Last year, I had a great conversation with a group of seniors. We talked about how Bridges HS operated and what made it different. I enjoyed the conversation so much, that I took the ideas we discussed and wrote a scholarly paper about it. Last month I had the privilege of presenting that paper at an international conference held in Pasadena, California. The topic of my address was integrity at an educational institution.
I concluded, in my paper, that there were 10 important principles needed for a school to operate with integrity: Support, Encouragement, Empowerment, Authenticity, Internalization, Embracing Ideas, Seeking Wisdom, Modeling, Giving Service, Finding Balance. When an institution of education seeks to develop systems that are aligned to these 10 suggested elements, it will help its community of learners develop integrity. The school will help its members rise to a higher vantage point. From this new perspective, students and teachers will view challenges as opportunities for growth, difficult learning as a path to wisdom, and they will see that diverse opinions can co-exist and actually help them discern valuable and truthful information. When developing whole people, that are stable learners and competent decision-makers, the school is encouraging its academic community to develop integrity. With this “superadded” quality, learners will want to share the knowledge and truths they have internalized. Actions of service and teaching will occur naturally for this group of people as they seek to have lives that are consistent with their beliefs.
The teachers at our school believe in these principles. They work hard to make every class a safe place. They encourage each student to enjoy the process of learning. They believe in forming relationships of mutual respect. They hope that every student they encounter will find peace, balance, success, and make a difference in the world. And they stick with students, especially when the learning proves to be difficult! Basically, they model these 10 principles every day, and their actions make Bridges HS a different place to go to school. I feel lucky to be associated with people of such high caliber. I hope that you will appreciate their influence in the lives of your children during this school year.
RFPEF
The Roaring Fork Public Education Foundation, the nonprofit that exists
solely to offer opportunities to help local public school teachers, has
designed a simple, free and easy way that everyone can help support the
foundation's efforts. For anyone who likes to buy online, start from the
free shopping guide www.schoolpop.com. When registering on the site, be
sure to select the RFPEF as the beneficiary. Each time you shop, log in to the
site first so that the RFPEF receives credit. For questions, contact RFPEF
Director Irene Friedman at 379-6569.
District News
There is a feature on the District's website...please go to www.rfsd.org and check it out near the bottom of the main page.
