国产成人综合久久免费导航

Dear Keystonians,?? 

I hope you all enjoyed a meaningful week after the conferences and Monday break.? 

This is a big week for theatre on campus with the opening of Dreamland, the secondary school English drama. Arts are a critical part of our program at Keystone with every student participating in the arts program both as part of the Chinese Thread and their core classes and, if they wish, as part of their choices in the Keystone Activities Program.? 

At Keystone, everything we do is done with the intention of creating the learning outcomes we know the world needs. So why is it important for all students to have experiences in the arts? The arts, the visual and performing arts, and a deep appreciation of literature, have all been central to the ethos of Keystone since the founding of the school. The school’s investment in the arts, both in courses, world-class spaces and incredible teachers is unparalleled in most schools, even those that specialize in the arts.?? 

Most people, especially people who have chosen to be a part of the Keystone community, don’t question the value of art for art’s sake. However, it is also important to note that there is a purpose of a creativity-rich learning environment that serves students in all disciplines and potential career pathways.?? 

Today, let’s focus on just one of the benefits of the arts: embracing becoming a risk taker. In today’s educational context where achievement and perfection are sometimes used interchangeably, it is incredibly important for young people to experience learning in contexts in which there are many possible “answers”.?? 

The arts are a structured and safe way for students to take risks. In the arts, there are fewer “right” answers than students may believe to be the case in other disciplines, like math, languages or science. (Although at great schools like Keystone, there are lots of possible answers in every subject, as we embrace inquiry and project-based learning!) Other benefits of the arts include (but are not limited to): seeing the impact of sustained practice, discipline, collaboration, and just creativity and joy— but today let’s focus on risk taking.?? 

Last week, I had the chance to visit with old friends who work at two different boarding schools in California and were here in Beijing recruiting students. In both conversations we talked about the critical task of cultivating risk-taking in our student populations. One head of school talked about an idea for a tag line for her girls’ school based on the idea of “I don’t know, but I will find out.” We all agreed that risk-taking is on the decline in our student populations (observations that are borne out in interesting research about Generation Alpha).?? 

People who have been at Keystone long enough will remember the hats that the school made years ago with the words “risk taker” stitched on them. We all acknowledge that one of the hardest things for the high achieving (sometimes perfectionistic) kids in our schools to say is “I don’t know”— a phrase that will be increasingly important to navigate with the attendant confidence that sounds like, “. . . and I will find out”. Given the rate of change in the world, our current students will have to learn much more as adults than other generations that came before them— they must get good at risk taking.?? 

Given the increasing uncertainty in the world, and in the future lives of work of our children, this may be the most important competency that we are cultivating. So, the arts are not just “nice to have”, but they are a must have for a comprehensive future focused education. And, as I was enjoying the brilliant performances this week, I couldn’t help but think how nice they are too. So, I sign off with gratitude to the teachers and students who invested countless hours in putting together Dreamland. Yet another reminder on our beautiful campus that learning is both beautiful and meaningful. How lucky are we???? 

Warmly,?? 

Emily / Dr. M/