The coverage of the 2016 Presidential campaign is getting me down. No matter your particular political views, the race to the bottom on all sides is exhausting, if not surprising. With this in mind, I have started to compile a list of questions I would like to ask candidates. Doubtlessly, some of the answers would […]
Ready to be Part of “What’s Next” in Memphis
Several years ago, I wrote a piece entitled, “Preparing our Students to be Community Leaders: An Initial Brainstorming.” After attending TEDxMemphis this weekend, I remembered the piece because I was reminded again and again during the TED talks of the vital importance of developing an interest in civic engagement and community leadership in our students. My thinking […]
Luncheon Speech to The Germantown Chamber, August 20, 2015
(The text here is edited in minor ways from the speech I gave last Thursday to the Germantown Chamber of Commerce.)Thank you for the invitation to be here today. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to speak to this group because a good school and a successful Chamber have important characteristics in common. A […]
Doers Not Hearers Only–Opening of School Year Student Convocation Talk
(The author with the Senior Prefects from St. George’s Independent School August 17, 2015)(Below is my welcome back to school Chapel Talk from St. George’s Independent School in Memphis, Tennessee on August 17, 2015. The school has over over 1100 students JK-12 on three campuses. I delivered the talk that follows to students, families, faculty, and […]
Through the Balustrade–Opening of School Year Faculty Homily
Good morning!For as long as I can remember Communion has fascinated me. I think it all goes back to when I was about three and a half years old.When I was very young, we were members of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church way out River Road in Richmond, Virginia. Though it has become a large church […]
Big Success, Small Scale: Westminster’s JanTerm Internship Pilot
Westminster’s first experience with JanTerm was not an end unto itself. It was always part of something larger. As the final part of a two-year rollout of a new daily schedule and school calendar, the JanTerm represents the single biggest curricular step forward in the Upper School since its founding–45 new challenging and varied electives, offered […]