Robert Coles, the Educational Psychologist, wrote a book a few years ago on character development in young people.  He interviewed a number of students in gathering information for his book and this response comes from a student at George Washington Carver High School in Atlanta, Georgia, with whom he spoke.

He asked this student what virtues speak of character.  Here are the responses in Robert Coles' words:

- Punctuality (your time is not more important than someone else's)

- How you carry yourself (head up, eyes forward)

- How you speak (positively, enthusiastically)

- Self respect (as measured by neatness and choice of clothes)

- Respect for others (as measured by a smile, a please, a thank you)

- Obedience (to elders, to the law, to your own self-evident idea of what is right and wrong)

The student then concluded with this statement:  "We all stray - but if we try hard not to keep repeating ourselves, and if we're not afraid to learn from our mistakes, and if we're willing to work hard, and sacrifice, then we have character."

WOW!  Don't we want that for our children?  That is what we work together for at Lake Tahoe School.

Keillor also talks of his childhood which again brought forth vivid memories of my days in Minnesota and summers in North Dakota.  He states, "You were free, (and indeed we were) but you knew how to behave.  You didn't smart off to your elders, and if a lady you didn't know came by and told you to blow your nose, you blew it.  Your parents sent you off to school with lunch money and told you to be polite and do what the teacher said, and if there was a problem at school, it was most likely your fault and not the school's.  Your parents were large and slow afoot and they did not read books about parenting, and when they gathered with other adults, at church suppers or family get-togethers, they did not talk about schools or about prevailing theories of child development.  They did not weave their lives around yours.  They had their own lives, which were mysterious to you."

How did we lose this outlook on life and should we begin to incorporate some of it again into our own lives?  There seems to be value in separating, not blurring, the child/adult demarcation.   Some food for thought...

"Gee (Roger/Nancy) what are you going to do about that?"

Solving problems and dealing with situations encountered in life requires practice - we learn how to solve problems by being allowed to solve them as they occur.  If adults or parents constantly step into a situation and make a problem disappear, young people are unable to practice.  Then, as they become older, adults may not be around as much, problems become more difficult and young people make what we consider to be poor decisions.  We need to allow young people to practice problem solving early.  They will gain confidence in themselves and gain a sense of control over their lives which is what we all desire.

Picture this cartoon from the New Yorker magazine:    

A couple (a young man and a young woman) holding hands, walking barefoot on the beach in the waves, carrying their shoes.  The boy turns to the girl and says, "I can hardly wait to see what you are like online." 
 

Where is reality?  Where is life?  As more and more people live their conversational lives online, what is happening to personal, human interaction?  Indeed what happens to civility, to nuance, to spontaneity? 
 

Thoreau spoke of the dangers of humans becoming tools of their tools.  We need to be alert.  I know I have to learn how to speak to a computer to use it - the computer does not have to learn how to speak to me.  I need to be able to outthink and outwit its logic system.  Which is the  tool - the computer or me?

Michael Murphy is the author of a book entitled "Golf in the Kingdom."  

This is the story of Michael's encounter with a mythical golf professional, Shivas Irons, at Burning Bush Golf Club in Scotland.  

A story Shivas tells in this book is about an older member of the club who loved walking (and all golfers walk in Scotland). This man loved walking so much that when he got moving along, his caddie would have to stop him to remind him to play his shot. 

And Shivas said that is a good lesson for each of us - for if you can enjoy the time between shots, then life is indeed wonderful - for most of our time is lived in-between - between shots, between events. So, enjoy the walking, enjoy the in-between.

Listening to the Lake Tahoe School Holiday program in December, and in particular to the band, I was struck by this thought: Each and every instrumentalist in the band needs to know his or her part well, hopefully flawlessly, so they can play this part alone.    

Yet, they need to LISTEN carefully to those players around them, so that they know they are playing in tune, in tempo and are playing together as a unit.         

This is a good metaphor for life. We need to be individuals and to lead our individual lives well and independently.    

Yet, concurrently, we need to be keenly aware as to how our actions (our lives) effect others, effect those around us. 

So, at the beginning of a New Year, we need to strive to live compatibly, in tune, with those around us and with our surroundings.

Steven Tigner, an adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Education at Boston University, has a wonderful analysis of Walt Disney's portrayal of the Seven Dwarfs.  Disney inherited a tale in which the dwarfs were virtually indistinguishable and he transformed it.

Tigner speaks of how Disney's tale exhibits the crucial difference between personality and character.  The dwarfs have diverse personalities, but they share the same good character.  Some aspects of our persons are grounded in biology and give us particular temperaments.  In ancient traditions, Grumpy is choleric; Sleepy phlegmatic and Happy sanguine (none of the dwarfs are melancholic).  Sneezy and Bashful also have traits grounded in biology.  So, we have a wide range of personalities and also talents represented - Doc is gifted and talented, while Dopey is mentally challenged.

What the dwarfs demonstrate, according to Tigner, is that "no matter what our differences in personality or in talent, we can be unified in action and in character.  We can be hard working, reliable, loyal, cooperative, open, understanding, tolerant and brave; we can live together and sing together in harmony; and we can whistle while we work."

A compelling image for our Lake Tahoe School community.

Here are some thoughts:

- Intellectual independence

- Inquisitiveness

- Skepticism

- Information in many fields and the ability to integrate and apply this information in novel and unknown situations

- Dependability

- Honesty

- Forthrightness

- The ability to speak and to write with both clarity and persuasiveness

- The development of an aesthetic sense (graphic arts, music, dance)

- Develop physical prowess

- Self confidence

- Compassion

- Empathy

- Generosity of spirit and time

- Development of  tolerance and an appreciation of differences

- The ability to learn to be both objective and rational, yet passionate about some things and, in the end, to be productively employable in well paying and satisfying work.

You can add many ideas of your own.  Thus, in these terms, the job of developing human beings appears to be infinite.  This is education.   

How can this be codified in legislation or in a mission statement?  We are dealing with the ineffable, a joy but insoluble.  We know how to work some things for some students, but not all of this, all of the time, for all students.  Thus, it is easy to find fault and schools may appear to fail.  When, in fact, vast vistas of possibilities and potentialities have been opened.

Steven Tigner, an adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Education at Boston University, has a wonderful analysis of Walt Disney's portrayal of the Seven Dwarfs.  Disney inherited a tale in which the dwarfs were virtually indistinguishable and he transformed it.

Tigner speaks of how Disney's tale exhibits the crucial difference between personality and character.  The dwarfs have diverse personalities, but they share the same good character.  Some aspects of our persons are grounded in biology and give us particular temperaments.  In ancient traditions, Grumpy is choleric; Sleepy phlegmatic and Happy sanguine (none of the dwarfs are melancholic).  Sneezy and Bashful also have traits grounded in biology.  So, we have a wide range of personalities and also talents represented - Doc is gifted and talented, while Dopey is mentally challenged.

What the dwarfs demonstrate, according to Tigner, is that "no matter what our differences in personality or in talent, we can be unified in action and in character.  We can be hard working, reliable, loyal, cooperative, open, understanding, tolerant and brave; we can live together and sing together in harmony; and we can whistle while we work."

A compelling image for our Lake Tahoe School community.

I enjoy cartoons and comic strips for the cogency and the conciseness with which they can convey an idea and sum up an argument.  A favorite Calvin and Hobbs strip shows Calvin and Hobbs sledding.  Calvin is supporting the idea of instant gratification for every desire - asserting that he is a busy guy with things to do, places to go - after all, it has taken him almost forever to be 6 years old.  Why must he wait to drive, or to see x-rated movies - his motto is “get in the fast lane and hit the gas.”  Then the last panel, the denouement, shows Calvin and Hobbs’ heads appearing from the snow after their sled has hit a rock and they were thrown off, and Calvin says, “Gosh, that was over quick.”

          School is a time for consideration, reading, thinking (you will never have more of it), yet our young people lead interrupted lives (phone, TV, iPod) as they rush, pell mell, for the future - can’t wait to drive, to drink, to get to college, to work - then what?  If you experience everything by 18, what is left?  Too much of life is focused on the future and we forget the present which is all we have and ever will have.  That is why it is indeed a “present.”

I have had a number of schools in my 50+ years in education I have earned these silver hairs, and I do not say any of these words lightly- the school has excellent facilities, in fact, last week a parent from Washington DC who is enrolling 3 students this fall compared LTS favorably with Sidwell Friends School in terms of our school building, computer access and science. High praise. We have a solid faculty and one that is eager and anxious to learn, grow and improve. A number of them will hopefully be enrolled this summer at Columbia teachers college in the writing process workshops directed by Lucy Calkins, as we strive to continue to improve our reading and writing program. 

We initiated yesterday and today a visiting scholar/artist in residence program- two muralists from San Francisco were here and worked with 5^th and 7^th grade students in designing, planning, and painting a mural in the stairwell near the PE room. 1^st and 2^nd grade students were also involved in determining where various fish would appear.

Jim Weiss, an award winning storyteller will be in residence on October 17^th next fall. Both Barbara and I have had him visit other schools in New Jersey and he is outstanding. This spring we hope to bring a screenwriter friend from Los Angeles to campus to write with the children. 

When I led schools in new haven and Princeton NJ I was able to bring Yale and Princeton faculty to speak in an effort to nourish the intellectual life of the school faculty, to stretch their minds in areas other than education. Topics varied from talks on the origins of the alphabet, to cosmology to the gospel of Thomas with Elaine Pagels. I ask tonight if any of you would like to do something like this of know of anyone who would like to speak to the faculty- please let me know.

