Monday Morning Meditation – Objectivity

Caotang said to Shantang:

In all things, if right and wrong are not clear, you must be careful. When right and wrong are clear, you should decided on the basis of reason, consider where the truth lies, and settle the issue without doubt. In this way, you cannot be confused by flattery and cannot be moved by powerful argument.

Opening Remarks

Good Afternoon and welcome back.

It’s my sincere hope that all of you enjoyed a relaxing and rich summer break. I know many of you that are returning will be disappointed to hear that I have no stories about spiders this year. Instead, Mr. Morse asked me to share with you a few brief words regarding a very important process that Academy will be undertaking over the course of the academic year. Schools such as ours often embark on the task of strategic planning in order to outline and identify a set of important, long term, institutional goals. These goals are intended to help guide the direction of a school for the next 4 to 6 years. Throughout this year you will be asked to participate in this process and your feedback and input are important to the success of our plan. But more importantly what I would like to emphasize here today is how some of the common reasons why schools plan strategically connects to each and every one of you.

First, set a direction for yourself including reaching goals, improving on your previous performance, academically as well as on the field, or through participation in the arts and extra-curricular activities.

Secondly, work toward helping us build a stronger community. I am reminded of a quote from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor:

We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone … and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.

What role will you play in working toward creating something great?

And lastly, take charge of the future. Recognize that as a community of learners, we are privileged to have the unique opportunity to learn, inspire, motivate and empower one another. Whether it is through community service and leadership opportunities, or by pushing the thinking in your classes to new heights, coming up with new ideas or creative ways to solve problems, we can shape the course of our future here, together. These are three of the principles we will use this year in our planning process and I encourage each of you to find a way to weave at least one of them into your experience here at WA.

It is an exciting time to be a part of Worcester Academy. Good luck to all of you and have a great year.

The Young Leader and The Wall

I often wonder if leadership is something that an individual is born with or if, in fact, it can be taught. While aspects of leadership such as good communication skills, team work and problem solving are skills and attributes that can be honed and developed, does a person have an intrinsic “leadership nature”? Today I saw a young woman demonstrate just that. It had nothing to do with standing out as the loudest voice or most active participant. It manifested itself in a quiet way, looking upward 45 or 50 feet straight up in the air, surveying a climbing wall wearing borrowed sneakers. It concerned itself less with what others were thinking and more with the sheer excitement of a challenge. This young lady took on the medium and difficult portions of this wall and won. She demonstrated poise, concentration, courage and determination. But what struck me more than anything else was that by exercising her intrinsic “leadership nature”, she quietly demonstrated for the onlookers what it means to exercise it.