Voices and viewpoints from educators across Dana Hall School's campus.
I read with great interest a piece published in the December 2019 issue of The Atlantic entitled “Stop Trying to Raise Successful Kids: And Start Raising Kind Ones.” Written by noted organizational psychologist Adam Grant and his wife, author Allison Sweet Grant, the article makes the argument that teaching kindness Continue reading Accomplishing Kindness
One of the things I love about my job as Director of the Upper School at Dana Hall is that I get to be all over campus — in classrooms, in performance spaces, in the gym, in the Student Center. But when I do sit at my desk in my Continue reading Wisdom on a Bulletin Board
As an alumna of Dana Hall, I am often asked what makes Dana Hall special. There are a number of ways I could answer this, but I almost always immediately think of the connections that Dana Hall alumnae make with each other across decades. One tradition that connects all Dana Continue reading Class Rings: Connecting Generations of Dana Hall Alumnae
I know that I am not the only educator who turns to metaphor when I talk about our work. There is something about the process of education, and the powerful feelings it engenders, that leads me and many colleagues to look for comparisons and themes from other contexts. We talk Continue reading Of Poetry and Adolescence
I just completed my 15th year of employment at Dana Hall School. This landmark means that I’ve worked at Dana Hall longer than any other place I’ve ever been employed and I’ve lived in a house on campus for longer than I’ve lived in any house/apartment as an adult. It Continue reading The Rewards of Longevity
“I emailed her, but didn’t hear back.” It’s an early morning in April. The senior in my office doesn’t seem frustrated or undone. I wait. This spring, 78 seniors stepped away from Dana Hall in the weeks prior to their graduation. They were engaged all over the Boston area: Cambridge, Continue reading Part of the Project is Finding the Project
“You have a new memory,” my smart phone alerted me recently. I often wonder “what was I doing a year ago at this time?” Though human memory can be untrustworthy, Apple’s new technology confirmed that a year ago I was in the backyard of my Dana Hall School campus house Continue reading That’s My Advisee!
“Of course I introduced myself to the professor after the first lecture- I’m a Dana girl!” A former Dana Hall parent loves to tell this story when discussing her daughter’s first year at the University of Pennsylvania. This hallmark of college, connections with professors, is a highlight of higher education Continue reading The Power of Connections
Last week the National Coalition of Girls Schools published an article summarizing new research conducted at UCLA to support that “Girls’ School Graduates Have a Clear Edge Over Coeducated Peers” (February, 2019). I devoured the article. The findings are empowering and give girls’ schools many reasons to celebrate. According to Continue reading Celebrate… and get back to work!
One of my favorite times during the year at Dana Hall School is watching our young graduates cross the stage as they receive their diplomas at commencement. With each student in her white attire and her head adorned with a flowered crown, it is a proud moment not only for Continue reading The Dana Hall Journey
