A Letter to the Ninth Graders
Dear 2019,
It is not hard to think back on our days gathering together in September up at Sharpe for our freshmen retreat. While so much has happened since then, to me, the start of the year seems like only yesterday. This year went by fast – maybe too fast. After 10 years in education, I have come to learn that the speediness of the academic year is not unique; every year flies by. But, unique to this academic year, I can say that I have never been more professionally or personally challenged, engaged, or happy as I have been this year with all at Grace Church School and the Class of 2019. I am so incredibly thankful for the experience to have been your Dean, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the lessons I learned this year from all of you.
- Building trust is paramount
Trusting others can be difficult, but is critical to building loving relationships. Trust needs to be earned, and I have learned that sometimes you need to make yourself worthy of people’s trust. While this may be difficult at times, openness, kindness, and honesty go a long way! What I have most appreciated about your class is your ability to trust each other, to trust me, and to trust yourselves.
- Engagement is equally important
Being engaged and present in each other’s lives can be hard, especially when we all have our own things going on in our own lives outside of school. But we are here, and we care, and so being as engaged as we can in our classes, in our friendships, in our work, is really important. 2019, you have done a tremendous job being here, being present, and making the school better. Although your class is young yet, you are already starting to leave a very positive mark on the life of the school. Your willingness to lead workshops, attend conferences, serve as student leaders and ambassadors, and to take the lead and engage in your classes has been very impressive and inspiring. Grace is better for you all being here!
- Dramatic gestures do not always equal effective gestures
Ah, the great cell phone debacle of 2016! What the school wanted, and what parents wanted, was certainly not aligned with what students wanted. While the drama did not yield the result I had anticipated, or aspired, I learned a whole bunch in the process. You challenged me to reconsider my actions and to give students a voice, allowing students to take a more active role in the solution-finding when faced with a community conflict. It was a wonderful lesson to learn, and I appreciated your humor (the alarms – brilliant!), and willingness to push me in the process…which leads to my next lesson:
- Transparency is important whenever possible
People want to feel heard, understood, valued, and loved – they also want to know information so they feel secure. When decisions become opaque and aren’t fully explained, people begin to question why a certain decision was reached. I have learned it is important to provide as much information as possible to allow students to more fully understand what is happening in their community. While there are limits to how much information can be provided at times, information provides fodder for open dialogue and conversation. You have demanded transparency and advocated for yourselves to have all of the information, and then you have been present to help work towards solutions when need be. I appreciated your tenacity and your ability to self-advocate, and it has helped me to better facilitate open, honest dialogue. Thank you.
You have all inspired me, whether you know it or not, to be a better teacher, coach, advocate, administrator, mom, and person. Thank you for being so wonderful – thank you for being you. I look forward to hearing of your continued success from afar, and I am thrilled to see you all again in a few short years when you graduate! Be good, do good, and best of luck to you all!
Ms. Dutton