The Importance of Values
Source/Author: Mike Murphy, Headmaster
September 09, 2016
Recently, my email and Twitter feeds were loaded with copies of an article a teacher, Paul Barnwell, published in The Atlantic on July 25. Mr. Barnwell lives in the world of public education where the push to quantify all academic progress has resulted in a very narrow curriculum. That narrow curriculum ignores the overall purpose of education and, to Mr. Barnwell’s lament, leaves little time for teachers and students to consider values.
Many people choose alternatives to public education because they are unwilling to accept the top down ideas like No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Both efforts take a very narrow view of the purpose of education, and maybe an even more limited perspective on what is happening in the environments in which the students and teachers subjected to these standards live. Mr. Barnwell touched a nerve of his readers because he realizes that the future of our nation and world depends upon an educated citizenry that is both capable of thinking and using knowledge while at the same time knowing what is good, ethical and right.
At Shorecrest, we have worked with our community to adopt 5 Core Values that we believe all members of our community will embrace and model. We do not begin to think that our students will embrace these values unless their teachers, administrators, coaches, staff and parents/guardians discuss and model the ideas regularly.
During my one-on-one interviews with all members of the senior class, the individuals have identified the value that is a current priority as they launched into this springboard year. I asked all of our Lower School and Middle School students to identify the value they will prioritize as we begin the year. Some members of the faculty and staff spent time during pre-planning week to develop initiatives that will help us embed the 5 Core values in all we do at Shorecrest:
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity
Knowledge
Compassion
Take a moment and ask your child to name someone who models integrity. The conversation may lead to some thoughtful ways for all of us to be mindful of how we present ourselves to our communities.
Cheers!
Mike
Mike
