Eagles Eye 2019 including the 2018/2019 Annual Report

FROM THE
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Having two sons in the world of business “startups” has been both challenging and
fascinating at the same time. These boys have taught me that the world in which
they live is nothing like the world I was preparing to enter in my secondary school
years. Things have certainly changed. In fact, the pace of change in educational
pedagogy has been increasing for years and there is no end in sight.
RANDY BRUNK
CHCA Head of School
As educators in the 1990s, we could sense things were changing; but we could
barely foresee beyond the horizon. Technology was descending upon school
classrooms introducing new possibilities, but it was not necessarily modifying the
curriculum or the way we taught. We knew adjustments were imminent, but we
were scrambling to best understand the how, what, and why. And not surprisingly,
it was actually the students who taught us the answers to these questions. They
were starting to use devices to communicate, research, create, game, learn, and so
much more. The most nimble and tech-oriented teachers watched and learned
and then began leveraging student interest and engagement to their advantage.
That spurred even greater usage and clarity for us all, and we sensed by the early
2000s, this fast-paced change would become the norm and things were forever
changing. It was clear this was not just another fad (like open classrooms) as
fundamentally new ways of learning and student engagement were coming to life.
At CHCA, we made a strategic decision years ago to embrace this change and
teach through it. Several years ago, a middle school teacher by the name of Lance
Webel taught me something that guides my thinking to this day. At the time, we
were confronted with the reality of the social forum, “MySpace”. It was the first
widely used social media platform by students of that day. Parents and teachers
alike sounded alarm bells as kids often used it improperly and were sometimes
the victims of another student’s misuse. At the time, I asked Mr. Webel to help
us to essentially shut it down. He snickered and said that was simply futile. He
proceeded to describe a much wiser approach...“Don’t make it taboo, teach them
how to use it properly.” That approach has become our refrain as the changes
continue to come with multiple social media and digital platforms at play – and
platforms that are not going away anytime soon. We find that philosophy to
largely work best, and find ways for positive reinforcement when we can.
Now, I recognize that not all uses of technology are considered good. We all
have abundant horror stories I am sure. But also recognizing that most of what
is coming down the pike is going to make its way into our children’s lives, with or
without us, we need to be consistent in teaching good stewardship and healthy
use. Thomas Friedman, in his best-selling book, “Thank You For Being Late” says
something very interesting about this conundrum. He encourages us to stay on
top of all that is happening and be a voice of reason in the midst of the confusion.
He likens it to how professional kayakers approach rivers. Professionals actually
paddle their boat forward to gain control over where they go in fast-paced rapids.
Our tendency as amateurs is to try to slow the boat down to get more control. It
is actually better to stay ahead of the water rather than letting the water take us
wherever it wants to go, which may not be a safe route.
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