On Tuesday, we gathered for the annual Winter Concert at NYU’s Kimmel Center. This was the culmination of many, many weeks of hard work on the part of teachers and students, all eager to share their passion for music with the community. As Phil shared in his introduction that evening, nearly a quarter of the student body participated in the concert. These students also represented LREI athletes and actors (a number of whom will be performing in the Middle School play this coming weekend). I was struck by that level of student engagement in the community. More importantly, I was struck by the amount of courage it requires for students to share a variety of talents in very public ways.

I also witnessed courageous moments expressed by our youngest students during the Fours Music Share yesterday. The Fours, using strong and confident voices, taught their grownups the music that they had been learning in Sheri’s class. One of my favorite moments during the share was watching the students walk to the front of the auditorium, and reenact the movement of leaves falling to the ground as they sang Whirling, Swirling, twisting colorful scarves in the air. This moment, like the moments at the Winter Concert leave very little room for doubt about the courage that is demonstrated by the students. These moments, on the stage and on the field require the “awesome kind” of courage.

 

This week, I also saw other kinds of courage- the “everyday kind.” On one day, I sat with two students who were sharing about their experiences during a disagreement. Each student, during the conversation took responsibility for the role that he played leading to the hurt feelings. Although not on stage, the ability to own up to one’s mistakes is an “everyday kind” of courage. During the week, I also sat in on students who thoughtfully asked questions and engaged in conversations with authors who visited their classrooms to speak about their work.

 

These children possessed the “everyday kind” of courage necessary to ask questions of the new adult in the room. Everyday courage inspires us to ask questions and seek help when we are unsure, to reconnect with a friend when we’ve made a mistake, to share a response during a whole group lesson even when you are unsure.

 

As one of the 4C’s, courage is a trait we seek to cultivate in all our students. It can be easy for us to celebrate the “awesome kinds” of courage, the ones that are on display on the field and on the stage. Life, however, is a series of everyday kinds of courage, equally important and worthy of recognition.

 

Thanks, 

Elena