September 24, 2015
On most mornings, as I stand at the front door of the school greeting students, I see ninth grader Siri hand-in-hand with PreK student Connor as they make their way up the sidewalk from the bus drop-off lane. Though they are not related, Siri has taken it upon herself to ensure Connor finds his way to his classroom each day. It is obvious Connor adores Siri and seems always to be sharing, with great gusto, the wisdom of a four-year old. I suspect the feeling is mutual as Siri smiles and patiently listens to all he has to say.
There is something incredibly heartwarming about belonging to a school that has grades PreK-12 under one roof. It is something unique about Mounds Park Academy that stands out among all independent schools in the Twin Cities. While all grades may be on the same campus, they are not all in the same building. Furthermore, my guess is that students across grade levels do not have many opportunities to get to know or interact with one another.
Last Friday we had our first Pairing Assembly, the first of several planned for the year. Students across grade levels were matched one-to-one, older students with younger students, and participated together in various games and activities. Pairing Assemblies are important at MPA and help students from across grade levels get to know one another and build community.
Cross grade level activities and interactions provide older students the opportunity to hone their leadership skills. Younger students look up to them as role models and begin to take on the values, norms and practices that perpetuate a safe, joyful and nurturing community. All students learn and practice important character traits such as kindness, empathy, leadership and collaboration.
Why is that important? Increasingly, attention is being directed at the non-cognitive or soft skills necessary for success in today’s 21st century society. Mike Summers, then vice president for Global Talent Management at Dell, said that his greatest concern was young people’s lack of leadership skills. “Kids just out of school have an amazing lack of preparedness in general leadership skills and collaborative skills,” he explained. “They lack the ability to influence.”
As Noah Webster, the great American lexicographer and educator, put it back in 1788, “The virtues of men are of more consequence to society than their abilities; and for this reason, the heart should be cultivated with more assiduity than the head.” Research has demonstrated that building the social skills of our students, their ability to get along and interact with peers, predict and facilitate academic performance and success. According to cognitive science, emotions affect our attention, decision-making, memory, concentration, relationships and health. In addition, brain research establishes that both the preschool and teenage years are highly emotional times when much learning, for good or for bad, occurs.
Cross grade level relationship building and fostering non-cognitive social emotional skills may indeed improve academic performance and prepare students for success later in live. In the end, however, and most importantly, it makes them better human beings. I like to think that it is one of the things we do best at MPA.
