Blog

My eyes squint from the smile on my face as I greet my students on the first day of school. Life will be experienced by all of us together once again. Every school year, I have the privilege of participating with students as they contribute to "Who They Are Becoming." Consequently, my life is enriched and continually evolving along with theirs. "Who you are becoming" is a lifelong endeavor connected to people, places, learning, experiences, and relationships. The most fruitful and rewarding interactions involve thinking. Thinking ignites both our minds and our hearts. Thinking forms ideas, solves problems, requires us to make decisions, and develops our ability to reason. Imagine that! It builds self-sufficiency. Enter, sweet children, into your "Thinking Classroom" at The Foundation Academy. I welcome you as our think-partners. I look forward to the tasks you will present and drive through your research, product development, Scrum team dialogue, Socratic Seminars, visual arts, and theatrical performances. As I reflect, I observe the courage I see around me in you, the post-2019, COVID-era, technologically connected student. I remember being a student in my elementary school in the Bronx, New York. Often, there was no squint-producing smile on my face. I dutifully obeyed and believed I should be seen but not heard unless I was called upon. We broadly agreed on the value of top-down learning. Yes, I graduated from high school and college and earned prestigious degrees from prestigious universities. I am a "Baby Boomer". It was a far different world in which to grow up. Today, it takes courage to be a thinker in a world of sound bites, Google searches, gaming, high-stakes sports achievement, and measures of success based on likes, appearances, current trends, and influencers. It may mean overcoming your fear of failure and your fear of not belonging to the norms that surround children and teens today. Because you are courageous, we have Thinking Classrooms, and why do we have the expectation that you collaborate as think-partners? The challenges of today's information age and the desire for tribal belonging can create confusion and impede your ability to discern, question, and explore valid information in the pursuit of truth. Historical, scientific, literary, and culturally honoring perspectives all require us to think deeply and listen carefully. Thinking and collaboration are the vehicles that drive your learning as you grow in kindness, practice forgiveness, and build loving communities. My commitment as a leader of The Foundation Academy to a "thinking school," "thinking classrooms," and "think-partners" has remained consistent and unshakable since 1988. I thank God for allowing me to continue to smile daily, knowing that everyone who is part of The Foundation Academy family will have experiences that teach values, values that are applied to "Who You Are Becoming." Thank you, Foundation Academy, for allowing me to feel deeply alive.