Introduction from Head of School

Dr. Meera Viswanathan

“The joy of learning is as indispensable to education as breathing is to running.”

—Simone Weil

At Walker’s, education is understood as transforming — a venue where girls can emerge as authentic thinkers and doers, learning about the world, those around them and, perhaps most of all, about themselves.

Education, literally from the Latin “the leading out,” signifies discovery, revelation, and most of all transformation. The educational philosopher Parker Palmer reminds us, “We are here not only to transform the world but to be transformed.”

In the last fifteen years, educators have borne witness to three major ways in which teaching and learning have changed. Technology, and more specifically skills such as coding, transcend all disciplines. Learning has become more collaborative and interactive, rather than solitary learning and solely text-based teaching. Students today are also called upon to engage actively in original thinking, writing and research. Opportunities are emerging for crowdsourced research that allow our students to work in tandem with higher education research institutions.

We are committed to developing and delivering a comprehensive curriculum which keeps pace with helping girls realize their extraordinary potential and capabilities across a host of areas, including those in which traditionally women have been underrepresented. Courses such as Honors Biochemistry where our students conduct real-world research on bacterial resistance and the discovery of new antibiotics, engineering, and public health immerse our students in acquiring skills for emergent fields. Our humanities courses, including the Visiting Writer Seminar, Creative Writing, and a full complement of electives, allow our students to become accomplished writers, whose work is published in national and international publications and platforms as well as books we produce with The Ethel Walker Every Woman Press. Arts programs range from painting, ceramics, video production, a capella singing, African drumming, and chamber music to many forms of dance and choreography as well as art history.

We strongly affirm the need for our students to master qualitative skills as well as quantitative ones. Walker’s girls discover their voices in order to articulate their understanding, interrogate questions lucidly, and put forward their perspectives persuasively.

As Simone Weil, one of the leading female philosophers and activists of the 20th century, reminds us, there is joy in learning. Walker’s girls can immerse themselves in the wonder of learning, thanks to brilliant, dedicated and charismatic teachers and innovative classes and approaches. Most of all, our classrooms at Walker’s are places of wonder, discovery, play — even fun.