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Dear Stratton School Community: Last Thursday, I was visiting with a 1st grade class when I saw one student leave for the bathroom. I just happened to look up while he left the room, and noticed that another student was coming back in to the classroom at the same time accompanied by a teacher. The teacher stopped the two students for a moment to give some gentle instruction about saying ‘Excuse me’, and holding of doors. All left with a smile. I probably would not have remembered this everyday occurrence, except in the very next classroom, the exact same thing happened again, and with the same pause created by the teacher to remind about saying ‘Excuse me’ and holding doors for friends! In reflecting on this experience, I realized that it stayed with me for a reason; it is an example of the kind of unity that is so frequently present at Stratton, and that I would like to help make even more frequent and more obvious. I have written before about how important it is to have social-emotional learning at the front of our work as educators – in the 21st century even more than ever. One of the most powerful ways to cultivate emotionally intelligent and self-sufficient young people is to have a very common message delivered to them, especially around their school. I have come to know our teachers as professionals who make excellent decisions every day – the tough job of a teacher is, essentially, to make hundreds of them each day! Yet there is always room for debate – should students say excuse me every time they encounter each other in the same doorway? Just in classrooms? Not at all? Great teachers like ours can disagree about these things, and still be making good decisions. But the best environment for children who go from one teacher to another each year is to have as much common ground as possible. This has been established by researchers of increased student achievement like Robert Marzano and Madeline Hunter. Please stop by to chat more about this research if you get a chance. So Stratton teachers will be working on this with me in the months and years to come. I have said to faculty – both individually and as a group – that given how strong they are as teachers already, my leadership will be to weave together their strengths, and facilitate a common vision of great teaching and learning that we can all count on. I will be excited to share updates with families, and involve you in the development of this common vision when appropriate. In the meantime, Happy Spring – it is indeed a very busy and exciting time of the year! Mr. Hanna
Follow @MichaelHanna101
April 2013
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