I had two encounters today that reminded me why I choose to work at Hyde and my personal view on the purpose of education.  As a former instructor with Outward Bound, I have always had an affinity for that school’s founder Kurt Hahn.  As a young instructor, and then teacher, I found purpose and inspiration in his words:

“I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an indefatigable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion.”

These ideas in action are what attracted me to Hyde in 1996 and are also what keep me enthralled in my work with students and families.

As I was saying, there were two student-interactions today which brought me to this reflection on Hahn.  First was the reaction and uncertainty displayed by the seniors in my Literature of Justice course.  Tasked with reading the Greek tragedy (and trilogy) The Oresteia, some have faltered and are struggling to keep up and keep on all the while questioning the relevance to modern life and the seemingly inaccessibility of the text.  In the midst of this reading, their frustrations are compounded by the difficulty they have understanding the play production, a final small group project designed as the culmination of the unit and winter trimester.  We were forced to stop, drop, and deal – reframe the work, reframe the projects, reframe the attitudes.  So we spent time clarifying how a play written 2500 years ago could bring to light issues we face today.  Students dissected the opening scene of the 1996 Leonardo DiCaprio hit, Romeo + Juliet, and started to connect purpose to creativity.  Light bulbs blinked on and hope returned… ‘There was purpose and thought behind Rigney’s insanity and layered expectations.’  It is often in the closing minutes of class where I see students have these ‘aha’ moments – they connect curiosity to purpose and see that it is up to their attitude to keep going.

The second encounter was with a young man at crossroads in his life.  A strong athlete and intelligent student, he had made some poor decisions and had repeatedly come up against a wall of truth, consequences, and disappointment.  In trying to connect with him I asked about his wrestling successes and some of the positive comments he’d received at a recent school meeting.  He said he willingly works overtime for the team and for the win.  The working hard hurts and he doesn’t feel good during a tough practice, but he perseveres for the long term gains.  A fighter on the mat, he had a tough time being a fighter in his life.  This changed today however when he identified that he had the “readiness for sensible self-denial” the Hahn spoke of 80 years ago – the willingness to tell himself: ‘No, I will not quit.  I will stick this out because I know it will benefit me in the long run.’   While he may fall down on this commitment, he took a step in his own growth and maturity by accepting how his positive attitude and spirit in one aspect of his life needs to lead him in other areas.  This is what will carry him forward and through future hardships.

Best,  John