I recently participated in a conference sponsored by the Heads Network, a group that has been committed to furthering women and girls in independent school leadership for decades. As part of the conference, we were asked to share a reflection on authentic leadership and some piece of our own leadership journey. The following was the story I shared.
The movement I have tried to lead since I first entered schools more than 30 years ago is to create educational experiences that are engaging and meaningful, experiences that inspire students to reach beyond and make a difference in the world.
My first teaching experience was in college after my junior year at a program called Explo, a program for middle school students hosted at Wellesley University. We had the opportunity – and challenge – of designing our own courses. Inspired by the emerging science about the power of positive thinking, I led a three-week course on Laughter as Medicine. We talked about humor – what makes something funny? How does it vary among different people, cultures, and ages? – and reviewed summaries of scientific papers that detailed the healing power of laughter. And then we went out and did something – we created a variety show, building on the various talents of the students, and performed at a local nursing home, bringing an hour or so of joy into the lives of the elderly population.
Fast forward 30 years, and I am helping to lead the expansion of Hillbrook School from a JK-8 into a JK-12. At the heart of our new Upper School is a program that prioritizes real-world learning, a program that prioritizes engagement and academic challenge, not the traditional AP program, and a program that is measured through our developing competency-based architecture that prioritizes student learning and growth, not ranking and sorting. Our high school campus in downtown San Jose allows us to fully embrace the city as classroom, engaging with city leaders, nonprofits, local businesses, and the urban landscape. In just our first year, for example, a group of our 9th graders have already submitted a scientific paper for publication in a journal detailing the impact of wildfire smoke on the urban heat island effect.
What I have come to understand more and more as I have worked with colleagues not only at Hillbrook but at schools around the country and world is that at the heart of engagement is agency, the key not only to authentic learning but also to empowering students and giving them a sense of hope. In an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, it has never been more important for students to feel like they can do something and make a difference.
A few years ago, I went back to my 30th high school reunion. The reunion organizers had photocopied the senior pages in our yearbooks, a few pages that included quotes from each student. I skimmed through to find my quote. It was a quote from Robert F. Kennedy – “Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope.” And it was followed by my optimistic, 18-year-old exhortation “Let’s go out in the world and make a difference.” It’s been my throughline since the beginning. The reason I wake up each morning. It’s an exhortation that remains ever so timely.