Another visitor will be Dr. Fran Prolman an internationally acclaimed learning consultant will be here at the end of the school year to speak with the faculty on how to teach more effectively, right/left brain differences, how to teach higher thinking skills. A co-worker of frans will conduct a faculty workshop in august prior to the opening of school. All of these opportunities are for on-going faculty development.

Along with the mural painting today, students in the 2^nd grade have been involved with designing, measuring and building a chair out of PVC tubing.   (As an aside, when some of them asked for help at home in converting yards to feet we ended up with fewer feet than yards). Everyone learns. They are also going to design and build a playhouse for the classroom. Wendy Losse in science is in the process of establishing a classroom exchange with a school in Puerto Rico via a video link and the study of Spanish and science will be integrated. 

It is wonderful to see the excitement here in both faculty and students- they are saying things like “lets try this” or “can we try that?” all the while doing a very solid job of teaching and learning reading, writing, and arithmetic and all the other myriad things schools need to achieve. The key always is variety and balance. Lake Tahoe School can do all this and more because we are a well established school. 

I wish to thank each and every one of you for your support of each other, the school and the Morrison Family last week. It again exemplifies the character and quality of the Lake Tahoe School community. The Morrison’s have established a fund at the school and it has been generously supported with over $16,000 as of today.

Now I would like to have Russ Bradford speak about his program, and then Charlie white will talk about the Outdoor Education and Field Trip program. When they are done we will open it up for Q&A. Thanks you.

In Kurt Vonnegut's short story, Harrison Bergeron, the year is 2081 and thanks to the 211^th, 212^th, and 213^th Amendments to the Constitution and the work of the United States Handicapper General's office, everyone is equal.  Not just equal in opportunity, but equal in result.  If you can dance well or jump high, you carry weights (bags of birdshot) so you cannot dance better or jump higher than anyone else anywhere.  If you are physically attractive, you wear a mask or a ball on the end of your nose;  if you are intelligent, you have alarms going off in your ear every twenty seconds so you cannot sustain a thought.  Mediocrity has triumphed - no one can do anything any better than anyone else anywhere.

We struggle today so that our young people will not be cursed with a life full of information without wisdom and data without direction.  Our task at Lake Tahoe School is to encourage the pursuit of excellence.  We value and encourage excellence where we find it - musically, theatrically, in the classroom, on the playing field.  We encourage the pursuit of new ideas and activities.  We encourage risk-taking, for growth and excellence cannot occur in the absence of challenge and possible failure.  Young people need to learn that "success is not final nor failure fatal."

As a school, we continually reevaluate what we are teaching as we endeavor to keep within the great humanistic and liberal traditions - traditions where the non-scientist must grasp science and the scientist must be literate.  We strive to help young people gain a sense of their own selfhood and to train them to consider reflectively the ideas and ideals most likely to give meaning and direction to their lives individually as well as in their communal experiences.  We struggle to counter the impression that drugs, sex, noise, speed, money and power can provide happiness.

We are listening, guiding, quietly and patiently cajoling young people along a path to maturity where they can excel yet exhibit tolerance, understanding and compassion for those less able.  A daunting but invigorating task.

We never know when a word or comment or the reading of a book will change the direction of life.  Our goal at Lake Tahoe School is that broad preparation of a mind so that it is knowledgeable of basic information, yet is curious and open to new ideas - a mind that can see what is actually present and not just see what we are expected to see.  Hubert Alyea, a professor of chemistry at Princeton University always employed the phrase "lucky accidents and the prepared mind."

A few years ago, Barbara and I were fortunate to be able to spend a winter holiday in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands and to witness, first hand, the unique flora and fauna which confronted such a prepared mind in the person of Charles Darwin.

Jane Goodall (whose education was incomplete) was chosen by Louis Leakey as an observer of primate life precisely because of her lack of preconceptions.  Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, often spoke of her effort to see what was different, not what was the same.  The field of physics was transformed in the late 19^th century as observers, refining numbers, found discrepancies, pursued these discrepancies and the fields of the atom, quantum and electromagnetics, to name a few, opened up.

We need to encourage this attitude in young people; to encourage them to be keen and insightful observers as well as precise in their work.

Adolescence is a time of either living in the penthouse or the basement – there are no intermediate floors.  Adolescents have not lived long enough nor experienced enough to understand that every effort in life is not always successful and that winning does not equate to perfect.  A failed project or test is not a failed person.  Rather, it is a lesson learned on the continuum of life.

You are successful people or you would not be Lake Tahoe School parents.  It can be intimidating to be the child of successful people.  You have your life all together, or so it seems to them, but if you are like me, it probably wasn’t always so.  When the opportunity presents itself, share your stories of a lost love, an unsuccessful job, or a failed academic subject.  You do not need to rush out now and confess these things to your adolescent son or daughter, but they need to know that despite current appearances, there were times when you were down and you got up and went on and learned from it, and that they need to learn to do the same.

As a culture, we have done a good job of selling ourselves (on the fact) that everything we desire in life can and should be accomplished quickly and easily with no pain and little effort.  This includes losing weight, becoming strong, learning to play the piano, learning a foreign language and finding the perfect golf club which will transform your game.  The Greek poet Hesiod stated, “The Gods placed before the gate of knowledge the word SWEAT.” 

Learning requires hard work, effort consistently applied over years.  Talent is a combination of inspiration and perspiration in a ratio of about 1 to 10.  Ben Hogan, the outstanding golfer of the 40’s supposedly said that “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”

The more we perfect a skill, the more enjoyable the practice of it becomes.  Learning can be fun but that threshold of ability must be crossed with, and by, effort.

Happiness – what does that mean?  Like excellence, is it a neighborhood or vicinity?  Is it episodic or is it a state of mind, an approach to life that is accepting and adapting?  Do we recognize happiness when we see it or do we confuse it with pleasure and flying endorphins?  Or is it more a feeling of well being, of satisfaction?

Nowhere are we guaranteed happiness.  It is not a right or entitlement, yet today we seem to consider it as such.  If I am not happy (euphorically so), it is someone else’s fault, not mine.  We are “responsibility phobic” as a culture.

I am indebted to Joseph Campbell for making me aware of this speech, given by Chief Seattle, after whom the city of Seattle is named. He gave this speech in about 1855 and it has become famous. A favorite excerpt:

“The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky, the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the presence of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? This we know. The earth does not belong to man. Man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not wave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. One thing we know, our God is also your God. The earth is precious to Him. And to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone. Where will the eagle be? Gone. And what is it to say goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt, the end of living and the beginning of survival?”

The essence, the spirit, of our educational enterprise seeks to capture that of which Chief Seattle speaks. To develop skills and abilities while maintaining the sense of being part of the world and enjoying and appreciating that fact. “To know what we see and not to move through life just seeing what we know.” This is what we seek to develop in the young people we work with at Lake Tahoe School.

Barbara and I have enjoyed our time at Lake Tahoe School and wish you the greatest future success. Lake Tahoe School is a wonderful school.

What a pleasure it is to find myself in Incline Village and at Lake Tahoe School. After nearly four decades as a teacher and administrator in independent schools across the country, I am delighted to call both my new home.

My own education took place in independent schools through high school. I attended Wells College in Aurora, New York, then graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s with Highest Distinction in Elementary Education. I received my Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Design from Ashland University, in Ohio.

I grew up at The Thacher School in Ojai, California, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My father was a teacher and my grandfather a rancher. Much of my life was spent in outside classrooms, formal and informal. Not much frightens or unnerves me, and I credit that to the environments in which I matured. It is Lake Tahoe School’s combined classroom and outdoor education programs that have brought me here.  I want every child to have the same kind of challenges and opportunities for academic and personal development that I had.

Throughout my administrative career, I have continued to remain active in the classrooms, whether teaching 7^th grade English, as I did three years ago, or simply stepping in as a substitute on a fairly regular basis when needed. The teachers with whom I have worked appreciate the fact that I understand and respect their roles. I have high expectations for faculty, but none to which I do not hold myself accountable. I believe we should learn as much from our students as they do from us. To that end, I encourage faculty (and myself) to explore current educational trends and pedagogy to find what best suits each particular school environment and that build on their own strengths. And I encourage everyone to talk with students at all levels – and their parents – to determine and help create ever more effective learning environments.

Our families are a critical part of each of us, and mine is no exception. My husband, Wayne, and I have been married for 43 years this November. We were drawn to each other all those years ago because of shared passions for music, sports, education, and travel, and because the same things make us laugh. Wayne spent most of his career in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill. Currently he is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. Our two daughters, Hillary and Allison, along with Allison’s husband Shawn, are active, delightful adults in their own right of whom we are very proud. Hillary has just celebrated ten years as a flight attendant with Southwest Airlines. Allison is a marine biologist who works for NOAA out of Woods Hole, MA.

I look forward getting to know all of you!

Ruth

Summer is flying by!  Wayne and I arrived in Incline Village four weeks ago, and I have been hard at work ever since, settling into our condominium and my new office.  Thank goodness, once again, for the extraordinary work accomplished by Dick (and Barbara) Dolven during their tenure at LTS.  He and I were able to spend considerable time together before their departure.  Now, as I meet with folks and go through various files, there is little of which I am not at least partly aware. What a gift that is for all of us!

You will receive a summer mailing in early August with all kinds of information for the coming year. Between now and then, however, it is my pleasure to share some staffing changes and additions that both Dick and I believe will help take Lake Tahoe School to the next level.  We have chosen the new members to and considered changes within our current community to build upon our existing strengths and create an even more exciting and cohesive program.  I am confident that you will make each of our newcomers feel as welcomed an appreciated as you have me.

