May 21, 2015
I have a confession to make and I’m a little embarrassed by it. As a person with a doctorate and as the head of a respected independent school, you might think that my favorite movie is “Das Boot” or something very deep and thought provoking like “My Dinner with Andre.” Not so. I am a HUGE “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” fan. Not the Johnny Depp version but the original movie starring Gene Wilder.
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Upper School Vocal Concert. It was a splendid evening with incredibly beautiful music. In particular, I was moved by a performance of Pure Imagination by the Concert Choir. I will make another confession: I had tears in my eyes as I thought about the sentiments behind the lyrics and how they express a core reality about our school.
“There is no life I know
to compare with pure imagination.
Living there, you’ll be free.
If you truly wish to be.”
As I looked across the stage, I was filled with pride as I saw students from so many different grades, peer groups, academic abilities and walks of life come together to create so much beauty. In many schools, there would be very few boys. Gender stereotyping prevents many young men from exploring their interest in music and singing. One of our aspirational goals at MPA is that our students will indeed be free to try new things, like music, pottery or robotics, and by doing so, be able to imagine themselves in entirely different ways.
“If you want to view paradise,
simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it.
Want to change the world?
There’s nothing to it.”
Author J.K. Rowling wrote that, “Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power to that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” I see evidence everyday that students at MPA are allowed to run with their imagination. Teachers continually encourage students to pose new questions, explore new possibilities, examine old problems, and to rely upon and trust in their imagination. In an era when technology and globalization are rapidly growing, students need—more than ever—to learn how, not what, to think.
One last confession: the tears in my eyes were also the result of my sincere appreciation, joy, and gratitude to lead this amazing school. Only in my imagination.
