Our Truest Selves

I know that this is pretty wordy, but it was such an important and emotional day for Team 3/4, that I want to paint a picture for you. Of course you are well aware, but you have the most incredible and insightful children. Thanks for sharing J

This morning we turned out the lights, found a cozy spot around the room and settled in for a talk. I told the students how proud I am of them, not only for being so poised and gracious last night at Open House, but also for bravely sharing their own writing. I told them that I’d been thinking about how much I care about them and that I so want them to live the happiest, healthiest lives. I shared that I’d been thinking about the things that I most want for them…

1.     To always be curious, to be deeply motivated to dig deeper and understand better

2.     To be resilient because life is going to deal some blows and I want them to come back with confidence

3.     To fall in love with their truest selves, the deepest center of their souls, and be confident in sharing that version of themselves with the world

The kids then settled in with their journals to write, write, write about #3. I told them that sharing out loud is optional and I challenged them to be honest with themselves. They wrote about the parts of themselves that are sincere and maybe secret, the parts of themselves that are valuable and fundamental, but that they are sometimes afraid to let out.

Then we gathered together and discussed how it feels to hold those important parts of who we are inside. Then we discussed in small groups some of the reasons we hide parts of ourselves. This is what we came up with:

Then the students really blew me away. They started sharing some of the parts of themselves that they love, but are afraid to let show. There were lots of tears and lots of hugs and lots of, “I felt that way too when…” and “I didn’t know you felt that way too.” They shared frustration about being seen in a certain box or feeling that people have a narrow definition of who they are or that they have to act a certain way to fit in with the group. I was very moved by the honesty and community that they offered one another.

Students shared with me that things felt a little different on the playground today. I look forward to keeping the momentum. They elevate so beautifully. I thought you’d want to know.

-Devin

We said goodbye to Jazzy this afternoon as she left for France. Bon Voyage! We’ll miss you and we can’t wait for stories!