This week we continued to wrap up school activities and prepare for final exams. Any given week at Hyde has days filled with actions, whether it be during classes, sports, public speaking, college work, student jobs, performing arts, discovery group meetings, etc. Then we find opportunities to reflect on those actions.
We call that the Action/Reflection Cycle. First, the student must act: complete a homework assignment, do a chore, run a mile, write an assignment, sing a song, etc. Then the student learns: "With each action, I begin to regard myself in a new light. As I accept this new view of myself, I act in accordance with it."
Thus the actions help form a new identity. Most students like the feeling of this new identity. They grow to like it enough to continue to engage in the actions that gave birth to it. The students begin to realize that this identity can only be maintained through continual constructive actions. Thus the activity and identity reinforce each other in a chain reaction of personal growth.
In our school meeting, we took time to reflect on this term's actions by considering some questions, sharing with a partner, and then allowing any student or faculty member to come up to the podium and share their reflections. The questions were:
- Something I learned about myself this fall
- Something I learned about my family
- A goal I have next term or in my future
- An accomplishment that I am proud of
- A challenge that I am facing and how I feel about it
- Someone in this community who has helped me
- An area where I want to make a change
- A person who believed in me enough to challenge my best and what I learned
It was a meaningful meeting where students and faculty shared moments of pride, accomplishment, challenge, fear, and appreciation for those who have pushed them to their best effort. Some of the comments included:
There was a collective sense that we have set a foundation this fall, and I look forward to seeing our growth as individuals and as a school next term!
Laura D. Gauld '76