OUR YEAR OF VUCA

KIT OUR YEAR OF VUCA

Head of School

We received a phone call recently from a woman who was driving down Adams Road, saw our students in the park, and witnessed mask-wearing Upper School Students maintaining physical distance and enjoying each other’s company . The woman said she just had to call the school to let us know how impressed she was with the responsible behavior she witnessed .

As we continue both our in-person and home learning classes, I am heartened by the seriousness our students and faculty are taking to be responsible community members . We know that it takes care and effort to maintain the health and safety necessary for in-person learning to continue . The pandemic is serious, present, and not very discerning when it comes to the impact it can have on individuals .

Throughout Oakland County and the greater Southeastern Michigan area we are being challenged . We will both do our best to be safe, and to be prepared should we need to address cases of coronavirus within our community . Our families have agreed to a covenant, not a legal document, but rather a moral agreement, a statement that acknowledges our interdependence .

We know that the health and safety of our community, and our ability to be together in-person rests on the behavior of each of us in school and out of school every day . Earlier this year I shared with our faculty and staff an acronym shared with me by independent school leaders to describe our times, it’s unique origin actually comes from the US War College and I think truly describes our world today . I said we are living in the days of VUCA — Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity .

I think we can all viscerally feel this VUCA moment coursing through our veins, permeating our skin and leaping from our bodies . It is like some alien presence that has taken hold of us, reshaped our thinking, and overwhelmed our sense of perspective . I feel a little bit like my daughter sitting in the back seat of the car continuously asking, are we there yet, is this pandemic over, can we just go back to normal?

I believe that we must reach a new understanding and a new level of coexistence with VUCA . Perhaps within a paradigm shift we can reimagine VUCA and take ownership of the moment . I challenge you during this year of the unknown future to see VUCA from a different point of view . A new VUCA — our own VUCA .

Where the V stands for our Values — compassion, respect, and responsibility . The U represents Understanding — for each other — that we are all trying our best to do our best . The C is about Caring . I asked our teachers to spend more time in their classes and with their families thinking about Maslow (hierarchy of needs) and less about Bloom (taxonomy of questions) . We owe it to each other — all of us — to lift each other up, acknowledge the work being done, and seek each other out when we need to problem solve . Our focus must shift to basic human needs and not dwell on constructing the perfect question necessary to deliver the ideal academic content . More Maslow and less Bloom . And the A must stand for Agility — we need to be nimble; school is not going to be the way it was when we started last year . Our lessons and teaching methods will not be the same as they were last year . We need to give ourselves and each other the grace to adjust, change, struggle, and to be fully present . Time feels like it is moving at a different rate during this pandemic . Everything feels faster, and the need to respond feels more immediate and pressing . Being nimble means taking action to address critical needs . We are a community that likes to take its time and ponder questions, issues, and decisions . The unknown future we are facing will not always give us that luxury .

In the end, we have to have the trust in one another necessary to come through this pandemic stronger than when we entered . That’s the goal — that’s the vision . We will not be the same school we were last year, and we will not be the same school we are today a year from now . What will it take to be stronger — not how do we add more students, build more buildings, or create more programs — stronger . More committed to our mission and our values; clearer in our pedagogy; unified in our sense of purpose . Living as a community with respect, professionalism, and joy . That is our vision for this year of challenge and VUCA . F

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We know that the health and safety of our community, and our ability to be together in-person rests on the behavior of each of us in school and out of school every day .