Erica Mirich will begin her duties as Director of Development on August 1.  Erica and her son, Sasha (2), are moving back to this area after several years with Robert Luis Stevenson School in their development office.  Erica earned her BS in Biology and Natural Resource Management from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Education from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard.

Dan Matteson joins the middle school faculty as English and electives teacher.  Dan comes to LTS from Lake Tahoe Community College, where he has been teaching English.  He started his career at Hebron Academy in Maine.  Dan’s Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English are from SUNY College at Buffalo and St. Bonaventure, respectively. He and his wife, Kelly, have two children, son Cole (10) and daughter Hope (8).

For any LTS families whose sons and daughters have gone on the Incline Village High School, our new middle school math teacher, Tom Bell, will be a familiar face.  An experienced educator who is passionate about teaching math in ways that involve, excite, and challenge all students, Tom is the perfect addition to the faculty as we make the transition in the lower school from Saxon to Singapore math.  Tom’s own educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Plymouth State College and a Masters in the same area from the University of New Hampshire. 

Stephanie Chang, Lake Tahoe School’s new music teacher, K-8, comes to us most recently from Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, MA. Prior to that she taught music in several other independent schools.  A gifted violinist who has created dynamic programs in a variety of music media, Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Music from Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and her Master of Music from Yale.

Charlie White, middle school history teacher and Outdoor Education Director, is also assuming the role of Admissions Director.  His knowledge of all elements of our program and his passion for our school make him perfect for the position.

Kris Nugent, as many of you are already aware, was appointed Dean of Students in the late spring.  Kris, a member of the LTS faculty for five years, brings to the position a knowledge of every child in the School and a firm but lovely way of communicating with each.  Kris is the administrator to whom teachers and students may turn should they have a concern with which they need assistance. He will continue to teach health, K-8, as well as some PE classes, in addition to after school sports.

Sean Farnan has graciously agreed to devote his many talents as the School’s new Administrative Director.  In that role, he will not only be the first voice and face anyone contacting the School will encounter, but he will also serve as my executive assistant and coordinate all admissions prospects.  Sean is well known to almost all of you and has made his dedication to the community evident.

Already established as an outstanding teacher at LTS, Stephanie Mancuso is now the Math Coordinator for the lower school.   Stephanie is familiar with all students, has previously demonstrated her ability to work productively and positively with colleagues, and has spent considerable time  this spring and summer immersed in the Singapore Math Program.  She and Tom Bell know each other well, as her children had him as a teacher during their own high school years.

And finally, Stacy Stewart, who has been so effective as our part-time Literacy Coordinator, will now be full-time and working with all the Lower School classes.

We have an exciting year ahead of us, and I look forward to sharing it with all of you.  To that end, if you are dropping by school for any reason, please stop in and say hello.  Once school begins, I will be scheduling various informal coffees and gatherings so that we can get to know each other better. You may also either email me or call Sean Farnan to set up an appointment any time you have questions or concerns. Good news is welcome, too!  When Lake Tahoe School and I were looking at each other last spring, I promised that I would make better communication between home and school a priority.  Success in that endeavor is possible only if we work as a team. 

There remain several weeks before school commences at the end of August.  Between now and then, we hope to welcome several more new students and families to the fine group that has already been accepted.  Our best recruiters are current parents.  Please encourage anyone who might be interested to call the office and come in for a tour and visit.

Warm Regards,

Ruth Huyler Glass

Earlier in the week I penned some musings for this newsletter.  The first few days of school had been unusually positive, and I thought it appropriate to quote a few students, teachers, and parents regarding what made those days special and what I see as remarkable about Lake Tahoe School.  No doubt I will be sharing quotations and such musings throughout the year(s) to come. Something happened Wednesday afternoon, however, that brought home to me, in very moving ways, why I am at Lake Tahoe School.  I hope that you are here for similar reasons.

Wednesday morning the entire middle school and their core teachers left for a 3-day camping trip up Mt. Rose.  This annual expedition includes team building exercises, community service in the form of clearing of parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail, reflective writing in journals, outdoor education in general AND in particular. Wednesday afternoon I received a call from Charlie White, Director of Outdoor Education.  It appeared that one of the new students is vegan, a fact that had not been clarified when packing food supplies. Charlie was wondering if one of the teachers might bring up some tofu.

Seizing an opportunity to get out of the office and watch the middle school in action, I volunteered.  Two hours later, when I arrived at the middle school campsite, tofu burgers in hand, I was not surprised to find each advisor group involved in preparation of their dinners.  What did surprise me was the noteworthy level of independence and personal initiative with which the kids were working. After initial safety reminders and instructions by the adults, things were totally in the hands of the students.  It was up to them to figure out tasks for each other, how to work the stoves, portion out servings, decide in what order each was served.  They did this, all of them, without arguing, whining, impatience, or any signs of discontent.  I hardly know them yet, but they welcomed me, appreciated my delivery service, and offered to feed me first, which seemed unusually generous after the full day they had experienced. They included their advisers, but they clearly were not dependent on them -- at least in any ways that were visible

We hear so many things about what is wrong with education today: How schools don't prepare kids for "real life; how young people are too dependent on technology; how youngsters don't know how to communicate except through Facebook and Twitter; how no one thinks critically anymore and programs lack creativity and integrity.  Such schools DO exist.  Lake Tahoe School is a far cry from being one of them.

The best way to measure the value and effectiveness of an education is to look closely at a school's graduates.  I have met few LTS graduates, but I know that every member of the LTS middle school is already more self-sufficient and capable than many adults.  I look at our bright-eyed Preschoolers and kindergarteners, at our sometimes-bashful and sometimes exuberant lower schoolers, and I have complete faith that they, too, will become equally confident, productive middle schoolers.  

It can be so easy to be critical, to focus on small pieces of large puzzles and forget how beautifully and miraculously they ultimately all fit together into an amazing picture.  We know that many of you camp and explore the Tahoe Basin with your children.  Certainly what you do as families supports and enhances what we do as a School, and that is a good thing.  An outdoor experience with peers and no parents is distinctly different from what you do as families, however, and our outdoor program makes significant contributions to what makes a Lake Tahoe School education so valuable.

I look forward to seeing all of you at Back to School Night, Wednesday, September 7th, from 6:00 to 8:00 to start an ongoing discussion -- in person and in print -- about what is going on at Lake Tahoe School: what we are learning, how we are learning, why we are learning the things we are, and what we are doing with that which we learn.  We will meet in the Flex Room for a bit of a State of the School beginning, then you will have a chance to spend time with your child(ren)'s teachers and hear specifics about the remarkable things that are happening in each classroom.

In the meantime, I could not be more pleased by what I observe every day in and out of the classrooms at Lake Tahoe School. Your children, full of curiosity and eagerness and delight, are in the hands of a very motivated and passionate faculty.  I have never experienced a more positive beginning to a school year.

Any of you who joined us for Back to School Night Wednesday couldn't help but feel the new energy that pervades our classrooms and halls.  As one of our new parents remarked, "For a new family, the evening provided a marvelous overview of everything Lake Tahoe School offers."

"Overview" is the operative word here.  Every school I know wrestles with the format for Back to School gatherings.  We want to Do All and Be All, even as we know that is impossible.  Double the time in classrooms and as a full group, and there would still remain things we hadn't had a chance to discuss.  Such is a sign of a good school!

Highlights noted Wednesday evening:

• 18% of our stafulty are new.  We welcome Tom Bell (middle school math), Dan Matteson (middle school language arts), Stephanie Chang (music PreK-8), and Erica Mirich (Director of Institutional Advancement/Development).  Stephanie Mancuso, formerly part time in the lower school, is now a full time math specialist in grades K-6.  Stacy Stewart, previously part time literacy coordinator, is also now full time in that position.
• Communication within any school environment is always something that can be improved, especially with busy families.  To that end, I will start hosting monthly morning coffees to meet with interested parents to discuss whatever is on your minds.  Also, the PA will hold open meetings once a month this year.  You will receive an agenda in advance of each of those gatherings.  I speak for the faculty, as well as myself, when I urge you to pick up the phone, stop by and make an appointment to see us, or email should you have any concerns, questions, or joys to share.  We are your partners.
• We are already off to a busy start with after school activities. 58% of 5th-8th graders are involved in the first season of fall sports.  The girls' basketball recorded their first victory Thursday afternoon over North Tahoe Middle School: 12-8. WE have never beaten them before in girls' or boys' basketball.  The cross country team competes Friday afternoon.
• You will receive a list of possible Wednesday/Thursday after school activities early next week.  Please select any in which you might be interested and return by Friday.  The faculty is happy to offer all kinds of interesting and creative opportunities, but a critical mass is required for us to go forward with any of them. Stafulty meetings are usually held on Mondays, making Tuesday afternoons available for help from all teachers.
• I informed the students on the first day of classes that I am giving myself six weeks to learn all their names.  When I do (failure is not an option on this particular project), I will give them some sort of treat. I figure I'm about 2/3 of the way there and appreciate the help those who remind me of their names automatically give me.

Coach Cooper just reminded me that tomorrow (as I write this) is High Five Friday.  It's been a great week. High fives all around.

September 11 is a significant day for all of us, each in our own ways.  The obvious reminders center around New York City and the Twin Towers, as well as the Pentagon and Flight 93.  For any of us who were not actually there, it is hard to imagine the horror and terror and shock, even though we have seen news reports and films repeatedly.  Personally, I was in Pacific Palisades, Head of a small school in Malibu at the time.  My husband was still in Washington, DC.  He was supposed to have a meeting at the Pentagon that day, but it happened to have been canceled the day before.

