We can encourage empathy to bubble up where it seems the fault lines might be too deep to cross, and we can serve as mediators and interpreters when difficult topics arise."
The article is well worth the read for a broad set of reasons, but it struck a specific and timely chord for me. At James River, we--teachers, parents, and students--champion scholars, leaders, and citizens daily. Ms. Cooper gets at the core how to foster active citizenship. Our students must be grow to become active citizens, engaged and empowered with equal measures of passion and knowledge. It is easy to have an opinion and easier still to dig in and close one's mind and heart to others.
I think one of many things that makes JRDS students distinctive is how each one of our students seeks to build deep, broad knowledge that will serve them throughout their lives as leaders and citizens. With sharp skills and real understanding, our students stand to make a real impact on the greater world, leading with empathy, kindness, and respect.
It takes courage to lead and stand-up for what you believe in. It takes humility and patience to keep learning, listening to others, and finding solutions to society's deepest challenges. Our role as teachers and parents, I think, is to nurture our children's passions while simultaneously challenging them to understand deeply and richly. It is us-- the adults--who are responsible for fostering the next generation of citizens.
In the most recent edition of the NAIS Bulletin, author and teacher Sarah Cooper from Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada (California) wrote, "as teachers can work to ensure that all students make their voices heard, in activities that feel authentic to them. We can encourage empathy to bubble up where it seems the fault lines might be too deep to cross, and we can serve as mediators and interpreters when difficult topics arise."
The article is well worth the read for a broad set of reasons, but it struck a specific and timely chord for me. At James River, we--teachers, parents, and students--champion scholars, leaders, and citizens daily. Ms. Cooper gets at the core how to foster active citizenship. Our students must be grow to become active citizens, engaged and empowered with equal measures of passion and knowledge. It is easy to have an opinion and easier still to dig in and close one's mind and heart to others.
I think one of many things that makes JRDS students distinctive is how each one of our students seeks to build deep, broad knowledge that will serve them throughout their lives as leaders and citizens. With sharp skills and real understanding, our students stand to make a real impact on the greater world, leading with empathy, kindness, and respect.
It takes courage to lead and stand-up for what you believe in. It takes humility and patience to keep learning, listening to others, and finding solutions to society's deepest challenges. Our role as teachers and parents, I think, is to nurture our children's passions while simultaneously challenging them to understand deeply and richly. It is us-- the adults--who are responsible for fostering the next generation of citizens.