Service Above and Beyond

One of my most deeply held beliefs is that if we graduate students from Rivers who are great academicians, great athletes, or great artists, but who are not great human beings, then we have failed as an institution. Key to achieving that goal is instilling in our students a genuine sense of caring for their fellow man, whether it is helping a fellow student with a math concept or running a campus road race for financial aid.

Sure, we have a minimum requirement for community service for graduation, but so many of our students go far, far beyond those 30 hours. Beginning in Middle School, leadership and community service are linked together as a natural extension of our definition of leadership – to be your best self and positively influence others. Middle School leadership days are often structured around service activities. That intertwining continues in the Upper School, where a key component of the Grade 10 RISE program is for each student to reflect on what he or she feels passionate about and then initiate a service project to address that issue.

Fifteen juniors just spent the first week of winter break in New Orleans participating in a rebuilding project in that still-devastated city. One of our juniors has actually founded her own non-profit organization to help bring education to young African girls – I don’t know many adults with that kind of drive. There are the Middle School programs in conjunction with the Natick Service Council, the Special Olympics run by our tenth graders, the Rivers Givers fundraising efforts to support local youth and teen outreach programs – the list goes on and on.

What I’m most pleased by – and what makes me believe we are doing something right – is the genuine enthusiasm I sense in our students. They are becoming the caring human beings we need for the future.

Click here to read more about the recent service trip to New Orleans. 

How Children Succeed: The Importance of Grit and Character

I just finished reading How Children Succeed by Paul Trough. I was looking forward to the book because its thesis that "grit, curiosity, and the hidden power of character" are far more important than natural intelligence in determining achievement reinforces my own deeply-held perspective. I wanted data and hard science to substantiate this perspective. I must say, the first part of the book did not disappoint in this regard. In the first chapter, "How to Fail," Trough provides ample evidence to support the development of grit and curiosity as critical ingredients for success. I’ve always felt that failure is one of the underutilized yet most effective teaching techniques we educators have at our disposal. I especially like the section on "attachment" and close relationships between adults and students as vital elements in students learning how to persist.

In the rest of the book, Trough departs from scientific research and instead provides the reader with narratives about individual teachers, students, and schools. He becomes more of a storyteller as opposed to an expert, possibly because it is easier to chronicle examples than to connect those examples to real research. I felt that the salient points of his book would have made a compelling article. Moreover, he never consolidates his findings (what few there are), and as a result, the reader/educator/parent is left empty-handed. I was looking for the proverbial takeaways, but they never appeared. How disappointing! 

I'm not giving up on grit and determination and character. I still think these qualities are much more important than natural intelligence in shaping a fulfilling life. I agree with Trough that our failing students and schools are in dire need of more of this kind of "performance character." I just wish Trough had provided the proof to make my opinions rock-solid and indisputable. 

How do you feel about these traits? Did they play a role in your education and subsequent path in life?