One of the things that remains vivid in my mind from the time was the presumption on the part of some of the parents in my little school that they could keep what had happened from their children.  They were convinced that they only spoke about the incident when their children were not present and, somehow, that their kids had no other access to the news.  Our children always know more than that for which we give them credit.  They listen carefully, as we did when we were young, to the adults around them.  They respond and form their own opinions and actions based on what they hear and what they see.  I can remember, as a child, being smart enough to sit and turn pages to whatever I was reading, without a clue as to their content, when my own parents thought I wasn't listening.  You probably did something similar.

My mother died on September 11, 2005. Six years ago.  She was 85 and had suffered from Parkinson's for about eight years.  When she was diagnosed, the future brutality of the disease had already been made clear to her because her younger sister had been similarly stricken ten years before and was living in an increasingly frozen state.  She died during the horrors of Hurricane Katrina when, much like 9/11/01, hundreds of people were losing loved ones with no advance warning and in terrifying circumstances.  We were lucky. We had a chance to say goodbye to Mom, and she was able to slip away peacefully, "surrounded by love," as she put it.

It has never been lost on me - before or since - the ways in which my mother lived her life and the many things I learned from listening to and watching her.  Mom and her younger brother and sister were born in Korea, the children of second generation Methodist missionaries.  With that heritage came an appreciation for the differences in people, as well as for our commonalities.  I never heard her criticize another religion or culture. She always saw the good in others and frequently commented to her children about that. Sometimes we teased her about being a Pollyanna, but I admired that trait in her and know I inherited part of it.  She was afraid of nothing of which I was aware. She once asked, during the early stages of her Parkinson's, "What will become of me?" but that was the closest thing to a complaint I ever heard. 

Post 9/11/01, Mom was deeply concerned about what would happen here and abroad.  She talked sometimes about the negative power of hate and fear, about the danger of religious extremism and fanaticism of any sort.  Mom's focus was always on what we could do, individually, to make the lives of those around us better.  I realized, when she died, that I know no one who didn't like my mother.  Six years later, that remains true.  I can't think of anyone else of whom I could say that.  Perhaps the fact that nearly every photo of her shows her smiling has something to do with that.

My mother-in-law was born on 9/11/19.  A woman of many strengths who raised three terrific and thoughtful children, she was one whose life ultimately was dominated by fear and suspicion.  The more insular her world became with age, the greater her anxiety.  In fact, it's difficult to find a picture of her in her last decade of life in which she was smiling.  It had become so very difficult for her to see the good in almost anything.

What do these three, very different, 9/11s have to do with Lake Tahoe School?  For me, each story is a powerful reminder to consider, daily, the ways in which we live: To consider the messages, spoken and unspoken, we hand down to our children; to reach out to others who are different from us with open hearts; to learn all we can about other cultures and religions so that we are not afraid or suspicious.  We live in one of the most beautiful spots on earth.  Of that, we are all aware.  At Lake Tahoe School it should be the goal of all adults, teachers and parents and visitors, to teach our children that, with the good fortune of living in such an astonishing environment, comes a responsibility to care for others.    

Heads of school are busy people. When we do our jobs correctly, each day is a nonstop parade of meetings, classes, conversations, phone calls, questions, mini-crises, and people of all ages.  Occasionally I run into a Head who sits behind a spotless desk and always seems unruffled.  Anyone who has been in my office knows I am not one of those Heads.  While I commence every morning with papers fairly organized in baskets or stacks and neat To Do lists for myself, by, oh, about 8:00am, I consider that posting one of those "A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind" signs might be a good idea.  A little humor to suggest that I do value organization and tidiness.

Truth to tell, while I admire -- even envy on some days -- folks who are able to work on one project at a time, that is neither how my mind nor my job works.  I confess that I feel just a teense of suspicion toward school heads who can focus on just a single task at a time.  No school that I have experienced has ever thoughtfully arranged each day so that each person seeking attention lines up at convenient intervals and email and phone communications arrive in batches of one or two instead of, well, 120 or so per day. Schools are beehives of activity. Wonderful activity.  We bustle and buzz with the sounds of questions and answers, of youngsters chugging down the hallways chatting with each other, of teachers sharing something they have learned themselves.  We thrive on exchanges with parents that help us all grow.  We are forced to reflect on what we do and why.  We can take nothing for granted -- nor do we wish to.  After long days of little quiet and lots of exchange, we slip home in the evening to prepare for the next day, carting with us backpacks and bags and briefcases filled with the work of our children and our colleagues and set about the serious business of preparing for tomorrow. 

All of which is to say: I cannot imagine a place I would rather be than Lake Tahoe School, working with you and your children, a wonderful faculty, and more than enough to keep me busy.

Anyone who uses email or Facebook receives frequent links to various Youtube and other sites.  If you are like me, occasionally you check out a site, but more often than not don't bother.  Time for exploration is limited, and I am inclined to click on related links and lose myself for longer than I intended.  Recently, however, our daughter Allison sent me something worth sharing.  As I told the faculty when I forwarded it to them, my initial intention was to share it during a faculty meeting and discuss it. I changed my mind when I watched it again -- and again found myself much too weepy to consider that.

The news media generally is full of horror stories.  Things that are considered "good press" usually feature situations that have gone -- or are going -- wrong.  Were the media our only source of information about people, especially young people, it would be easy to believe that "This Generation" is selfish and useless.  Seems to me that has been said of every generation by somebody, has it not?  Those of us who work in schools and those who have consistent exposure to students, know differently. Every day at Lake Tahoe School I see examples of generosity among our students. Whether it's sharing notes or a helpful website with a classmate, holding the door for an adult, offering advice for an easier way to do something, or consoling a friend who is sad or disappointed, our students find regular ways to demonstrate that they care about each other and their school.

I believe that a sense of fair play and consideration for others are grounded in a healthy sense of self.  While each of us was born with a distinct personality and general attitude toward life, the conscious decisions we make as we grow older stem from the messages we receive from the adults around us.  Children who demonstrate generosity toward others are confident in their own abilities, but not in a way that requires them to be "best" at anything.  While they may be great competitors, they do not see life as one big competition. They have learned that it is important to do their best but not essential to be the best.

The Youtube clip to which I referred previously, and which site follows, is a stellar example of that to which I believe all of us who work with and parent children should aspire.  I congratulate the players involved as well as their coaches and parents.  We should all be proud of what is so much more than just good sportsmanship.  

Welcome back from October break.  We have slipped right back into the rhythm of things on campus, and it feels good to be back in session.  As I trust you are well aware, we hold our first parent-teacher conferences next Tuesday, October 18. 

For the Lake Tahoe School faculty and for me, these gatherings are an exciting and valued part of what we do.  As an independent school, blessed with small classes and a close community, we have the privilege of knowing the young folks in our daily care as individuals, not just as students with whom we share fleeting contact. When we meet with you, our goal is to be able to share what we have learned about your children as students, as people, as community members.  Our focus is much less on grades than on how your daughters and sons navigate each day -- what their strengths are academically, but also in other areas of our very full program.  We care as much about how they treat their colleagues as we do about how they do on a spelling test.  We watch them as they participate in sports or fine and performing arts and try to glean even greater insight into how they think and what motivates them.

We look to conferences as a time to learn even more from you.  We want to hear what your goals and aspirations are as parents.  We also hope you will share your fears with us.  Many of us are parents ourselves.  We have worried -- or do worry -- about our own children and how best to support them.  We want the Lake Tahoe School students to feel, without question, that they are surrounded by adults who care deeply about them. Not just about their grades, but about them as human beings.  We want them to know that the adults in their lives, especially their parents and teachers, are jointly committed to helping them grow and realize their individual goals and dreams. Fifth graders and above are expected to join you and us to help set those goals.  At the core of Lake Tahoe School philosophy is the belief that children are capable, at quite an early age, of beginning to determine what works best for them and who they are as individuals.

So...we look forward to visiting with you on Tuesday. The 8th grade class will be selling coffee and treats to help off-set the costs of their trip to Hawaii.  In Hawaii they will be helping to build platforms for coastal observations -- but let them tell you about that.  They will also provide childcare at no cost (donations will be gratefully accepted) for you parents of 4th grade students and below during your conference times. 

When I was first interviewing for the Head of School position at Lake Tahoe School, I was frequently asked by parents and teachers why I would want to move to Incline Village. 

To be honest, the question always amused and surprised me, as I couldn't figure out why I wouldn't want to move here, though I appreciated the fact that some candidates for the position had, ultimately, been deterred by the thought of long winters. Three and a half months into what I hope will be a long stay in this marvelous school and community, let me share some of the reasons that I am delighted to have made the move.

Lake Tahoe School and Incline Village are friendly places.  My husband and I have lived in numerous communities over our four decades of marriage.  None has been as welcoming as this.  Schools always talk about making sure new parents are included and seldom manage to extend themselves beyond initial overtures.  At our fabulous Casino Royale Thursday evening, not only were there a number of new parents present and actively involved, many "old" parents shared how delighted they were to have the chance to chat with and get to know those new to the community whose children are on grade levels from their own. 

Two new students joined us this week, having moved across the country from New Jersey.  When Miss Heather (referred to as "Miss Heaven" by one of the PreK 4's) shared with her kindergartners last week the dilemma of needing a cubbie for Joey, Melanie said she would happily share hers. In the 2nd grade, the reaction to Madigan, as she somewhat shyly entered the class, was to call out "Welcome back! We are so glad you are here. Now there are 14 of us, which makes it easier to divide into even groups to work." Really!

