From the Head
Risk Taking: A Powerful Tool for Imagining New Solutions
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot
June 2010
Dear Families and Friends,
Advent is by no means an ordinary school. And our teaching doesn’t produce
ordinary students. We are training children so that they will be able to creatively
solve some of our planet’s biggest problems. A major oil spill and an impending
international crisis are prime examples of the issues our children will be facing
down the road.
In these last weeks it’s become quite clear: the world’s problems are growing
exponentially. Training students in divided disciplines or one subject at a time
won’t help them imagine different kinds of outcomes. We cannot go down the
same path we have always taken or teach children the way we’ve always taught
them.
We are all explorers at Advent. Every day our teachers take risks developing
new kinds of programs. This spring I observed a Fourth Grade Math group
estimating distances on neighborhood maps of Boston. Taking them beyond their
classroom, the teacher asked children to verify their estimates, compare
distances, apply their skills with decimals, and evaluate their thinking. They
walked, recorded their measurements, and considered their data. Mathematics,
geography, reading, technology, physical exercise, and scientific thinking were
just a few of the skill areas tapped.
Our teacher was training her students to take intellectual risks that might have
meant arriving at the “wrong” answer. They often readjusted their estimates and
asked their peers for input. I was in awe as Fourth Graders challenged
themselves with new questions, without the fear that their thinking might be “off
the mark.” It was one of the most inspiring long-term projects I’ve witnessed.
What this and other lessons like it teach our children is that making an error is
simply one experience en route to better thinking and/or results. It takes patience
and practice for teachers and students to approach issues with unpredictable
outcomes. Taking risks leads to multiple solutions and innovative thinking.
Children have extraordinary powers of imagination. If we expect them to
envision new ideas and learn from trial and error they will realize that these are
exciting moments on the path to success. One day these very experiences might
mean that our children could solve some of our planet’s emerging problems.
Do a bit of creative risk taking with your children this summer! That’s what
we’ll be doing at school in small teacher “thinking” groups – in our traditional
three summer workweeks! Enjoy the process, and we’ll be eager to hear from
you via email or in person in the fall about what you have learned
With my warmest wishes for joyful exploration,
Nancy Harris Frohlich
Head of School
Why It’s Important to Take a Risk. From Advent Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Graders
- You’ll never know if you don’t try.
- You don’t learn when you take the easy way out.
- You learn from your mistakes.
- Not every risk is good.
- You get something better in the end if you take a risk.
- Not everything always works out when you take a risk.
- If something bad happens you can learn from it.
- Eventually you’ll get it right.
- You have to fail to discover.
- The adrenaline rush energizes you when you take a risk.
- If you don’t do it at Advent, when your Advent friends are there to watch your back, you might not do it at all.
- If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, when you make one, you won’t know what to do.
- You are more comfortable taking risks, because you’ve learned what it feels like to be in that unpredictable place.
- It takes courage to take a risk.
“I would like to say thank you to my teachers and my peers for making me want to come to school each morning.”
— Advent student
- Advent Art Sampler
