Kids These Days...

Admit it: If you’re over 25 years old, you’ve uttered the phrase “kids these days” and begun worrying about what our future generation holds. The Greatest Generation said it about the Baby Boomers, the Baby Boomers said it about Generation X, and now my Generation X is starting to say it about teenagers. But should we be so concerned?

Prior to working in the financial industry, I was a military instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy teaching an ethics and character development seminar to the seniors as they prepared to enter the Navy and Marine Corps. The goal was to prepare them for the myriad leadership, ethical, and other challenges they would face as young, inexperienced officers. It was a final test after four years of leadership development to see if the soon-to-be graduates were ready to face such daunting challenges. After each seminar that I taught (over 100) I came away with the feeling that yes, this next generation is ready to face its share of challenges.

Recently I’ve been working with my alma mater, Greensboro Day School, as they develop the same type of ethical development program for their middle school and high school students. I am honored to be included in their discussions and hope that my experience in this field can be of benefit to their students.

In May, I met with 10 GDS Upper School students and led them through an ethical dilemma case study. First, they read an ethical dilemma on Truth vs. Loyalty, and if one is more important than the other. Students identified and shared their initial reactions and the various dilemmas they noticed in the case study. Students immediately made connections to the dilemma with the GDS Honor Code and identified the values that were in conflict. They identified possible consequences and differentiated between the many perspectives to consider in the dilemma. Repercussions of both telling the truth and being loyal to a friend were considered. Students readily agreed that the dilemma of Truth vs. Loyalty is probably one of the most common dilemmas adolescents face.

The goal of the discussion was not to “get to the solution.” The goal was to identify all of the possible options in dealing with an ethical dilemma and weighing the pros and cons of each decision. The students’ ability to consider more than their own needs, to place a high value on their own morals, and factor in the schools’ Honor Code were immediately noticeable. I quickly realized one thing: these kids get it. They’re smart, they want to abide by honor codes and principles, and they want to do the right thing even when it may be extremely difficult to do so. Teenagers may not always make the best decisions, but with a solid foundation, they will certainly try to make the right decisions.I came away from an afternoon with a group of high school students feeling energized and excited about this progress. 

The case study and discussion far exceeded our expectations for what we hoped the students would learn. They seemed excited to tell their friends and family about it, and they can’t wait for other students to have the same experience. Furthermore, they instilled a sense of trust in me that our future generations are just as capable and intelligent as the ones before them. It allowed me to delay uttering the phrase “kids these days” just a little bit longer. If you are still concerned about today’s teenagers, spend some time with them. Volunteer, coach, teach. Whatever you choose, I think you will come away impressed as well.

About the Author: Chris Hilliard '01 has been in the financial services industry since 2012. As a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a U.S. Naval Officer, Chris knows a thing or two about discipline, determination, and goal setting. He is a Registered Representative and Investment Advisor Representative with and securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. View this blog at: http://www.hmc-partners.com/kids-days/

If I Knew Then What I Know Now

Looking back at my time spent in the Upper School, it can all seem like a blur. Awkward dances, APUSH readings, sports practices, scrambled tests, late nights...if I met my freshman self today, there would definitely be a few minutes of staring; trying to decipher the effects four years of high school had on me.

Now, these changes didn’t happen so easily, but the word regret never crossed my mind. I am okay with who I am — in fact I’m a little proud. And each bump along the road helped shape that person I am today.

But there are a few things I wished I had realized sooner that would have made life that much easier. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it does carry some weight nonetheless.

First and foremost: grades are important, yes, but they do not define who you are. The classes you take don’t; the numbers on your transcript don’t; your SAT and ACT scores don’t. The college you end up at doesn’t. Education is a never ending pursuit; it is essential to finding both a passion and a purpose in life. But it cannot be summed up by letters at the end of each semester. Get outside of the classroom. Volunteer. Travel. See things none of your friends have seen and work on a truly comprehensive education.

With this being said, take advantage of the academic opportunities you have. Greensboro Day School is a unique environment where each and every teacher wants to see you succeed. Enjoy this academic environment. Thrive in it. Classroom education should not become your founding characteristic, but it is a fundamental building block for your future. Speaking of the future….

Start the college search early! Visit as many colleges as you can. Each college offers a distinct environment with its own mix of academics, social endeavors and sports teams. Don’t be afraid to talk to current students. Google is a very important resource when it comes to the college search, but current students can give you a realistic, first-hand account of student life at the university.

You are what you eat, but you may also be who you hang out with. This is by no means encouraging reclusive behavior or selective social circles. Get out there and make some friends! But when it comes to whom you spend your weekends with, use a little caution. Find people with common interests and who are accepting of your nuances and idiosyncrasies rather than those looking for people to roll up to a party with.

