This week, we started the school meeting with students sharing some thoughts about areas of the school where we were going after excellence and making strides as well as about areas where we were struggling and that we needed to address. The theme of the meeting was "Small apologies, big apologies and forgiveness." Mr. Jesse Higgins '16 set the tone with thoughts about a genuine apology. Important elements include:
- Empathy
- Being real
- Remorse
- Commitment to make it right
Students were asked to process the following questions:
What is an amend or apology that I need to make or have made that may not be something major but important for me to own?
Was there a time when I broke trust or crossed a line, and I need to make a deep apology for this?
When do I need to have more forgiveness for someone who apologized and tried to make amends with me?
Some of the comments hit these different levels of apology:
"I took something from my brother and was able to apologize before it became a big deal."
"My sister questioned me on something, and it crossed a line with me. When she tried to make amends, I didn't want to accept it at first."
"Last year, I made a poor decision and knew that I had let people down. I learned the importance of making an apology and meaning it."
As Mr. Higgins said, "The measure of a person is their ability to own up to mistakes, make genuine apologies, and also be a forgiving person. Let's all think about these important elements of our character!"
Laura D. Gauld '76