What's Important

​When you were in middle school, or younger, did you have a SmartPhone? Did your parents have the TV on a 24-hour news station all day? Were you aware of fractious international politics?  Did you consider the future to be hopeful or bleak? Did you consider the future at all? If you had bleak feelings, did your family and the community around you give you the tools to acknowledge and process those feelings? 

I’m making an assumption that you are close to or over 30 if you are reading this. Millennials to Boomers are the audience here, the average being the Gen X’ers, the Prozac generation. Individual circumstances aside, statistics will tell us that Gen Z and below are suffering from an unprecedented mental health crisis. Young people are more depressed, more anxious, more hopeless. Suicide rates are rising, addiction levels are rising. There are myriad reasons why this is true and/or why the statistics bring us to this conclusion but I think from our own observations as parents and educators, we can confirm this reality.

I have some good news. It doesn’t have to be this way. And schools like Golden Bridges can be part of the solution.

At our school open houses people inevitably ask about how we teach reading, math and science. They ask about how we handle “discipline” and about our diversity numbers. These are important questions to which we have head-noddingly complete answers. With families applying for our Equitable Tuition Program, we find ourselves having intimate conversations about abundance versus scarcity, trying to determine where education costs fit into a tight budget. As parents considering joining our school, these are important questions whose answers matter. The answers are also valuable to us as a school.

The unasked question, I believe, is how can this school support the children in becoming  strong, confident versions of themselves? My answer would be that we do this every day at Golden Bridges. We teach them in a developmentally appropriate way, not precious and sheltering but rather meeting them at a place where they can process and understand. We support the children in recognizing, celebrating, and challenging their strengths and supporting and encouraging their areas of growth. Who they are, however they are, is welcome and loved. And the expectation is set that they also recognize, listen to, and support one another.

In the grades, some of these expectations are called out explicitly through the creation of classroom norms which include various versions of kindness and respect. The norms are learned and practiced together, called out when they have been honored or transgressed. Other expectations are built gently into the day-to-day, such as the gesture of a Kindergarten “elder” tying on the apron of a “younger” on painting day. Many classes start their morning by lighting a candle and offering “light” to a situation or someone in need or gratitude for something or someone that is bringing them joy. When conflict arises, at any age, the children are brought together to listen, acknowledge and form an understanding that generates a deeper relationship.

Let’s be sure to care for our children. Let’s not assume they have the capacity to process the unavoidable onslaught of information and opinions. We need to shield them as best we can and ensure they have the tools they need to stand tall, feel good about themselves, and make this world a better place. It’s happening right here in our classrooms and that’s a good place to start.