Two weeks ago, while at a basketball game between our middle school girls and the teams from Incline Village Middle School, I noticed a woman who escorted a group of boys into the bleachers and sat down with them.  Just as I was thinking, "How cool; a teacher who has brought her class to support their schoolmates," someone asked me if I wanted to meet Sharon Kennedy, Principal of IVMS.  It turned out that she was the "teacher" and the kiddos were a group of young men who had been hanging around inside the Rec Center.  When she happened by them on her way to watch the game, she cheerfully herded them in with her.  Sharon knows her students and has the privilege, as do I, of working in schools small enough to let us be much more than figureheads stuck in offices.  As we sat and watched our students play, we chuckled over our shared experiences as educators and the joys we derive from what we do.  We took pleasure in the fact that the young women on the court would finish their games against each other, change their uniforms, and go off to play soccer together on the same team.  Kids in Incline know each other, regardless of where they attend school.

When I needed to mail something to my father, I stopped in Pak Mail, intending to purchase the necessary materials to ship my fragile cargo.  Instead, CeCe Elliott offered to wrap and mail everything and simply noted that she would put a bill in my box.  Where else but incline Village would such a thing happen?

Not all of us, but many of us who live in Incline Village are here because we are fortunate enough to be able to have made a choice to do so.  It can be easy to take our school and our community for granted.  We need new folks like Joey and Madigan and their parents -- and me -- to remind us of how extraordinarily lucky we are to live here.  

This is a busy, busy, busy time at Lake Tahoe School: nationally acclaimed story teller, Jim Weiss; Masked Marvel, Michael Cooper; Trail of Treats; Grandfriends' Day; 8th grade community service trip to work with a boys' and girls' club in Kuai'i; Casino Royale; cross country finals; book fair. We are bustling school filled with learning opportunities and chances to be involved and included. I don't want to be anywhere else.

You know how Garrison Keilor starts each weekly show by saying, "It's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegone"?  Well, it has not been a quiet week at Lake Tahoe School. In fact, I'm pretty sure a quiet week is a rarity around here, though the snow falling outside as I write on Thursday evening suggests otherwise. Good schools have their quiet moments, as do we, but they shouldn't be quiet places.  Instead, they should burble over with energy and activity like little cauldrons. What I have to say as I consider this last week's LTS cauldron is: Wow! Does there exist a more energetic and committed parent body anywhere?

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of participating in and witnessing my first Trail of Treats and Terror.  While the evening had been described to me in advance, no verbal description could possibly do justice to the finished product and process.  And there was no way to imagine the extraordinary hours of preparation provided by parent, student, and faculty volunteers. I hesitate to single out anyone, as so many of you were involved, but surely all would agree that, without Debra Schadeck and Mary Alber, along with Dan Matteson and Stephanie Chang, the evening might well have lacked The Extra Special production elements that distinguished the evening.

The following morning, when I arrived at school fairly early on a holiday, there were Mark Brockway and a crew of parents already hard at work to take down and put away Trail of Treats to make way for Linda Williams and her equally hard working Book Fair group. By noon the flex room - so appropriately named - had been transformed from dark theatre stage for "The Phantom" and "The Raven" to a peaceful and colourful space fairly bursting with books.

Then Monday launched Reading Month at LTS, along with our annual Readathon. Tuesday evening volunteer readers from kindergarten through 8th grade shared oral reviews of books they had already read.  As an aside, it's important to note that Lake Tahoe School distinguishes itself as a community of readers. So many times when I open car doors in the morning, kids spill out clutching books they just can't quite put down in addition to lunches, backpacks, and jackets.

And then we had Grandfriends' Day, always a favourite of mine. We learn so much from mixing with and listening to other generations. We will gather first as a group so that our lower school classes can perform, then grand friends will spend the morning in classes, getting their own taste of a Lake Tahoe School education.

When folks ask me if I am enjoying myself in Incline Village, it's easy to point to dressing in a long formal gown for Casino Royale one week and as the Bride of Frankenstein the next as examples of the fun I am having -- all for the same excellent cause: Lake Tahoe School. 

Lake Tahoe School makes me immensely proud in so many ongoing ways.  On Tuesday November 8th, we co-hosted (with Sierra Nevada College and the Hyatt Regency) a discussion around the topic of 21st Century Learning Skills.  

Wednesday afternoon, Lake Tahoe School faculty numbered more than half of the teachers from around the Basin and Truckee gathered at Parasol for an interactive session with Bernie. As I observed to those present, all teachers in attendance gave witness to their professionalism by giving up additional, voluntary hours, at the end of what had already been a long day. Their participation was a direct reflection of their understanding of the topic at hand and their deep commitment to education. The fact that the clear majority of teachers present were from Lake Tahoe School affirmed, once again, what makes us such a strong educational environment.

In his book, 21st Century Skills, Learning for Life in Our Time, Dr. Trilling and co-author Charles Fadel describe the skills our children need for the future as a combination of the 3 R's that have proven invaluable over time and 7 C's: Critical thinking and problem solving; Communications; Collaboration; Creativity; Computing; Career and learning self reliance; Cross-cultural understanding. Not surprisingly, LTS already evidences ongoing awareness and practice of all 10 components.

I asked Bernie for some feedback from his visit to our campus, where he spent time with parents as well as in some classes.   His response:

"You should be very proud of Lake Tahoe School - it is a wonderful example of a school fully embracing the idea of what students need to thrive in the 21st century.  You're well on your way to the kinds of learning experiences that will best support each student's success.  I especially enjoyed seeing the engaging preschool environment where it's so important to have a good start on a whole child approach to learning.   Your work on design thinking and learning in both art and technology was also a highlight, as well as the careful differentiation and choices for learning in science and language arts."

We take our work seriously at LTS. We also find great joy in what we do. I admire each and every teacher.

You, as parents, and I, as Head of School, should never take what we have for granted.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation!

Tomorrow you will receive the first report cards and narratives of the 2011-2012 academic year.  

For many of us, Report Card Time carries with it some apprehension and some confusion. We want grades to be “good,” and to reflect accurate assessments of each child’s progress. We might carry a bit of baggage related to our own report cards - often from many (many) years ago, and how our own grades were received within our own families. We worry about our children’s success now and in the future. In short, we are like legions of good parents now and in the past: we want what is best for our children.  

Every grade, every report card provides a snapshot of how your child is doing relative to the expectations of the teacher for her/him and how s/he is doing relative to others in the class at a particular time. It’s a reflection of how much your daughter is learning and how much your son has developed the skills on which the teacher is working. Let me reemphasize: the enclosed report is a snapshot in time. A snapshot and a guidepost, actually, as our purpose at Lake Tahoe School is to provide for each student and family a path to a successful future. It is our job to prepare our students for the next level in their education, whether that includes additional years at LTS or high school on the near horizon.  

As a faculty, in addition to providing the stellar academic and extra-curricular program that is our signature, we are committed to working closely with you and your children to ensure that we are on the same path toward that successful future. Should you, at any time, have any questions about our programs or about the status of your child, please feel comfortable contacting the appropriate teacher. Prior to doing that, however, ask your son or daughter the same questions. We pride ourselves in communicating directly with our students, especially as they grow older, about their own education. By the time they are in middle school, all youngsters should be able to answer questions about their own progress. If nothing else, opening a dialogue with your children about their expectations and goals relative to their grades should help them take more ownership over the issue. We try to send the message that they earn their grades; we don’t give them.

Also, after much discussion as a faculty and administration, we have decided that to provide "grades," in the form of numbers on the checklists for grades K-2, is only confusing and runs contrary to what we all believe about child development.  Our checklists and narratives are designed to provide specific feedback for your child that differs from that for any other child.  A number can't possibly reflect your child's individuality.  As children grow older, assessments are based more and more on grades, but that is not true in K-2 at Lake Tahoe School. Young children grow and learn best when they feel safe to explore and express themselves without fear of failure.  Our checklists and narratives are designed to inform you what has happened thus far.  We celebrate each child and want to avoid any sense of competition or ranking. 

In any case, please take the time to sit with your children and talk about their progress in school. Before you do that, however, stop and recall something you did well as a child and an area in which you were not so comfortable, then think about how your own parents handled that reality and how their response made you feel. Ask your children what they think they are doing well and where they might need support. Try to listen with an open mind and accept that their interests and learning styles might be very different from your own. Then discuss what their teachers have said, being careful to listen to the messages you are actually giving, which may be very different from those which you think you are giving. Should you have unresolved questions, “raise your hand” and contact the teacher in question.

Earlier this week I had the difficult privilege of attending the memorial service for one of my high school roommates. Missy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two weeks before our class reunion early in May. While she fought valiantly and with tremendous support all summer, she died on September 14th. Over the 40 years since our graduation, we have lost a few classmates along the way, but Missy's passing seems to have had greater impact than before. Partly, that's a function of the kind of person Missy was. Partly it's a function of our own coming to grips with mortality. I had to laugh at myself at the memorial service, held in Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The place was filled with a crowd of mostly middle aged and older folks, some of whom it took me awhile to recognize as former classmates, because their hitherto familiar shapes and hair color and such have changed dramatically. Fascinating, isn't it, how others change and we don't...?

