"This is Why" - Reminders

Throughout my career, I have often felt that a “break” in the school calendar couldn’t get here soon enough while also thinking, “I need more time.” December is one of those months, and I sense that we can all agree we are looking forward to celebrating the holiday season with friends and family. At the same time, life just feels incredibly busy.

Often when we are busy, it is easy to lose sight of what is really important. Luckily, I have had the opportunity to slow down on a few occasions recently, and each time have been reminded about why we do what we do here at Darlington.

I love Lessons & Carols and I love the ELA-8 Holiday Festival concert. Performance in public is the ultimate assessment for a student. For the performance to be successful, it requires teamwork, dedication and commitment to something bigger than oneself.

Both Lessons & Carols and the holiday concert exemplified the best of what we are trying to accomplish on behalf of our students. Even more affirming for me was the fact that because the performances took place close together, I saw great examples of the growth of our students. The complexity of the music or the magnitude of the occasion might be different, but the fundamental learning that goes into creating a wonderful performance still matters. I hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience these performances if you have not already. They symbolize so much of what makes Darlington a great place.

Our goal is for each educational opportunity—and these performances are certainly that—to connect with the mission of the school. When the urgent threatens to overwhelm the important, we must use the mission to remember why the important matters most:

To empower students to learn with passion, act with integrity, and serve with respect.

I was hit with this reminder as I sat in church last Sunday. The Gospel reading was Luke 3:7-18. This lesson starts with John the Baptist calling to the crowd, “You brood of vipers!” As our pastor unpacked the story and its meaning for us, he returned again and again to three ideas.

John was telling the crowd in essence to (1) work hard, (2) be honest, and (3) show kindness to others—so simple, yet so important and not always easy to follow.

It likewise struck me that he was also talking about the mission of Darlington School. To learn with passion, one must work hard. To act with integrity, one must be honest. To serve with respect, one must show kindness to others. What a great reminder of what is important.

As we celebrate this holiday season, we can all strive to...“work hard, be honest, and show kindness to others.” What a great gift that would be to give and to receive.