Taking Time to Practice Democracy
by Sabrina Stevens in Blog
Are we ‘school-year’ wise, but lifetime foolish?
Immediately after finishing the first video chapter of “A Year at Mission Hill,” I went over to the school’s website and read their mission statement. I was first struck by just how beautiful it is; their care and dedication to “helping parents raise youngsters” for a democratic society is evident in every single line.
But in thinking about how to make schools like this the rule rather than the exception, this part in particular stood out to me:
But in thinking about how to make schools like this the rule rather than the exception, this part in particular stood out to me:
Toward these ends, our community must be prepared to spend time even when it might seem wasteful hearing each other out. We must deal with each other in ways that lead us to feel stronger and more loved, not weaker and less loveable...
There is so much in the whole statement that I would love to parse and consider, but the piece about time really struck me.
When we think about what schools need to succeed, money is usually the first thing that comes to mind. That’s especially salient in our austere and inequitable circumstances, where virtually everything, down to the physical condition of some schools, reminds some students, families and educators that there are those who view them as “weaker and less loveable” than others. But time is perhaps just as important, though much more rarely considered.
To be clear, funding is important. Teachers and principals are people (imagine!), who need to earn a living in order to take care of
When we think about what schools need to succeed, money is usually the first thing that comes to mind. That’s especially salient in our austere and inequitable circumstances, where virtually everything, down to the physical condition of some schools, reminds some students, families and educators that there are those who view them as “weaker and less loveable” than others. But time is perhaps just as important, though much more rarely considered.
To be clear, funding is important. Teachers and principals are people (imagine!), who need to earn a living in order to take care of