Members of Missy's family spoke eloquently and movingly about the very full and varied life she lead. An outdoors-woman, scholar, musician, and mother, she actually spent a great deal of time in this area, as well as the Tetons and other spots filled with rivers, trails, and mountains. I had not known that she played the harpsichord. I did know that she loved Al Jolsen and was fond of "composing" her own songs, even as a youngster. As the oldest daughter and cousin in a very extended family, Miss was clearly the one to whom everyone else looked for direction. She bore that responsibility with grace, joy, and a most radiant and unforgettable smile.

Every family has its traditions, lore, and perspectives. In his eulogy, Missy's brother described what the Orrick family refers to as "Balcony People." These are the folks in all of our lives who serve as our personal fans and supporters throughout even our most difficult times. They are also the ones most eager to celebrate our successes. I've always maintained that we all need advocates in our lives, in addition to our parents. The latter are saddled with responsibilities that the former needn't assume. My Aunt Manie, my godmother and father's nanny as a child, was one of my Balcony People. Yes, she taught me about manners and proper ways to behave, but her real role was to be a guiding star. She sat front and center in the balcony of my life's stage, sometimes peripheral, but always visible and always supportive. I've always been blessed with a full balcony.

The thought of Missy's presence in her brother's balcony -- and the balconies of so many others in that memorial gathering and beyond -- made me think about my own role as a Balcony Person. The good news is there is no limit to the balconies in which we can sit. As a teacher, there have been times when I find myself -- or place myself -- in a child's balcony, only to have that youngster graduate from whatever school we shared and move off into Life without further contact. I believe that doesn't lessen the importance of the time we spend in others' balconies. I think of my own special teachers, the ones I may not have seen for years, but the image of whose presence in my balcony (now that I know to picture one) remains a constant. Crowded in with them are all kinds of relatives and friends of all ages; Balcony People come in all shapes and sizes and can be remarkably young.

Too many times we underestimate the importance of our own presence, of our own words. While the impact of what we say or do can be negative, it can also be extraordinarily positive. While Missy was intentionally and naturally positive, I suspect she would have been stunned by the sheer number of balconies in which she featured prominently. As we head into a season of giving and reflection, I hope you will take a moment to thank at least one of your own Balcony People and another to consider in whose balconies you hope you are firmly planted. 

A few weeks ago, Lake Tahoe School held a Parent Forum to which many, but certainly not all, of you were able to attend. Following are the highlights of my "State of the School" address from that evening.

When our daughters were young, it was often the change of clothing that went with the change of season that made me stop and realize just how much each had grown over the course of the previous months. Pants and skirts from the prior year were suddenly too short; shoes were tight; sleeves reached only mid-forearm. As parents, you know that we don't always see what is happening, literally before our eyes, when inevitable growth is gradual.

Schools experience the same growth, and Lake Tahoe School is no exception. I trust you have noticed the "new" foyer? And how about The Lake Tahoe School sign on Tahoe Blvd? As recently as the end of last year and the beginning of this one, we looked more like an Urgent Care from the road, and our foyer was, at best, cold and a bit unfriendly. Gone are both the Care sign and what I lovingly referred to as the "prison guard" desk. In their places are tasteful reflections of who we are. Our personality and character are much more evident than in the past.

It is a pleasure for me to be able to share with you some of the other areas of growth we have experienced as a school during the last 12 months. While I was not here 12 months ago, from all accounts, everyone involved in the school was subject, in some way, to the turmoil. Fortunately, the children were the most protected.

Significant changes began with Dick and Barbara Dolven's arrival, mid-November. Under the wise and seasoned hands of both of them, faculty were given support to start examining what they were doing and why. Dick put money in the budget to update old textbooks and provide both professional development opportunities and technology access as additional resources. Barbara worked in each lower school classroom to implement the very strong Writer's Workshop - a program that inspires even very young children to write and also addresses structural development. Many of you have children who have developed their own personal correspondence with Mrs. Dolven. What greater tribute can there be to a teacher's effectiveness?

Last spring, LTS changed from the Iowa standardized tests to ERB's. We did it for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to compare ourselves to other independent school students across the nation. Our Iowa scores indicated that we were doing just fine, thank you, compared to public school students nationally, but that was not good enough for us. We were looking for proof that we are as strong as we think we are as well as tools to help us identify areas that need work.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the lower school teachers piloted a grammar program that their instincts told them we needed. Our first round of ERB scores substantiated that instinct. Our students were not, as a whole, as strong as we want them to be. This year that same grammar program is a part of our curriculum in grades 3-8. We now have a similar vocabulary program, and teachers have already been discussing possible adjustments regarding appropriate levels. Our initial takeaway is that our students are generally a grade level above the norm. We will use this spring's ERB scores to help us measure our improvement and to continue to explore the areas on which we need to focus.

We chose to move to Singapore Math because we recognized Saxon did not mesh with LTS philosophy of hands-on, project based learning, and because it did not push our students at either end to learn as much as they could. Singapore will better prepare all of our students for high school and beyond.

Teaching Singapore is considerably more challenging than was teaching Saxon, and yet the LTS faculty has embraced this opportunity to take on measurably more work in order to serve your children better. They have had to reseat themselves as students, first, before they could become the strong teachers they want to be -- and are. Criticisms of education often focus on the fact that so many American teachers can't or won't (sometimes because they don't have the support they would like) exert the kind of effort and risk it takes to be truly great.

Recently, I spent an hour with the lower school teachers -- a meeting they have weekly -- to talk about Singapore, Writer's Workshop, the literacy program, and how all of these aspects dovetail. Hardly anything that we teach is done in isolation. Math is now part of science and of history. So is writing, as students work with creating their own story problems. One of the teachers commented with delight and amusement about the story problems several students shared with her during recess today. What more could we want?

In other areas: With Ms Chang's arrival, students starting even in Pre-school are starting to learn about music theory, and a greater range of instruments is being introduced.

Students in the lower levels are now being introduced to health and nutrition through formal classes. Our middle school now boasts a math specialist in Tom Bell, who also spends time in the lower getting to know those students and that program.

Our new Dean of Students, Kris Nugent, works with students across the grade levels. He knows every student very well and is a resource for both kids and faculty -- and you, should you desire it. He and the lower school division heads (Holly Williamson and Heidi Breider), as well as our Academic Dean (Megan Sjoberg) make a formidable academic team. They and I meet regularly -- as I do with the stafulty as a whole and as divisions -- to discuss all manner of things LTS.

Erica Mirich, whom all of you have quite likely met, because she is a wonderful and visible force to be reckoned with, has put an entirely new face on our marketing and admissions materials. Her title of Director of Advancement is an accurate one, and she works closely with the office staff and the faculty to represent our school in the best light possible. Charlie White, Director of Admissions and Erica have worked hard with the rest of us in the office to produce completely new admissions and marketing materials. Wow. Many thanks to Rick Chapman for taking and identifying THE best photos for those publications.

7th and 8th graders have completed two very successful and unforgettable extended field trips. I hope you read the article in the Thanksgiving issue of Bonanza, written by two 8th graders, describing their community service trip to Kauai. All trips, past and future, are under scrutiny by the faculty as a whole. Our goal is to make sure that each trip is consistent with the School mission and provides a classroom of its own. As we grow our trips and experiences, they will become more curricularly integrated.

Our schedule has changed -- and gotten infinitely more complicated, as we add more pieces to the giant puzzle that is Lake Tahoe School. Transitions are hard -- especially in schools where all of us like to feel we know what to expect. We tend to say we want change, but we really mean we want others to change. I have high expectations -- of myself, of the faculty, of the students, and, yes, of you parents. I believe I was hired to return some scattered puzzle piece where they belong. In some cases, to pick them up off the floor.

The proof of what we do is in our graduates -- and current students: ability to think critically and logically, express themselves, be comfortable with adults, listen thoughtfully. So often hear of success stories: the child who arrived in 3rd or 5th grade, barely speaking, afraid to open his or her mouth, who graduates full of confidence and poise and takes high school by storm.

What can you do to help? Have your child here on time and don't leave early. Classes start at 7:40 and 8:00 am. If your child misses the first 5 minutes of math class every day, it amounts to 2 and 1/2 instructional days during the year. 20 minutes = two weeks. Realistically, if your child arrives 5 minutes late, it's another 5 minutes, at least, before he or she is ready to go. It's hard to start the day feeling fragmented. In the past, given our schedule and structure, sometimes we were more casual about time. Now teachers hit the ground running and try to take advantage of every instructional minute.

With the approach of the ski program that Kris is about to describe, please, please do not arrive early to pick up your children. To do so interrupts their learning. At the same time, I, very respectfully, ask that you not appear in classrooms unannounced. Our teachers welcome guests, but your sudden appearance changes the learning environment. Should you want to visit, please schedule one. Popping in on a teacher when his/her students are in an enrichment class, even when your reason for doing so is important, probably means that s/he will not have time to prepare completely for the return of the students. If you drop off a lunch or assignment, leave it with Sean in the office. We'll make sure they are delivered in a timely fashion.

Talk to us when you have a question, concern, or compliment. I urge you to contact teachers directly. Ask genuine questions. We all went to school, but every school culture is different, and the way students learn now can be very different from when we were in school.

Be involved. Keep doing what you are doing: your kids are wonderful: polite, helpful, not mean. Get out and see other schools; talk to other parents. Bring them to LTS! Lake Tahoe School of the future should not be dramatically different from it is now, just more so. We have a mission in which we believe and which will guide us as we grow in size. We will always be open to new thoughts and new adventures. We will never jump on bandwagons simply because they are popular. We will continue to try to meet each student's needs, even as we help them learn to work together.

