Head of School's Message: October 26

A Message from the Head of School 

 
“Our rapturous submission to digital technology has led to an atrophying of human capacities like empathy and human reflection, and the time has come to reassert ourselves, behave like adults and put technology in its place,” wrote Jonathan Franzen reviewing Sherry Turkle’s book Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age in the New York Times Book Review on October 4.
 
Adults have put technology in its place at Chandler. Teaching our students to use technology responsibly as a tool for learning is one of Chandler’s strengths. Following last week’s admission open house one visitor wrote, “The reasons we are impressed with Chandler are the confidence of your students, the breadth of your elective programs and the use of modern teaching technologies. In my mind, the biggest differentiator at Chandler is your S.T.E.A.M. program. I am an engineer and designer working in a technology-driven world and my son follows my footsteps. He has a passion for science, technology, anything mechanical, arts and mathematics. Chandler is a perfect fit for him.”
 
We strive for balance in how we use technology throughout the program.
 
Last week I read through several eighth-grade digital portfolios that students completed since the start of the school year in their English class. The portfolios are creative amalgamations of style and substance. In the ‘About Me’ sections, students reflected on their favorite books, places they have visited and their career aspirations. There were glitzy photomontages and embedded music clips, but what leaped out was the quality of the writing and the thought and editing that had gone into it. Our students were not relying on pictures to tell their stories.
 
One student wrote that when she grows up, “I aspire to be as loved as my great grandmother.” Another reflected on the standards he was trying to reach, “I want to be candid about myself and not portray someone that I am not. I want people to notice how hard I work to balance academics and athletics.” The Twilight Series came under the withering scrutiny of one girl who found the books a guilty pleasure but shoddily wrote,“Stephanie Meyer tells a good story, but she is not a good writer.” The portfolios were filled with thoughtful, personal reflections.
 
In Reclaiming Conversation, Turkle believes that we must design technology that demands we use it with greater intention. Our students are using technology intentionally, growing their capacities and developing their writing skills as they assemble digital portfolios.
 
Several Chandler parents went to Poly last Monday to hear Julie Lythcott-Haims, the former freshman dean at Stanford, talk about her book How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Child for Success. The book is described as provocative and humbling. Julie’s entertaining talk managed to provoke and humble everyone in the audience. The next Parent Coffee with me is on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8:15 a.m. I am turning that meeting into a discussion of Julie’s book. I will also host an evening discussion that day from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the Lower School library if you can’t make it to the morning meeting. You can buy the book at this week’s Book Fair.
 
  
Most sincerely,

 
John Finch
Head of School
 
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