Upper School

February 20, 2025

from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

Delivering a senior performance is a graduation requirement at MPA that I treasure. Each one is unique, thoughtful, and deeply personal. While this tradition is a valuable exercise in public speaking, it is, more importantly, a pivotal opportunity for self-reflection. Throughout their preparations, students confront their own growth, challenges, and transformations, fostering a deeper sense of self-awareness and often realizing how much they have changed along the way.

Senior performances don’t just impact the students delivering them—they resonate throughout the entire community. They strengthen school culture by reinforcing values, traditions, and a sense of belonging. They inspire younger students by putting growth, confidence, and resilience on full display. They foster empathy and compassion as teachers, peers, leaders, and families gain a deeper understanding of each student’s unique experiences and perspectives. They also serve as reminders that growth is often uncomfortable and that meaningful change happens when students are held to high standards in a supportive environment. I try to attend every senior performance, and one delivered recently by Wyatt Srsen ’25 profoundly illustrates the journey of self-discovery and transformation that can happen in a positive school community.

With his permission, I am sharing his performance, in its entirety, below. Spoiler alert: grab a tissue!

Growing up, I was a persistent student who found school simple and straightforward. Elementary school came and went without a challenge, and then came middle school, which was more of the same. Despite a few hiccups here and there, middle school passed me by quickly and without any real problems. I had an abundance of friends and good grades, and I never struggled in school. This was all true until COVID-19 hit. I lost connections with friends; my grades struggled more than ever as I struggled to find motivation while being stuck at home with no real human interaction. Seeing this, my parents decided it was time for a change. The public school system wasn’t supportive or challenging, so they thought that private school was the best route for me to become a better student. Despite my efforts to stay with my friends and continue on the same education path, my family ended up deciding that Mounds Park Academy was the place for me. Read More

February 13, 2025

from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

Over my 30+ years in education, I’ve been called many things, some of which I can’t repeat here. Most often, I’ve been called naïve or an optimist, most of the time meant as a criticism. Truth be told, I’d rather be naïve than a cynic, believing people are generally selfish and untrustworthy. I’d rather be an optimist rather than have a negative outlook on life and expect the worst from people and from life.

After reading “Hope for Cynics” by Jamil Zaki, Stanford University professor and director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, I can now proudly say I am a hopeful skeptic. A hopeful skeptic is someone who balances optimism with critical thinking. They are open to possibilities and potential but also approach claims, ideas, and situations with a questioning mindset. This person is not cynical or dismissive but instead seeks evidence, logic, and reason while maintaining a belief in positive outcomes.

Zaki writes about a test by psychologists Walter Cook and Donald Medley devised to identify good teachers. They asked hundreds of teachers whether they agreed with these three questions (and 47 others):

1. No one cares much what happens to you.
2. Most people dislike helping others.
3. Most people are honest chiefly through fear of getting caught.

According to Cook and Medley’s research, the more a teacher agreed with these statements, the worse their rapport with students. Out of curiosity, but knowing the probable outcome, I did a snap poll of MPA teachers. The vast majority disagreed with all three statements with a small handful agreeing with only one. It didn’t surprise me that 97% of our teachers are low or low-medium in cynicism. Read More