January 21, 2021
Both individually and nationally, this week marks an opportune time for reflection.
With the close of the second quarter this past Friday, report cards (shared next week) will offer families a sense of the progress that each child is making in a variety of areas. In preparation for conferences, students will be asked to assess their effort, engagement, and commitment to the TDS Core Values, and consider ways that they might improve. Parents would do well to remember that this process continues all the way until June.
On Monday, TDS and our nation celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service. In Dr. King’s words: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” During yesterday’s Inauguration, National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman characterized America as “a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.” Indeed, this week has offered us time to ruminate on how far we have come, the road that still lies ahead of us, and our roles in effecting change.
Sandwiched between these days came Tuesday’s grim news that, one year after the first diagnosed case in this country, the COVID death poll surpassed 400,000 in the United States. As well as we’re doing here at TDS, we understand that our nation has several more dark days ahead as this pandemic rages on.
Last week, I shared with our faculty the story of Admiral James Stockdale, a POW in the Vietnam War who spent more than seven years in captivity. Years ago, Jim Collins interviewed Stockdale when writing his book, Good to Great. When asked “who didn’t make it out?,” Stockdale’s answer was surprising: “The optimists.” He went on to explain that the optimists thought they’d be free by Christmas, then spring, then summer, and ultimately their spirit and will were broken. This has become known as the Stockdale Paradox. Ultimately, Admiral Stockdale clarified his message with these words:
“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
Whether it’s the challenge of the pandemic or the sobering reality of systemic racism, what Stockdale describes – embracing optimism without neglecting reality – is what we need to make it through this. We need to commit to staying vigilant with our risk mitigation strategies rather than succumbing to pandemic fatigue. And we need to prioritize expanding our cultural competence and advocating for social justice.
Most of all, we need to understand that we all share one thing in common with our nation: we are all works in progress, and self-improvement begins with honest reflection.
Doug Norry
Head of School
