Lisa Schmitt's Educational Philosophy

What makes a great school? Great schools artfully combine inspiring, dedicated teachers, curious, creative students, a program that sparks the imagination, facilities that capture the sense of place, and an administration that has vision to look ahead while keeping an eye on the past. It captures the spirit of the people, the subject, and the place.

Great teachers know their subject and can talk about it with passion. They are mentors and coaches. Great teachers continue to develop their practice so that they never become stale, and they come back to school every year excited to try something new. Great schools have teachers who "go the extra mile" and who see each the potential in each child. There is an African saying, "Sawu bona" which literally means "I see you." Great teachers see who you are and who you can become. They are patient, creative people who reinvent themselves every year. Because re-invention is exhausting work and inspiration requires fuel, great teachers require excellent professional development, which might include travel, workshops and conferences but also includes time to share with colleagues and permission to experiment with new pedagogy and topics. One of the most exciting experiences that I have had as a teacher has been the opportunity to design and teach interdisciplinary courses—the sharing of ideas and techniques with colleagues pushed me to a level that I probably would not have otherwise achieved. Of course, to do this requires a willingness to be open to trying new things—exactly what we expect of our students but hard to achieve unless the culture of the school invites teachers and students to become learners together. Teachers need time to reflect, share, and create in order to continue to grow in their practice.

A great education teaches the whole child. It nurtures the intellect by asking the student to think deeply while engaging with complex material; it touches the heart and uses the hands to do meaningful work, which could be in service to others, or to create a piece of art, or to climb a mountain, or to do all of these things. Truly exceptional education is interdisciplinary—that is, it asks students to make connections across disciplines so that they come to understand that everything is "hitched to everything else in the universe." (John Muir) An excellent education is inclusive and respectful of difference. Most of these qualities would be what is meant by a progressive or liberal education. Great schools honor diversity and honor the voices and opinions of teachers and students. Great schools find ways to broaden student horizons even when it is not possible, due to location or other reasons, to enroll a diverse student body. In a great school, every effort is made to help students expand their world-views and develop an understanding and respect for other cultures.

Students, who they are and what they bring with them, are also important. In great schools, students are open-minded and inquisitive. They may or may not have arrived this way, but soon they are caught up in the excitement and want to be part of this community of learners. In great schools, the culture is contagious. You can tell when you are in a great school because the students speak of it with pride. Students are respectful of themselves and of all of the members of the community.

Although there are many great schools, in some sense great schools are unique. Very often, they seem to have captured the spirit of the place and the people who learn there. The program, which may include the usual assortment of Advanced Placement and honors courses, connects to its surroundings in a way that is not reproducible. A great school might, for example, make much of its location in a great city, such as New York, where students might be interns in museums and study the culture of its many neighborhoods. While features of these schools might be transplanted to another school, the basic culture ...what makes it special...cannot.

Sense of place is magnified by appropriate architecture. Most people feel transformed in a setting such as a cathedral, a mountaintop, or the Grand Canyon. Architecture can similarly inspire lofty thoughts, create a particular feeling, and encourage a particular activity. Architecture is therefore an important part of the formula for a great school. A great school will have buildings that are appropriate to the place. They need not be cathedrals, but they will suit the program, philosophy, and the place. It is no surprise that in the factory model of schools in the early to middle part of the twentieth century, schools actually looked like factories. Perhaps more than ever, students need to develop a strong connection to the land if they are to help protect and preserve it. A sense of place is also perhaps the best antidote to the world of cell phones, pagers, text messaging and email. So a sense of place, which is clearly rooted in the buildings, can leverage the power of the program.

Administration is the glue that holds everything together and also, often, provides the vision. This seemingly impossible marriage of details and operations with lofty ideals and vision requires real teamwork. It requires teamwork between administrators and also teamwork between administration and faculty. Great schools have administrative teams characterized by collegiality, respect, and genuine sharing. My preference is for a relatively lean administration with as much shared decision-making with faculty as possible. The ideal scenario would be administrators who are skilled facilitators who can lead a group dialog to a successful conclusion therefore practicing and modeling a way of living in community that we would wish our students to emulate. There is perhaps nothing as powerful for students to observe as a community of adults who model living and learning well together. That is a great school.

Lisa K. Schmitt