As for me, I remain deeply grateful to be here as an educator and a person. I have great respect for the passion and experience of the faculty, great fondness for the students, and great appreciation for this amazing parent body who does so much for LTS. Plus, I really like my commute!

As i write this, a week prior to the commencement of our holiday break, several middle and lower school students are upstairs -- music playing, the aroma of pizza filling the air -- happily and industriously wrapping Giving Tree gifts for families in need.  They are using the seemingly endless rolls of paper provided by so many LTS families this morning.  The parcels being transformed into festive packages are the generous contributions of an incredible number of you.  Those of you who participated know that the requests were not trivial: clothing for adults and children, blankets, Raley's cards, games, even some small electronics.  Watching our young volunteers work, under the watchful and involved eyes of Charlie White and Heidi Breider, I was deeply moved, once again, by the heart and spirit of Lake Tahoe School.  We know that we are a privileged community in many ways. While every family has its own challenges, most not readily evident, we are quick to share with those less fortunate, seemingly always with glad and grateful hearts.

By the time you read this, we will have witnessed our annual Holiday Program, "A Winter's Tale," stuffed together into the Flex Room as various combinations of students sang, recited, and played for a most appreciative audience.  I understand that last year the performance was held at CalNeva. Quite likely it was more comfortable there -- but it wasn't our home.  We elected to stay on campus this year for a number of reasons, all of them student-centered.  With no need to travel for rehearsals, the last
preparations allowed for a week with minimal disruptions to the learning environment.  "Simple sophistication" was the focus for the selections made by Ms. Chang and Ms. Lee and their colleagues.  We have had the pleasure of watching the Flex Room transform from its normal, rather bland self, to a theater bursting with sights and sounds.  We have listened as children of all ages practiced hard and long for Wednesday's performance.  Someday I hope that Lake Tahoe School will have a true theater, but, in the meantime, I will continue to appreciate and celebrate the creative ways we use our
current space and be grateful for it.

Life in a school has its own rhythms.  Most of you are aware that Rachel Starkey, our teacher of Spanish, will be having her second child over the holiday break.  There have been times during the last few weeks when we have held our collective breaths on days when Ms. Starkey has been feeling under the weather.  Filling her zabatos is not an easy job.  After a broad search, I am happy to report that we found the perfect substitute in our own extended community.  Laura Brunel Canale will be filling in for Rachel beginning on January 9 and continuing through March 30. Laura brings several years of teaching experience to LTS, including time at Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe Community College, Habitat for Humanity -- and Lake Tahoe School.  As early as 2003, Laura worked as a sub for us, and she spent a number of months on campus as a student teacher.  She knows both our program and many of our students already.  Rachel and Laura are already working together closely to make sure that the transition on both ends of Rachel's leave is a seamless one.  I know that you will make Laura feel welcome.

When school dismisses for the last time in 2011, I will head back to Southern California to spend Christmas with my family.  We will share a few days in Ojai with my father.  Going back to Ojai is always especially wonderful at Christmas, since that's where I was raised.  Many of you have seen the  photo on my office wall of the little toughie in her blue jeans and cowboy hat.  This season, especially, is a time for family and children.

I hope that each of you has time for both -- and that you pause to recall a moment or two of yourself at the age your children now are. Share a memory with them. Let yourself slide back into that magic time when someone else was taking care of everything.

My greatest gift this year has been Lake Tahoe School.  Sharing it with you is a blessing.  Have a wonderful holiday.  I look forward to an exciting and amazing 2012 with you.

My father, Jack Huyler, will turn 92 in April. He spends most of his time in Ojai, California, where we joined him for Christmas this year. What a remarkable man -- a fact made increasingly clear with each visit. At nearly-92, hearing is a challenge for him, even with good aids, made even more complicated by a houseful of energetic (and loud) family. He's got macular degeneration, allowing him to see things at a distance but only with difficulty up close. He's pretty much confined to an electric chair or, for very short distances, a walker. None of the above stops him from being a Force to Be Reckoned With.

Dad is known for his opinions on all kinds of topics. He has never been shy about sharing them. At the same time, however, he is a truly great listener, a fact that has made him a considerable influence in the lives of many generations. In our family, he is the one who knows the most about everyone, staying connected through email and telephone. Recently he purchased a iPhone 4S. Its voice command capability makes it easier to use than the keypad that is too small for his arthritic hands. The keyboard and monitor for his computer are huge. Thank goodness for technology and my father's eagerness to use it. His fourth book is in publication. This one is a compilation of stories told around our ranch campfire in Jackson Hole over many years. He began to write his first book, about Thacher School in Ojai, California, at 64. His second book chronicles tales about the settling of Jackson Hole; his third is a history of our family.

Despite the fact that Dad is mostly relegated to the aforementioned electric chair and has the also-noted hearing and vision problems, he remains more in touch with people than nearly anyone I know. Aside from the three months he spends every summer in Jackson Hole, he lives in his own house on the campus of Thacher School, where he served as a teacher and administrator from 1949-1982 and has remained ever since as a kind of adjunct teacher, mentor, advisor, and assistant to the horse program. Dad stopped riding on his 85th birthday, afraid that he might fall mounting or dismounting, break something, and be a burden to his three children. Up to that point he remained a competitive horseman. Now he drives his golf cart out to the gymkhana field during gymkhana season to coach students, especially in lesser known events such as the sack and orange races. Three mornings a week he joins the gathered student body for outdoor assembly, frequently welcoming visitors and sharing stories. Now known as "Uncle Jack" to nearly everyone, he still can tell you the name of the horse(s) each Thacher "boy" rode up until about the time the School went coed.

While his body and memory are weaker than they used to be, Dad's sense of humor and the speed with which he responds to anecdotes and jokes remain constants. If he hears something correctly -- a kind of source of amusement in its own right, as he freely acknowledges that he "hears really interesting things sometimes" -- he misses no nuances, no double entendres. He is as quick to tell a joke as he is to laugh at one told.

Dad sparkles when he is with people, and that light is a gift to all of us. He radiates a genuine pleasure in the company of others. Of course he treasures his family and appreciated that so many of us made the trek from various parts of the country to celebrate Christmas together. When my mother died six years ago, however, someone commented that knowing the two of them was like being swept into some kind of giant tent of friendship and consideration. There is always room for one or two more. Life for Dad following Mom's death was not something he initially welcomed, but he has done both of them justice by continuing to embrace the many passions and experiences they shared as a married couple for 63 years and to live with dignity and grace.

Each of us in the family has a special relationship with Dad, as we did with Mom. Neither of them played favorites; they just related to all of us slightly differently. Other than the fact that I am his only daughter and shared the same passion for horses and competition, our most gratifying connection over time has been that we are both teachers. In my years as an educator, both in the classroom and in administration, there has never been a problem -- or a joy -- that I could not share with him. While any given situation may not have been identical to one he experienced, working with students, teachers, and parents over time varies only slightly. For the past ten years I made it a habit to call Dad on my way home from school to chat about the day. There are very few drawbacks to living in Incline Village; the downside to my two-minute commute is no time to talk to Dad.

Last week I received an email from an old friend referring me to an article in the New York Times praising the value of good teachers - and the negative influence of bad. To describe this fellow as an "old friend" is an extraordinary understatement. Woody and I met when we were both a year old and our fathers joined forces on the faculty of Thacher School, in Ojai, California. Our third best friend, Nelson, also a year old and the son of the headmaster of the school, and we were inseparable classmates until 9th grade, when they attended Thacher, then an all boys school, and I did not. Both men have also spent their lives in education. We know full well the importance of good teaching and the danger of poor. Immediately, we all three mentioned a same significant teacher in our lives.

Mr. Robert Townsend was the principal of San Antonio School in Ojai, as well as the teacher of 6th grade and half the 5th. The other half spent the year with a very strong teacher who also taught all of 4th. San Antonio was a very small school with a total of four classrooms and teachers for 1st through 6th grades. We had no aides, no enrichment teachers, no specialists, just Mrs. Hermes, Mrs. Bergren, Mr. Townsend - and someone whose name I can't remember, apparently.

Mr. Townsend was one of the reasons all three of us became teachers and then moved into administration. He ran his classroom in a way that was firm, fair, and funny. He managed to teach to a wide range of abilities in ways that were effective but that never set up divisions or resentments of any sort. This being the late 50's, he also had the freedom to hold us accountable in very direct ways. Not hand in your homework or misbehave in class? Sit on the bench during recess. True recalcitrants had to stand in the corner or with their noses pressed against a dot on the wall. Current practices and philosophies do not approves such measures, but they certainly were effective -partly, I'm sure, because Mr. Townsend brooked no teasing or put downs. We had no doubt that to laugh at anyone in the corner was to join him immediately. The good thing about such expectations was that we knew precisely where we stood and who was in charge. There was no way I was going to stand in the corner. I may have sat on the bench once or twice.... We loved Mr. Townsend. Our parents knew and respected that fact. They and he worked as a team.

His methods of teaching were not always mainstream, and they had the effect of becoming life lessons. During recess games of softball workups, he often joined us. I can still see him peeking around the trunk of a large pepper tree during a PE class, ready to streak in and kick the can to free those of us who were in "jail." For the 1959 World Series, Mr. Townsend imported his own black and white television so that we could watch. And keep score. Each of us was provided with score cards for every game, and we were taught how to note every single play. My young husband was duly impressed when we attended our first big league game after being married a year or so, and I bought a program so that I could keep score.

