Thirteen years ago, I went looking for a school for my four-year-old daughter, Darla. Like any parent, I knew her to be a brilliant, extraordinary child destined for greatness. My hopes were for intellectual and academic challenges in a kind and supportive environment.

What Fayerweather gave her was much more – and very different – than I had anticipated. 

It is February again, meaning it’s time to celebrate Black History. Admittedly, not all aspects of Black History month as it is defined resonates with me, as I feel conflicted that the recognition of my peoples’ history is relegated to this short month. I am encouraged that Fayerweather School studies Black history throughout the year. Yet I struggle with the February celebration of our achievements. United States history should reflect the contributions and cultural influences of human beings from all over our planet, but sadly, even today, many of those cultural influences and stories are left to the margins and assigned to days, weeks, and months. 

As my kids headed into school yesterday, raincoats stuffed in backpacks, loathed KN95s firmly pulled up, a notification popped up on my phone, from an astrology app I downloaded ages ago: “Today you might be feeling more emotional than usual.” 

I laughed, and then cried, just a little.

It’s December! Why does it feel like April in my body and spirit? April is the time of the year when things are wrapping up, teachers are stressed to get in those last important lessons, and the admin teams are making sure that we execute on the things we have planned to turn the page on another year successfully. We are all a bit cranky because we are working hard to take care of all of the passengers on our metaphorical airplane and thinking about how we can safely and successfully land the plane; in other words, tying a nice bow around the end of the year. By April, our tiredness is buoyed by longer days, sunshine, and warmer weather that reminds us that we are close to the end of the school year. We will have more time to think, reflect, plan, and even find time to slow down. But it is December!

As the counselor, I’ve been reading about the TikTok School Challenges that have been popping up all fall and thought to myself 'I’m so grateful that I work at Fayerweather' (if you’re not familiar with them, check out this article for a summary of the social media-inspired vandalism that has been taking schools by surprise this fall). At the same time, I’ve never been busier with student, parent, and teacher requests for conversation than I have been this fall - big things, little things, seemingly unrelated things - and it is clear that everyone is on much rockier ground than usual. I’ve talked with other counselors, in the Boston area and nationally, and I’m hearing the same thing from them. This article (Chalkbeat) and this article (NYTimes) nicely capture the surprising emotional intensity that schools have felt this fall. While Fayerweather is by no means in the throes of TikTok School Challenges, we are seeing what schools across the country are seeing - our students are fragile. They are having a hard time navigating age-appropriate conflicts without an adult. They are having disproportionate reactions to disappointment and frustration. They are more physical than usual at recess. They are more sensitive to normal physical play at recess. They are offended easily. They are confused socially. They are anxious and worried about seemingly “ordinary” things. They are looking for adults to talk to way more than usual. They are wanting our attention in a distinct way. Our students are coming out of a period of intense adult attention, of 1:1 connection time with same-age peers, of carefully curated playdates and friendships, and they are getting easily overwhelmed by their current surroundings. It is exhausting for everyone, most notably the students. 

Fayerweather’s Extended Day program has been a staple of our programming for many years. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we were forced to forgo these experiences for over a year. This year, however, we are thrilled to see the return of many familiar Extended Day offerings, as well as some exciting new additions.

 

Fayerweather’s curriculum emphasizes a spirit of exploration and creative problem solving by providing opportunities to learn from direct experiences. The Extended Day program emphasizes these principles across all grade and age levels. In the younger grades, students begin their afternoon by sharing thoughts and ideas before starting experiences through exploration and science, art and acting, or social justice and activism.

Fayerweather Staff and Administration began the school year with a day of deep discussion and reflection lead by Julie Jungalwala, founder, and executive director of the Institute for the Future of Learning. Staff reflected on what they learned as individuals, as a team, and as a school during the last year of living and teaching in the pandemic. Lessons learned from the last year helped shape some of the planning for the coming year, as well as personal and professional goals for our staff.

Rewind the clock back to fall 2020 when the whole school was preparing for a hybrid learning model. Teachers were adapting their curriculum for both in-person and remote learning styles. Each subject matter tackling hurdle after hurdle as they reshaped their lessons for the coming year. In preparing for the start of school, music teacher Kate Lee’s primary focus since day one was the hands-on aspect of music education. Trying new instruments and experimenting has always been essential to her experiential curriculum. However, the reality of ever changing COVID protocols made traditional music collaboration a real challenge.

We are back to in-person school, and for the most part, students seem happy to re-engage with the routine of leaving home to enter another community of peers and other caring adults to get down to the business of formal, spontaneous, and organic learning – the kind of learning that happens best when we are present with one another.

I love April Fools Day, as I am a prankster at heart. I love the feeling and laughter that follows one of my pranks. I am the middle child between two brothers, who enjoyed nothing more than getting one over on me with a good trick. I was totally out pranked one Halloween when I was about eight years old. My older brother decided that he would use invisible string to thread a small skeleton that glows in the dark and would hang down like a pendant on a necklace. He placed the invisible string between my room and his and waited for me to fall asleep. I jerked awake as I felt something brush against my nose, only to see this glowing and dangling skeleton that appeared to be floating in mid air. I released a loud scream, and I could hear laughter in the next room. The prank was implemented with precision and success! Needless to say, my brother was in trouble with my parents. I share this story because I want to capture the idea of what we choose to practice grows. The very idea of learning should mean that mastery is something that we are always working towards, and it is never a state to be found. Learning is a process of on-going practice.

Once again, we are witness to the socializing forces of white supremacy culture. The most recent headline of Wednesday, March 17 reads, “8 People Killed in Atlanta-Area Massage Parlor Shootings.” “Six of the people murdered were Asian, and two were identified as white (NY Times).” A 21-year-old from Woodstock, Georgia named Robert Aaron Long has been identified as the murderer. I hope I am wrong about my belief that his actions were motivated by hate, as there is not agreed upon confirmation about the reason for these killings, yet the pattern feels all too familiar. The New York Times indicated that there have been “nearly 3,800 reports of hate incidents targeting Asian-Americans nationwide since last March, according to Stop AAPI Hate.” We all know that Asians are being unfairly targeted for bringing the coronavirus to the United States. At least, that is the latest reason!

Kim wrote beautifully last week about the reasons why parents are attracted to an independent school education, and, in particular, a Fayerweather education. She spoke of the NAIS “Jobs to be Done” framework/study and the “jobs” that parents hire independent schools to do. Rightfully, she noted that Job 3 was one that resonated with what she has heard from parents most (although there is overlap between the jobs). Job 3 is described from a parent’s perspective as “When a school is focused almost solely on test scores and academic curriculum, help me find a school that will focus on my child’s social and emotional well being so that I can make sure that my child is well-rounded and a productive member of society.” Her writing had me reflecting on what the core principles or competencies of that third job looks like here at Fayerweather. 

Exploring identity in our curriculum is nothing new at Fayerweather. Themes of race, gender, sexual orientation, and economic standing have been woven throughout our curriculum and community. Students are taught to not only share their voice, but that their voice matters. The culmination of this important work on identity can be seen in different examples such as the impassioned Graduation speeches from our Unit students, or in the marches/demonstrations for various causes organized by student activists throughout all grade levels. But the foundations of this curriculum are rooted in the teaching and instruction of our early years.