What’s Wrong With Kids Being Happy?

Thursday, 10 December 2009 14:09

Over the past few weeks, I have been meeting one-on-one with each of our new parents to talk about how their family’s and their child’s transition to our school has gone.

Overwhelmingly, the new parents I met with are thrilled with Davidson Day and expressed how happy their children are. Whether they have come from a public or private school, each parent has had an inspiring story to tell about how their child is working harder than ever, is challenged in ways they never before experienced, and is loving every minute of it. They have singled out caring teachers, approachable administrators, and new school friends who support them. They talk about opportunities their child has had to try new things that have become a previously unknown passion. And they are grateful to us because their children are happy and excited to come to school each day.

Music to a headmaster’s ears. But I am eager to learn whether the kids are saying the same things as their parents. So I chat with them over lunch. I have been eating lunch with small groups of students from toddlers through high schoolers each day for the past several weeks. By the end of next week, I am proud to say I will have eaten lunch with every student in our school.

And you know what I learned? Our kids really are happy. They love their teachers. They love their friends. They love learning new things. And they love coming to school.

In my heart, I already know this. I watch our Early Childhood and Lower School students run into school each day eager to get to their classroom, their teacher, and their friends. I watch our Middle Schoolers hanging out together in the hallways after school, joking with their teachers while diligently doing their homework. I walk through the Upper School hallway at 6:30 p.m. and pop into a classroom of kids with their teacher at the whiteboard laughing as they prepare for the next day’s AP Physics exam.

From early morning to late in the evening, our school buzzes with excitement, spontaneity and joy. We’ve got great kids, great teachers, and great parents who all work together, side by side, to support, nurture and challenge our children. It’s a family affair where humor and compassion enable students to tackle levels of rigor and challenge they would otherwise not attempt. Where passion to succeed provides the motivation to persevere rather than give up. And where there are teachers, administrators, and classmates to count on, no matter what.

So what’s wrong with kids being happy? Or teachers, or parents for that matter? When did frustrated teachers, disconnected administrators, and disenfranchised students and parents become synonymous with education?

Not at Davidson Day School. Children deserve better than that.

Warm Regards,

Bonnie Cotter
Head of School

Comments

Add New