While there are many stories and teaching strategies I could share about Mr. Townsend, three stand out as distinctive. First, he taught one other girl and me to make coffee for the faculty every morning. For us, it was a privilege and a responsibility we took seriously; for him and the faculty something they didn't have to worry about and kind of a little gift. Second, he taught three or four of us boys and girls how to work all of the audiovisual equipment: movie and slide projectors and that ever-present film-strip projector. Whenever another teacher needed to show a movie or film-strip, one of us would make sure everything was set and ready to go, and Mr. Townsend never had to leave his classroom. Were such a thing to exist, I have complete faith that I could thread one of the movie projectors today. It was critical to make the upper loop just the right size.

Finally - and most important over years of reflection - Mr. Townsend assigned Nelson and me as partners on a big science project. Normally, he would have split us up, as his philosophy was to expect all of us to be able to work with each other. The science project was a big deal, however, and for our third partner, he assigned Sharon B. Looking at class photographs from that year, it's pretty obvious that Sharon had limited mental ability. We kind of knew that, but she was a cheerful classmate, and no mention was ever made of her limitations. Mr. Townsend never said a word to us about the situation. He simply knew, as did we, that he could count on us to work productively with Sharon in exchange for the privilege of our partnership. Ironically, our scientific objective of our experiment was totally off the mark, but the process was invaluable. Fifty years after the fact, Nelson made reference to that same masterful teaching moment.

Each of us has teachers in our lives who were memorable - for good or for bad. Nelson, Woody, and I also value Sue Beck (Becky), our kindergarten teacher. We must have been a bit of a handful, as I can vividly recall being remonstrated for climbing onto the roof of the kindergarten so that we could throw pebbles across to an adjacent building. Becky and I climbed the Grand Teton when she was 60 and I was 16.

Michael Taggart, who was my teacher of English and history and softball coach in grades 7-10 had a huge impact on me. He was the one who talked to us when John Kennedy was assassinated. A few years ago, when I ran into him and we were catching up, he said that single moment was one of the heaviest in his teaching career. He knew what he said to us would make a difference, and he felt deeply the burden of choosing his words carefully.

My best friend during those years liked Mr. Taggart, but he was not one of her favorites, a fact that surprised me when I heard it many years later. The fact is that all of us relate slightly differently to teachers in our lives. Good teachers never damage a child, but nobody can be expected to be every student's Best Teacher. Just as, for parents, it's sometimes easier to relate to and understand one child more than another.

Next week, I'll write about the teachers with whom I didn't make those positive connections. I like to think they have made me a better teacher, too, as I consciously avoid some of the things to which I objected at the time. In the meantime, I urge you to seek out one - or more -- of the teachers who had a positive impact on you. Give them a call. Write a note. Connect on Facebook. I guarantee they will be thrilled to hear from you.

Last week I wrote about a couple of teachers who had a tremendous positive impact on me when I was in their classes - which sometimes included space and time outside of actual rooms. This week I thought I'd share some thoughts related to The Other Teachers, the ones we remember for less than positive reasons.

Periodically I ask faculty members to consider a Best Teacher and a Worst one in their own lives. The point, of course, is for all of us to stop and explore what constituted those labels - some still applied decades later. As teachers, it's vital that we remember what bothered us as students, as well as what charmed and motivated us. Fortunately for me, my student days were filled with far more good teachers than bad. Generally, even if I disagreed with a teacher or didn't especially warm to him or her, I could distinguish my particular preferences from some of my classmates and appreciate that others felt differently. That, in itself, was a valuable lesson.

Mr. W, on the other hand, made a decision that has had as powerful an effect on the way I conducted my classes and deal with students today as anybody else. Ironically, I still see him when I visit my father in Southern California, and we go to church. Always friendly, always glad to see me, he has no idea of the "sin" he committed almost fifty years ago. I suppose it's time for me to let this particular injustice go - and I have, recognizing he meant well. Still, it's a valuable memory for an educator.

In tenth grade at the time, I played on my school's softball team. I was also on the honor roll and ridiculously responsible and "easy" as a student. I say that simply to establish that I was an upright school citizen. One Monday afternoon the team was scheduled to travel to Santa Barbara for a game, and most of us were also supposed to take a science test. Like the good students we were, we approached Mr. W well in advance and were assured that we could take the make up test Tuesday afternoon in what was euphemistically called "Makeup" -after school and after our regularly scheduled studyhall during the day. At lunch on Tuesday, Mr. W announced that we players would take the test during class that afternoon, before the studyhall. Uh oh. "Helpful" classmates passed us a cheat sheet, and, in high dudgeon, we set about memorizing the order of the multiple choice answers during the break after lunch.

As mentioned before, however, I was an upright citizen, as was my best friend. We could not cheat. Instead, we approached Mr. W, reminded him of his promise, and confessed the two of us had been given the answers. We asked him to please honor his commitment to us. He did not. Rather, in high dudgeon himself, he made us all take a test that covered material he hadn't. We failed.

You might be thinking that we should have studied over the weekend. You might be thinking we should not have needed that final review. Had the subject been English or math, it wouldn't have been a problem. But it wasn't. It was science, taught in a way that didn't stick with me. More important, a teacher had given us his word and then taken it back and not been willing to listen when we approached him with a genuine dilemma. He lost all of our respect at that moment.

About fifteen years ago, while I was in the process of undergoing my annual mammogram, the middle aged woman performing the procedure cheerfully asked me a question that prompted me to share with her the title of the practicum I was researching for my Master's Degree: The Difference We Make: The Impact Teachers Have on the Lives of Adolescent Girls. Her response was immediate. "I remember one teacher I loved and one I hated. The first told me I could do anything I set my mind to. The second called my mother and told me I should smile more. I did my best work for the first and only wanted to get by for the second."

Initially a bit surprised by that little story shared in the process of a medical exam, I shouldn't have been. In my experience, pretty much all of us can cite teachers we loved and teachers we didn't. While considerable research points to an even greater need for girls than boys to be connected to their teachers on a personal level in order for them to learn best, all of us require a certain level of trust and respect. Most of us can learn from a variety of teachers, favorites or not, if we feel we are heard and understood - as well as challenged and held accountable, actually. Everyone is happy to receive an "easy A," but few take much pride in those grades or respect the teachers who give them. 

Ever since I learned how, I have loved to read. My mother used to tell the story of when I returned from the first grade and reported that I liked it but "I haven't learned to read yet." Once I learned, I became a voracious reader. We had no library at San Antonio school. Instead a book mobile arrived every two weeks, and each of us could check out two precious books. Technically, 1st through 3rd graders made selections from one side, while 4th - 6th students graduated to the other. It was a very proud day for a couple of us in 3rd grade when we were given permission to move over with the older kids.

The realities and responsibilities of life make reading as much as I would like a challenge these days. However, every January I set a goal of reading 50 books within the coming year. I count listening to books on tape, or through Audible, as long as they are unabridged. Without long car trips and earphones while I work out, I would never make my quota.

Just as we encourage our students to do, I read a wide variety of subjects and genre. Historically a fiction fan, I notice my tastes have matured over the years, though I still love diving into a good novel, marveling at the creativity of the author as a story unfolds. I have been a member of book groups in the past and appreciate the push they provide to explore topics and authors I would not likely pursue on my own.

At the close of each year, it's interesting to look back at my list and determine my favorites. This year is no exception. Often my choices surprise me. In no order, other than that in which I read them, I share with you some of the books I enjoyed most:

Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls. This book, written by the author of Glass Castles, is a fictionalized account of her grandmother's youth in a very young West.

Talk Show, by Dick Cavett. Not a late night TV watcher, Cavett's show was the one for which I frequently did keep my eyes propped open. He also spanned an amazing generation of personalities. This collection of essays, if read on Kindle, provides links to the actual shows themselves.

A Coach for All Seasons, by Morgan Wootten. Not especially well-written, this little book provides marvelous insight into the winningest high school coach of all time. I had the privilege of meeting Coach Wootten when I worked in the DC area, and he was recruiting one of my 8th grade students (now an NBA player). I was struck when I met him and as I read the book by his commitment to teaching, to good sportsmanship, and to the future of the young men in his charge over the years.

Dancing at the Rascal Fair, by Ivan Doig. Doig is a favorite of mine and my husband's, and this was a reread for me. This House of Sky remains my favorite, and I loved the (fairly) recent The Whistling Season. In my opinion, Doig can describe a scene like very few others.

Room: A Novel, by Emma Donohue. Clearly taken from recent news events, I was both appalled and amazed by this little book, which contained such hope and tribute to human spirit.

The Social Animal, by David Brooks. An amazing perspective on what forms and motivates us. Very easy to read. I would have loved to have a book group with which to discuss this one.

The Parents We Mean to Be, by Richard Weisborg. Every parent should read this, regardless of the age of our children. Without preaching or judging, Weisborg does an amazing job of examining some of the messages we convey when we think we are saying (or doing) something entirely different.

The Hunger Games Series, by Suzanne Collins. Everyone was reading them, including a slew of our students. I figured I should join the crowd. While I wouldn't put them in the same category of literature as, say, The Hobbit, I certainly was entertained and eager to read all of them.

I also enjoyed Never Disappointed, Tony Hillerman's autobiography; and, to my surprise, both Bossy Pants (Tina Fey) and Stories I only Tell My Friends (Rob Lowe). I appreciate famous people who can be self-deprecating with a sense of humor.

I didn't like Ann Patchett's State of Wonder. Our book group was equally divided over that one. She can write beautifully, but the over-the-top fantastic killed it for me.

I'd love to hear what books some of you enjoyed (or didn't). Most of all, I hope you talk about books with your children, your colleagues, and your friends. We are so lucky to be able to read and have such a wealth of literature available to us.