traveling again

When will we teach our children in school what they are?

We should say to each of them:...You are a marvel.

You are unique.

In all the world there is no other child exactly like you...

You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven...

And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, 

like you, a marvel?

-Pablo Casals

I like this! I think this is what education should be all about! Helping each young person discover his or her very own voice, develop it and then take it out into the world to have authentic and productive conversations with others. Like Casals, I cannot resist imagining the wonder of that possibility.

Are you familiar with the book 40 Colleges That Change Lives, by Loren Pope? It's a terrific resource that can help families find alternatives to the insanity that seems to pervade the college application process these days.

Of course, my beloved Earlham is one of the schools profiled by Pope. Knox College is in there, too.

I was invited by the Earlham Admissions Office to come back to campus and help out with "Accepted Student's Day", which will be held this Monday. I'm heading out this morning, and will return late Tuesday night. I was delighted to be asked, and I look forward to working with students (and their families) who are trying to discern if Earlham is where they want to spend the next four years of their lives. I still marvel that I am part of this good work, and I love the challenges and rewards that this work brings to my life. 

There are many fine places and ways to learn. NOLS, the Peace Corps, public schools, Waldorf Schools, Montessori Schools, Sunday school, independent schools, adult education classes...

Where have you done your best learning?

P.S. We found a dress!! Stunning cotton/silk blue...and very" becoming" as my Grammie would say...will try to talk her into a picture....