The Pursuit of Happiness

Following the inauguration of a new President of the United States, what better time to reflect on the founding principles of this country? 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men [and women, incidentally] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness'. Ah, goosebumps!

Last week it was brought to my attention that Jefferson (and the other signers of the Declaration of Independence) was basing his ideas of 'happiness' on Aristotle's 'Ethics', of which he owned a heavily annotated copy (in the original Greek, of course). This isn't any surprise - of course Jefferson studied Aristotle. It was expected at that time. What is more enlightening is to think about what Aristotle actually meant by the concept. He used the word 'eudaimonia', (which if you break it up must surely mean 'spirit of good'), and he interpreted it as human flourishing, self-actualization, knowing who you are and what you believe and having the courage to live according to your beliefs. That is the principle that was invoked in the Declaration of Independence, and interestingly enough it is also the principle we invoke at Summers-Knoll when we talk about a child's happiness. What we are seeking here is not the superficial happiness of every child at every minute of the day, a happiness brought about by having everything go smoothly, never coming into disagreement or irritation with another child, never having to try anything demanding or disagreeable, never having to experience conflict. To aim for that kind of happiness would be a huge disservice to our children. Watch Will's students responding to stories written by Sudanese refugees, or debating the meaning of life as they prepare for class. Watch Elaine's students racing to read books that will bring donations to kids in need. Watch Susan's class in math grappling with concepts of fairness (or unfairness) as they learn about probability. Watch them find power in helping each other through their 'Tribes' activities. Watch what they each come up with when they discover the intensity of Degas, or the ancient resonance of stories from Homer and Ovid. The happiness we're looking for here comes from self-actualization: the quest to become the most 'themselves' - and the best 'themselves' - that they can possibly be. We want to foster in our children the insatiable curiosity of the Elephant's Child (if you haven't read that story, it's a must. Look for it here), to help them grow to new awareness, new understanding, to develop in them the ability to think deeply, flexibly and creatively, to make connections, to explore their beliefs and have the courage to live accordingly, to discover passion in knowledge, skill, and service. (Albert Schweitzer famously said, 'The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.' I think his notion of happiness fits right in here.)

If you have a chance, go here, and listen to what Ben Dunlap (president of Wofford College) has to say about the living of a full life. The people he describes and whose stories he tells did not necessarily live the most comfortable lives. They experienced suffering and injustice - more than we may be equipped to understand. Their happiness certainly didn't come from getting everything their own way. They found fulfillment through a passionate, empathetic engagement with life and an unfailing curiosity and zest for new experience. That's what we're shooting for here: the pursuit of happiness as an open-hearted exploration of life.

Inauguration Day

I opened up my blog to write about Inauguration Day, and found that Susan Carpenter had beaten me to it. I encourage all of you, no matter which classroom your child is in, to read her blog entry - it is relevant to everyone. History is being made right now - live in the moment! Experience it! No amount of school can be a substitute for that.

Annual Fund Thanks and Celebration

With deep respect and gratitude, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the Summers-Knoll Annual Fund. We have raised an amazing $23,000 to support Summers-Knoll programs and operations. In the current economic climate, that figure is a huge indication of your support and belief in our unique little school. Thank you for your recognition and appreciation of the important place that Summers-Knoll fills in the educational community - this school truly is like no other in this area. You, our community, play a tremendous role in making our school what it is: your children are our raison d'étre, and your involvement in their education is a crucial part of our success.

I want to extend special thanks to Sunny and Steve Chapel, who funded a $5,000 match for donations in December. Sunny and Steve, I am always in awe of your involvement and commitment to the school. You share so much love, warmth, support, and wisdom with us, it is truly an honor to have your family be part of our community.

Our goal for the Annual Fund was $30,000. The generosity you have already shown has contributed hugely to our current financial stability and I am thrilled with the level we have reached. I am keen to continue the Annual Fund and maintain our goal of $30,000, with a focus on building scholarship funds with contributions from this time on. Summers-Knoll is passionately committed to supporting a diverse community of families and students, and currently has 23% of families receiving some level of financial aid. I will be fundraising for 2009-10 scholarships enthusiastically for the remainder of the year. If you have not yet contributed to the Annual Fund (or even if you have, but wish to contribute to this great cause) now is your moment!

Last but not least, Fran Loosen and Nick Giardino are very kindly hosting a thank-you party for contributors to the Annual Fund on Saturday January 31st . I am delighted to have this opportunity to celebrate with you. Watch for your invitation in your email!

Alpha House After Care Project

I want to thank all of you whose children took part in the after care activities to benefit the Alpha House for Mothers and Children. This two-week, multi-faceted project included cooking, a bake sale, buying gift cards at a local grocery store, making multicultural ornaments, visiting a tree farm and cutting down a tree, and finally bringing it all together by setting up the tree at the Alpha House shelter, decorating it with the ornaments, and giving the residents the gift cards funded by the bake sale. Phew. That was a lot of work, and our students were enthusiastic and dedicated throughout the process. Some of them were there for a little of it, some were there for all of it - every child who participated did wonderful work to help homeless families feel supported and cared for this holiday season. Congratulations to all of you! I applaud your kindness and your energy in helping others.

The Ann Arbor News sent a reporter to Braun's Tree Farm, and the article she wrote can be found here:

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-30/1229960435198520.xml&coll=2

(You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser.)

