Head of School's Message: November 4

Constraints can be enabling as well as limiting. As the middle school students lined up for snacks during morning recess on Halloween, 7th Grade Science Teacher Robert Calderon mentioned that he liked the impact of the temporary staircase...
Constraints can be enabling as well as limiting. As the middle school students lined up for snacks during morning recess on Halloween, 7th Grade Science Teacher Robert Calderon mentioned that he liked the impact of the temporary staircase on the middle school because it drew the students into closer proximity to each other and created new spaces for students to gather. The staircase allows students to go back and forth from the courtyard to the third floor during construction, which begins this week. Despite the constraint, everything was working out with an added silver lining. 
 
In The Brain That Changes Itself, the book about neuroplasticity discussed by a group of Chandler parents last week, author Dr. Norman Doidge included a chapter on constraint-induced movement therapy. The therapy is based on research using monkeys in the 1990s. The left side of the monkeys' brains was removed, paralyzing the right sides of their bodies. The monkeys accommodated and started using the left side of their bodies exclusively. When researchers immobilized the limbs on the monkeys' left sides, remarkably, their brains rewired to regain the use of their right side. The results of this research have been used to help human stroke victims recover the use of limbs. In one application of the therapy that works better on younger stroke victims than older ones, the unaffected side of the body is put in a cast to force the brain to rewire itself to regain control of the affected side. 
 
In his October 25 column, the New York Times' David Brooks wrote about the virtues of constraints. He was summarizing a book by Thomas Sowell, A Conflict of Visions. Sowell argues that it's best to work realistically within constraints. Evils ensue when people ignore them. The constrained vision is wiser. In the unconstrained vision, you ask: What's the solution? In a constrained vision, you ask: What's the best set of trade-offs and reforms we can actually achieve?
 
Parent conferences are coming up. Emerging from the conference with a constrained vision of your children, based on an understanding of who they are, and not who you want them to be, is a worthwhile goal. 
 
Once again, we want to thank those parents who are arriving at 3:15 p.m. to pick up on Seco. You have prevented back-ups, made the car line move more efficiently and the neighbors are grateful. You have made the world a better place. We encourage more people to be like you. Thank you for working with this constraint. 
 
The next book on the parent discussion list is Audrey Monke's Happy Campers: 9 Summer Camp Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults. Audrey Monke will be speaking at Chandler next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. We will discuss her book on Thursday, November 21, at 6:30 p.m. The date for the book discussion has been changed from December 5 in the published calendar. 
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