One of the hardest things I had to learn was how to say 'no.' I promise it’s okay to stop playing tennis - even though you have done it since you were little; even though your parents want you to continue playing; even though you think it will look good to colleges. Maybe that person you see in the mirror everyday may not be a part of your future? And that’s okay! It’s okay to want to try something new for a change. In turn, you may discover someone else in the mirror you like a little more.

And finally, find yourself. High school is a time to get involved in as many extracurriculars as you can. Discover what you like, what you don’t like, and what gets you excited. It’s dangerous to make decisions impacting your future without a true sense of self. In that case, the external force pushing you the hardest may win. So take a personality test. Learn to embrace your quirks. Surround yourself with an environment that nurtures your interests and individuality.

High school is an exciting, wondrous place. Students undoubtedly come out more mature and ready for the next step in life. Take advantage of these tips and make the high school experience what you want it to be!

Kevin Carty '14

Design Thinking: A New Way to Look at Solving Problems

Sarah Soule, a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, tells a story about a group of students:

“Six years ago, a team of students at Stanford University used a problem-solving method called design thinking to develop a simple, portable device — a sort of sleeping bag for newborns — that so far has helped 22,000 low-birth-weight babies around the world stay warm. The Embrace Baby Warmer, which includes a phase-change material that maintains its temperature for six hours after heating, is an amazing innovation. Had it not been for a crucial shift in the way the students were thinking, the warmer might never have existed.” 

Design Thinking is a unique way of solving problems because it is human-centered. Students must empathize with the people for which they are solving the problem. It is a shift in thinking about others’ needs and wants, rather than their own.

One might hear about students participating in a Design Thinking Club at Greensboro Day and think they are students in the Upper School or Middle School. However, we have a group of 4th and 5th graders who dove into this methodology of problem-solving as part of an after-school club.

In Summer of 2012, 4th grade teacher Megan Judy attended ://FUSE 2013, an intensive 2-day workshop in Atlanta. This past summer, LS director Gillian Goodman participated in an online Design Thinking course through Stanford University. Together, Judy and Goodman launched the Lower School Design Thinking Club, in which students had to apply to take part.

The first meeting in the fall was dedicated to students understanding how they personally go about solving problems, classifying themselves as “North,” “South,” “East” and “West,” based on outlined characteristics. Students were very reflective about what strengths they brought to a group and what challenges the other “directions” might have with them.

Next, students identified problems they saw around the school which were meaningful to them. Then came

the empathy piece – students developed a list of peers, faculty and staff who would be appropriate to interview for their particular problem. Interviewing these various members of our GDS community allowed them to see multiple perspectives and needs. They stepped out of their own shoes in order to better solve the problem.

After discussing people’s needs with their group members, they finally came to the part that they had been waiting to do since their first meeting – prototype a solution! Using cardboard, pipe cleaners, Styrofoam, paper plates and other odd objects, students built a prototype to illustrate the solution to their problem. At the end of April, students presented their problems and solutions to a group of observers:

• How might we improve the speed at which cafeteria food is served?
  Ticketmaster 3000 - a machine that issues you a ticket. You get all the "other" items such as drink, sides, or dessert and go to your seat. When your number is called you go up to the serving station to pick up your hot lunch.
• How might we improve the 4th grade laptops (in terms of charging power and speed of processing)?
  One group designed a computer that was actually your desk and operated on solar panels.
  
  
  Another group created a super-charging multi-station dock. It would store a lot of unnecessary memory to help the computers run faster, and their charging system would charge your laptop in 3 minutes.
• How might we improve locker size?
  This group created a locker that had a compartment in the bottom that had a latch that would open up and you could store small items such as books, electronics, etc. The large space would then just hold your backpack and books.

The Design Thinking Club was a rewarding experience for both the students and the teachers involved. Look

for more Design Thinking ideas and spaces to pop-up around campus in the near future.

7 Myths About College

As Dave Barry wisely said, “I believe that we parents must encourage our children to become educated, so they can get into a good college that we cannot afford.”

All kidding aside, with rising college tuitions and large numbers of twenty-somethings graduating with increasing amounts of student loan debt, it is more important than ever that students (and their parents) enter college with all of the information they need to make wise decisions about their majors and future careers. Here are some myths and facts about starting college, plus tips on how to ensure that that students graduate with the best possible career and personal options.

