4 minute read
Educating for Humanity - Holy Trinity School
BY HELEN PEREIRA-RASO, HEAD OF SCHOOL
Too often we speak about schools with one single purpose – preparing young people for university. Yes, this is a function of an education, but it is not the only purpose. What does it mean to prepare a 17-year-old for university and beyond?
We know from our own experiences that university demands more of us than just intellectual capacity across various disciplines. Being prepared for independence and adult responsibilities means having the necessary set of skills, values and experiences for making good decisions – persevering through difficult moments, understanding time management, prioritizing commitments and building new relationships are just a few. This leads us to look for ways of providing students with experiences and guidance that will instill values and skills that shape their character. Academic knowledge and skills are an essential part of building a foundation for expertise in any area students decide to pursue. Students also require skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and creativity, and values such as empathy, respect and integrity in order to work successfully among diverse communities at school or in the workplace. It is the combination of both these realms that nurtures an adult who lives a full and meaningful life.
Because we know what good character brings to an adult’s life, our programs, people and educational spaces have all been designed to enhance the student experience, and character education is a large focus. At HTS, developing our students’ character is the foundation of all we do. Our motto Ex Doctrina Mores – from good teaching comes good character – continues to inspire our commitment to our learners. Our academic program is not limited to disciplinary knowledge. Our responsibility as educators is to leverage the content of our disciplines to model and explicitly teach our students values and competencies that support their development into independent, impactful citizens. Our students are taught the skills of critical thinking and discernment so that they are able to make decisions and ask important questions. We help them understand their responsibility to be stewards of their natural environment as well as caring for the people within it. We also want our students to learn to care for themselves: mind, body and soul.
Across the divisions, our students read a variety of literary texts that introduce them to the complexity of humanity. Students in the Lower School read The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, and Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea. As they move into the Middle and Senior Schools, they are introduced to more complex issues in texts such as Night by Elie Wiesel, The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge- Ullman ’90. Stories such as these broaden our students’ minds and hearts and help them understand social and political issues, discrimination, mental health concerns and many of the other struggles people face. Stories are the gateway for our learners to begin their journey of forming their ethical and moral selves – encouraging them to act with compassion and be open to all that is difficult in life, and not to be afraid or ignorant of what exists in their world. Students can be part of a solution only if they know problems exist.
Across all disciplines, the curriculum cultivates the essential competencies, but it also requires students to explore and reflect on diverse perspectives, histories, experiences and issues from around the world. Projects such as the Grade 5 Intelligent Giving Project, the Grade 6 Invention Convention, the Grade 12 law project “Do Something About It” and the Middle School Flexible Learning EXperience (FLEX) program’s “Change Agents” each require our students to develop a level of active citizenship where they not only explore issues that matter to them (at local, national and international levels) but are also challenged to explore possible solutions. We intentionally build an academic program with connections to developing our moral compass so that our students may be willing to make a difference. These attributes shape the way our students see themselves in the world, helping to develop young people who are confident and ready to make an impact because they know their significance.
As early as Kindergarten, our students explore the concept of identity as a starting point in understanding themselves. Great examples include the Uniquely Me Project in Grade 8 drama and the Grade 5 exploration of identity. This work truly allows our students to come to know themselves and others. They build empathy, respect, and an understanding of the differences and similarities in our humanity.
Learning at HTS has never been limited to our classrooms; in fact, our teams, clubs and field trips are all extensions of the academic learning program which enhances our students’ experience. We offer a plethora of co-curricular programs that augment the classroom experience all led by HTS staff who share their passions with our students. Students design, make decisions, collaborate with their peers and learn from guests to the school.
Our world needs young people who are intellectually strong and able to act with empathy, make connections and forge relationships in new environments. They need the courage to make decisions independently while finding their emotional strength to face adversity, challenges and disappointments. This is how we prepare our graduates for university and beyond. These human attributes have always been essential to a good life. At HTS, we continue to be intentional about creating an environment that graduates young adults who are smart and strong enough to truly make a difference in the world, wherever they may be. This is the promise of an HTS education, one that cultivates and inspires the intellectual capacity of our young people, while activating their character.
