Wonder

11/4/2024

In leading professional development workshops, I have often given groups of teachers and administrators a crayon or a chisel-point marker and asked them to draw a picture of someone or something across the table.

Invariably there is awkward giggling followed by apologies when the drawings are revealed. Yet we know that given the same task, our children would take it on with relish and pride in their creations.

For example, over the past couple of weeks, I have had the privilege of spending some time exploring, wondering, and imagining with our youngest students.

First, I joined students in Stage I and II for Light R Night, an enthusiastic investigation of the simple but fundamental concepts of light and dark, colour and form: gazing at stars, creating with fluorescent paint, trailblazing through the forest, and trying to make the perfect rectangular prism out of jewel-toned pipe cleaners.

Many of you may have seen on our social media the morning I spent with Louis, a Stage I student, who acted as my special assistant, joining me in meetings with directors, poring over plans of the campus, and offering thoughtful suggestions for upgrades to our facilities.

And then of course, the annual Hill House trick-or-treat and costume contest—where it’s the Stage I students who judge the costumes worn by the adults in the Business, Development, Communications, and Head’s offices.

As an adult, it is easy to dismiss these things as commonplace and even trivial. How many times have I seen a star or a full moon? How many meetings have I already attended in my time as head of school? How many doors have I knocked on and how many Smarties (of both the US and Canadian varieties) have I eaten in my lifetime?

Yet how different would our lives as adults be if we approached the world with the same curiosity and creativity as our preschool students? Stopping to wonder at the rainbows created when the light strikes that rectangular prism, soaking in the sun as it shines through the morning mist on campus, coming to school excited about the new rather than bogged down in the routine.

Yes, we have a lot to teach our children, but let’s not forget what we can learn from them in turn.

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