Myth #1: I already know what I want to study in college so I don’t need to do any further exploration.
Fact # 1:

• 80 percent of college students change their majors at least once during college. 
• Some students will change their majors 3-5 times. 
• These changes cause frustration, lost time, money and resources.

Myth #2: I have no clue what I want to study in college, I’ll wait until I get there to figure it out. I don’t have to decide until my 3rd year of school.
Fact #2:

• College Freshmen with AP and Joint Enrollment credit may need to declare a major as early as their first semester.
• For many majors it is necessary for a student to take certain classes beginning with the first semester in order to graduate in four years.

Myth #3: I’ll just aim for the best college I can get into.
Fact #3:

• One-third of all students switch institutions at least once before earning a degree.
• The most common time for a transfer is the student’s second year. Often cited reasons for transfer are financial, homesickness, change in majors, and poor grades.
• Finding a good college “fit” prior to matriculation is crucial.

Myth #4: My cousin/best friend/boyfriend loved X University, so it must be right for me.
Fact #4: Experts say to find the best college fit, YOU need to look at colleges that:

1. Offer a program of study to match your interests and needs;
2. Provide a style of instruction to match the way you like to learn;
3. Provide a level of academic rigor to match your aptitude and preparation;
4. Offer a community that feels like home to you; and
5. Value you for what you do well. (US News and World Report)

These factors require YOU to understand what’s best for YOU.

Myth #5: It’s too early to think about life after college.
Fact #5:

• Almost half of college graduates move back home after graduation due to college debt and failure to find a job. 
• Almost two out of every three recent college graduates are not working in a job close to their field of study. 
• Forty percent of college graduates say they are working in jobs that don't even require college degrees. 

Myth #6: It’s all up to my SAT/ACT scores, GPA, essays, recommendations, and athletic/leadership/artistic talents to be admitted.
Fact #6:

• Over 800 colleges no longer mandate SAT/ACT scores for admissions purposes.
• Admissions officers consistently cite self awareness, authenticity and passion as qualities they most want to see in their applicants.

Myth #7: I know how to study in high school and get good grades. It will be the same in college.
Fact #7:

• Rule of thumb: put 2-3 study hours in for every hour that you are in class each week.
• College tests make up a large percentage of your final grade. You will have 2-3 tests over a large amount of course material. 

In my positions at the University of Georgia and University of Virginia, I saw many students who came to college “knowing” what they wanted to do. Sometimes these goals were not based on the students’ abilities, interests or values, but rather on parental or societal expectations. When these students hit a wall in coursework or didn’t like the subject matter, they would be crushed and unsure of the future. Some change during college is inevitable. However, when students enter college with a clear idea of their abilities and interests, they can navigate the ups and downs of the college experience.

To this end, these students can take a simple test that objectively evaluates their natural abilities and strengths, like the Highlands Ability Battery. These types of tests can help students gain self-understanding for college selection and interview processes. They also identify students’ best learning channels, which will enable them to adapt the ways they study and allow for increased achievement. Most importantly, this information can help students make smarter curriculum and major choices, which in turn can lead to better future career choices.

Providing students with the self-knowledge to understand their abilities and to use this information during their college and post college experience can have lifetime benefits, for students and as well as their parents. Who knows, they may not even need to move back home after graduation.
_______________________________________________________________________________

About the Author: A 1988 graduate of GDS, Kim Fisher Turner is currently a school counselor in Athens, Ga. She has spent over 15 years working in education. She is also a licensed professional counselor who sees students and adults for career and transitional issues. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then received a Master's in Education from the University of Virginia.

Snow Days Do NOT Mean “No Learning” Days

This is the first in a series of four blogs highlighting digital learning in the Greensboro Day School community.
When a snow day was called at GDS 10 years ago, it meant that teaching and learning was put on hold until students returned to school. Now, we are a connected community where teachers can share lessons and the learning continues. In contrast to some school districts in other states, GDS teachers are not required to have e-learning days when we have snow days. However, our teachers took it upon themselves to use technology to make sure their students did not lose momentum in the learning process.

Some teachers in our Lower School emailed parents with suggestions to help keep learning going at home.  This encouragement included not only the study of multiplication facts and working on book reports, but also watching the Olympics to keep track of medals. While our Suzuki students continued to practice,  but they were also able to use software to record themselves and send the recordings to the teacher who would listen to the piece and give feedback to the student. What is most impressive here is that our teachers were not only able to continue the “usual” learning, but they were also able augment school work with popular media and technology tools.

In our 5th-12th grades, students have Haiku accounts in addition to their GDS email accounts. Students understand that they are expected to check Haiku even when the school is closed for snow. However, the past two snow days encouraged our teachers to be even more creative with their use of Haiku.

