Letter from Head of School

Dear Friends,

Perhaps it is because one of my children is preparing to graduate from high school this June and will launch into an important new chapter of her life that I find myself reflecting on my hopes and dreams for both of my children. I warn you, this is going to be personal—and because I am writing about what I want for them, please don’t tell my children. Or my wife. I haven’t discussed any of this with her…yet. I will soon. In fact, I had better not use my children’s real names. For now, they will be child 1 and child 2, and the content of this letter is just between you and me.

Before I dive in, I should probably make some additional disclosures. Despite being an educator for almost 30 years, my school and career counseling is a bit informal. Informal, but hopefully not trite. So here goes. This is what I want for my children.

Child 1: That you carry your deep sensitivity to others throughout your life. Your ability to connect, to understand, and to empathize has been a keen part of you since you were a toddler. Keep it alive! You will get hurt along the way; however, you will rebound. Your capacity to love is beyond measure. I hope that this natural instinct to help others—along with your exceptional organizational skills, your perseverance and grit, and your work ethic and drive— leads you to run a nonprofit that helps women and children in developing countries or to start your own law firm or to teach overseas. But if you do the latter, please write me a postcard from time to time, kind of like the cute little notes you write me now, okay?

Child 2: That you continue writing songs, writing poetry, and keeping in touch with your creative, exploratory spirit. Your ability to think divergently and “outside the box” may not lead you to business school or an MBA; however, your creativity has the power to change lives. Creative people like you don’t always have it easy because the path isn’t necessarily straight. Stick with it! I have rarely met anyone who meets obstacles with such optimism and strength. Your ability to see good in others, to find joy in the mundane, and to understand the importance of nuance in life could lead to the next great American novel. Your extraordinary good nature, drive to succeed, and empathy for others will lead you far in life, my friend.

What I want for my children is what every parent wants for their children. I want them to be their best selves. I want them to appreciate their own talents and gifts. I want them to recognize that they are not perfect—and to be okay with that. I want them to love and be loved. And I want them to find the career that fits them best, a career in which they can earn enough money to support themselves and their families and, at the same time, find fulfillment (maybe not everyday fulfillment, but fulfillment over the long haul) in their daily work.

I apologize that my aspirations are a bit “wishy-washy.” I really don’t need my kids to go to Harvard or its equivalent. I want them to find schools and jobs that fit who they are as people—schools and jobs that “sing” to their hearts and souls.

What do I worry about? I worry that there are not enough schools that honor children in all of their wonderful complexity. As our nation’s schools rush headlong into “accountability” and “standardized assessments,” I fear that we have lost sight of what education is all about—nurturing the spirit of childhood. Sure, children need to learn how to read and to compute and to write with skill and confidence. In addition, children need to be challenged in school. But children should love to learn. They should find joy in the learning experience. After all, learning something new is exciting and fun. More than all of this, children should be honored and respected for who they are as people. All children are di erent and all children should have an opportunity to shine in school. This is why Norwood School works. Norwood is a place that takes each child from where they are and challenges them to be their best self. Norwood is also a place that keeps the spirit of childhood alive—a place where children can be themselves and find great joy in the daily experience of learning.

I believe my children—and to be fair to my extraordinary wife, “our” children— are unique, bright, and creative young people. Yours are as well. I hope that all of the schools along their educational journey—not just Norwood—are places that bring out their uniqueness, their brightness, and their creativity so they continue to shine as brightly as they do here at Norwood.

Thank you, parents, for the privilege of nurturing and educating the shining stars that fill our classrooms. And thank you, Norwood School, for taking education so personally.

Yours sincerely,

Matthew A. Gould, Ph.D. Head of School