Thanks to Shan and Sabriena for leading this project. Thanks also to Braun's Tree Farm for the donation of the tree, and to the Alpha House for allowing our children to participate in this wonderful experience.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Writer's Workshop

Today I had a rare opportunity to work with the students in Will's room on writing. I love this kind of work - it is so inspiring to see children developing their unique writer's voice and learning to trust their instinct for language. They have been doing some pretty interesting work (through the mythology theme) on creation stories, and the creation of new worlds, so we combined that idea with an exercise on atmosphere and mood development in writing. The students all generated notes, and from that point worked on a piece of writing more like a painting of words than a story or logical progression of thoughts. They all got absolutely caught up in their writer's bubble, creating their own thoughts in their own way with some striking results. I had so much fun reading their work, I wanted to share some of it with you. (Please bear in mind that not everyone had a chance to fully correct for spelling and punctuation. I have not corrected unedited work.) These are snippets, to give you a flavor, and names have been omitted to protect the artists from paparazzi.

'...They reek of sadness
angry at nothingness
sad at everything
the core like bread being ripped
apart
the forest so sad
frost
ice
rain
snow
cold
forest
blue forest...'

'You think of lime as beaing calm. You think of red as anger. You think of blue as beaing sad but I beg to differ...'

'...I see a young shadow of me, he hums and walks away - I try to follow but a huge drop of water falls and... my ears hurt as they are listening to metal scraping the edge of nothing...'

'...I see a bleached, bright
yellow, then comes
a calm blue. A burning
red comes flaring
at me...
...Something
tapped me. It was
a great warrior,
he said: The people need you. So bring me there I said...'

'...Only bubbles popping on the brook
dare disturb the sacred peace
The trees beside are still
all is still, all is still'

'The beach is flotty with its pretty blue water. It makes me feel so wonderful and happy. I hear a bird chirp, I hear the wind blow...'

'The tiger is stuck in the tree. Crying. Yelping. It's madness. I try to help but I can't. The tiger can't get out... It's yellow red and orange swirling and swirling...'

'If you look down the sea looks blue when you swim in it. It might look clear or white to you. The sun bright yellow the cherrys ripe red...'

'...Then it breaks into tiny particles of snow. But it is still very dark out. Then it gets darker and darker. Black now. Then my head goes blank.'

Thank you to all the students for making my day!

Two Great Events

Zara Zangana, from Will's class, is dancing in 'The Nutcracker' with Ann Arbor Dance Classics Ensemble. The performance is on Sunday, December 14, at 2 p.m. at Milan High School auditorium, 707 Marvin St, Milan. Tickets are $12, available by calling 734-302-4248. I won't be able to see this myself - I'll be out of town for the weekend - but I'm sure it will be beautiful. Good luck, Zara!

I also wanted to mention an event which has nothing to do with Summers-Knoll specifically, except that all families from anywhere are welcome. It sounds so lovely, I wanted to bring it to your attention:

Community Menorah Lighting and Sing-a-long: Families are invited to a Community Menorah Lighting and sing-a-long on Friday evening, December 26, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. inside
St. Clare's Church / Temple Beth Emeth, 2309 Packard Street, Ann Arbor (near Stadium Blvd). Refreshments, musicians, choral works, and sing-a-long with the children's choir, cantor Annie, and Rabbi Levy. Bring a menorah and candles if you have one, for the largest menorah lighting
celebration in the city. All are welcome.

Cooking

Our organic lunch program is about to begin a new era. Rather than having lunches brought to us, we will be making them ourselves, and involving the children as much as possible in the preparation, serving, and communal eating of the meals we provide.

Our children love to cook! The bake sale last Thursday is a wonderful example of what happens when they get inspired. They baked breads, cakes, custards and cookies from different cultures and traditions, and sold them to benefit children at the Alpha House shelter. They were passionate about what they were doing, took it very seriously, were proud of their work and their cause, and were dedicated cooks, organizers, and salespeople. Now they will take the $70+ they made on the sale, and use it to buy holiday gifts for homeless children. This coming week they will complete the overall project by making multicultural holiday ornaments, cutting down a holiday tree (generously donated by Braun's Farm), setting up the tree and decorating it at the Alpha House, and leaving their bake sale gifts beneath the tree for the children.

The power that our students feel when they are able to do something so effective for others, and to use their skills and time to such clear good purpose, is palpable. They glow with it. They move and speak with authority and resolution. And, especially where cooking is concerned, they have so much fun! So, from here on, we will be enlisting their help in cooking lunches, and we will be serving the lunches family-style, to enjoy the community spirit that comes from a job well done and good food to share. The children have been great at cleaning up after meals for some time; now they will have the chance to cook and serve the meals also. We will also have occasional after-care shopping field trips to local ethnic grocery stores, and to the Food Coop, where the children can buy local organic produce, sugar, flour, and other bulk foods. When spring comes, we will make some trips to the Farmer's Market on Wednesday mornings.

If you have any thoughts as to meals you would like to see on our lunch menu, please share! We want to reflect the cultures and lifestyles of the many different families in our community - we want to try recipes from all around the world, as well as experiment with regional American recipes, vegetarian and vegan, and regular gluten-free meals to enable all our children to participate. And if you would like to come in and help cook, and be an honored guest for the meal, you would be very welcome! We would be delighted to have you there.

Please remember, we will only be able to cook food that is peanut and tree-nut free, so please bear that in mind as you share your favorite recipes.