Middle School teachers not only posted assignments, but they also provided students with resources to prepare them for the upcoming week at school. Teachers posted videos from Khan Academy, screencasts of lessons with the teacher’s narration, and links to practice, games, and websites relating to grammar, math, and social studies to explore.  Some teachers even posted links to tests which our students were to take at home (GDS honor code applies even at home). One Middle School parent told me that she was impressed with the resources that were provided to her child and felt that this was necessary to keep our students on track with their work.

Our Upper School did not miss a beat over the snow days. Students submitted assignments, papers and projects for teachers to review. This forethought allowed learning to continue as planned once classes resumed. Teachers and students in this division are quite facile with technology of all types (laptops, smartphones, etc.) and they use these tools to continue their connection with school even when they are not physically in a classroom.

These examples, which certainly do not exhaust all the wonderful teaching and learning that went on last week, are representative of the initiative that our teachers take to be sure to provide our students with the best education possible.

10 Lessons the Arts Teach

Will right-brain thinkers rule the world? Educators believe so. A strong arts education helps children to develop important right-brain skills such as flexible thinking, stronger analytical skills and creative problem solving.  Elliott Eisner, a Professor of Education at Stanford University has identified 10 lessons which are clarified through the study of the Arts in school:

1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.
3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
4. The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.
5. The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
6. The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.
7. The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real.
8. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.
9. The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.
10. The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.

Teachable Moments: Miley Creates an Opportunity

Parents naturally want their values to be passed along to their children. But sometimes it is difficult to find just the right opportunities to open the topic of values with teens. Unless you’ve been purposefully avoiding the news, radio, and social media, you know about Miley Cyrus and her infamous behavior during the Video Music Awards. It’s okay if this is news to you. We all need a break sometimes. But, don’t stay in the dark too long or you might miss an opportunity to talk with your kids about your values, relationships, sexuality, role models, and your expectations for them as they get older and make choices that will impact the rest of their lives.

Many parents wonder if their teenager really cares what they think. Rest assured, your child probably cares a great deal about what you think! Teens who recognize that their parents set clear limits and expectations on their behavior and maintain open, honest communication with them are less likely to make choices outside the rules and are more likely to talk to their parents about the big issues. Quite often, parents’ and teenagers’ ideas about right and wrong, future aspirations, and world views are in line with each other. If you want to increase the probability that your teen will share your values, engage your kids in conversation. Taking time to share what we think about the real issues encourages family cohesion – of values and goals.

Adolescence is a critical time in a child's development of a personal set of values and expectations. This time of greater independence and social outreach also provides adolescents with the opportunity to absorb influences and perspectives that their parents may not share. Pat Bassett, former NAIS president, spoke with students, faculty, and parents of GDS about how adults teach ethical thinking and moral courage. His presentation focused on many ways that we, as the adults in their lives, are the models for our child’s choices. But what caught my attention was his discussion of why we need to be counter-cultural  — he even mentioned our friend, Miley.

The problem with Miley is not necessarily that she expresses herself in sexually suggestive ways. Her actions are really only a problem if a parent's value systems, and the values they wish to impart to their children, are not in sync with the popular culture and how Miley expresses herself.

One thing about pop culture...it provides us with many teachable moments! Teachable moments are those everyday situations that open the door to conversation...rather than a lecture that follows bad behavior. Teachable moments begin with questions like, “so, what did you think about that?” and almost never begin
with “we need to talk.”

Teachable moments create space for us to learn more about our kids: what they are thinking and how they are thinking about the issues they face. Here’s an example: my psychology class asked what I thought about a news story about a high school girl in Massachusetts who received a 5-game suspension from volleyball and lost her position as captain because she violated her school’s “zero tolerance” alcohol policy. She went to a party to pick up her friend who had become intoxicated and, while she was there the police broke up the party. It was the perfect opportunity to talk about dilemmas and the right vs. right decisions the girl faced AND the ethical dilemma on the part of the school administration. It was also an opportunity for me to learn more about my students.

As I shared my thoughts with them, the conversation moved from that dilemma to some of the choices they make when faced with similar right vs. right situations. What were the values in competition? What do they value? It was fascinating. I learned more about their thought process in discerning the best choice to make. I listened without judgment.

I think that’s the hardest part for me as a parent: listening without judgment. As much as I want my kids to believe and value what I do, it won’t happen unless they are able to come to it themselves. And they probably will if I continue to talk with them about the real world, listen to them as they talk through their dilemmas, and share some of my ethical dilemmas with them. The odds are in my favor.

Bridget Gwinnett,
Upper School counselor