High school, or Upper School as we call it at USM, is an interesting time. If we just thought about those two simple words – high school – I think that we could conjure up many different images and the spectrum of emotions would go everywhere from delightful to dismal. Is there any other time in our lives so fraught with emotions and complications? Any other time we remember with such clarity or, for some of us, choose willfully to forget?
Well, let’s think about this for a minute. Think about what they go through every single day. Take the 350 people who mean the most to you in the world; whose opinions really, really matter; have them come to one building every day, interact with them all day – oh, and then at the end of the day, go out and compete with them physically or perhaps perform with them, head for home and spend the rest of the evening communicating with this very same group either verbally, by texting or via Facebook, then socialize with a small subset of them on the weekends. Throw in a dose of hormones, an uncertain future, the fact that you may be actually competing with them for social status or perhaps a position on an athletic team – oh and don’t forget, this all culminates senior year with the college process when they are all forced to participate in an extremely rigorous selection process ― one which basically judges how you performed for the last four years and results in where you will spend the next four to eight years of your life. This list of destinations, of course, will finally be published for all to see.
How long do you think we adults would last in a world like this? A week? Maybe two for the strong at heart…
So, what I am trying to say to you is that when your child comes home from school some days a bit wrung out and maybe even has a meltdown or two along the way, do not worry too much. We all survived it – high school – and perhaps it even made us stronger and more capable of dealing with life’s twists and turns.
Remember that your children need to learn these lessons, to cope with being judged, while learning not to be judgmental, to perform under scrutiny – in the classroom and on the playing fields. This is all actually very carefully and strategically orchestrated to prepare them for college and beyond. It is not supposed to be a walk in the park, it is supposed to strengthen them and prepare them for independence. As I mentioned to the parents of our new students recently, the goal should be to “turn them over to themselves,” – gradually and strategically, making them independent.
So, why is this so darn hard for us as parents? Why? Because we love them and are consumed with this love. I dare say, it skews us at times. I have had the joy of having all three of my boys at school with me throughout the last 10 years. Yes, I did say “joy” – some of you are looking a bit skeptical…
Throughout this experience it has become abundantly clear to me that all of my preparation and training as an educator is completely irrelevant when it comes to my own. I can see all of yours very clearly – those other ones, the ones I am raising, not so much. They have my heart, and they know it. So, after 10 years of this, I have learned to turn them over to the experts, the educators who work in these amazing schools and are so very adept at raising other people’s children. They really are experts. I have seen it for years. Independent school educators are not only intellectuals who love teaching, but they are so much more than that. They have given their lives to working with kids – at the most complicated time in these childrens’ lives. And do you know what? They love it – they really do – I know this because I am here with them and I love it.
Throughout my years as a teacher and as an administrator in these amazing schools, I have observed the passion and compassion of these educators as they work with your children. They truly care about educating the whole child: mind, body, and heart. They care about teaching kids to think critically, analytically, and creatively. They know how to instill in adolescents the ability to communicate effectively both in their written work and orally. They model diligence and hard work and expect it from their students. This faculty knows that today’s students are different even from ten years ago. Today’s students need to be digitally, quantitatively, and scientifically literate. They need to be able to collaborate, to work in teams as well as by themselves. Today’s teenagers will go off into the work world and begin jobs that may not even exist today. They will need to be prepared with the skills to allow them to adapt, take initiative and not be afraid to take risks. Perhaps most importantly, they will need to practice moral and ethical decision-making ― as the opposite, as we have all seen, is devastating.
Recently, I read an interesting quote from Thomas Freidman, New York Times columnist and author. Friedman was referring to the job world our children will enter. He talked about the need for imagination, the ability to spark new ideas.
“If I just have the spark of an idea now, I can get a designer in Taiwan to design it. I can get a factory in China to produce a prototype. I can get a factory in Vietnam to mass manufacture it. I can use Amazon.com to handle fulfillment. I can use freelancer.com to find someone to do my logo and manage my backroom. And I can do all this at incredibly low prices. The one thing that is not a commodity and never will be is that spark of an idea.”At USM we are dedicated to guiding your children to becoming sparklers. The path is complicated, they may not always enjoy it, but it is defined and measurable.
So, what are our measurables? Well, this was a very important question for me as I made the decision to come to USM. I knew anecdotally, from speaking with my colleagues across the nation, that this is a school with a national reputation for excellence. But, I needed more than that. You see, I am shamelessly data driven. Imagine how important it was for me to learn recently that not only is USM the best academic school in the Milwaukee area but we also lead the State of Wisconsin and our students are amongst the very top performers nationally:
Last year our students earned an ACT score average of 29.2, significantly higher than any area school, any other school in the entire state and ranking in the top 7% nationwide. I also learned that across the nation last year, 58% of America’s Advanced Placement test-takers earned a qualifying score of 3, 4, or 5 on these challenging exams. At USM, a qualifying score last year was earned by 94% of our students who took AP’s.
I hope hearing about these very quantifiable results helps to reinforce what you already know anecdotally. USM is the very best educational experience you can possibly provide your children. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity to lead such an impressive school during this important time in its history. When the economy has rocked us, the job market continues to flounder, and more and more college graduates find themselves at a loss for where or how to find work, is there another investment with such opportunity for payback than providing our children with the very best education obtainable? A launching pad for the future?
One final word as I close, please remember we are only at our best when we work together as a team. Your children will draw strength from this and feel secure. Please communicate with us your sons’ and daughters’ hopes, dreams, skills and challenges. Nobody knows him or her better than you do and we recognize this as a school. We thank you for sharing these delightful young people with us.
