Teaching Toward Tomorrow

January is a deceptively long month. It’s cold, the weather is often dreary, and rebuilding the routine of early wakeups and full days of schoolwork can be a challenge after a luxurious two weeks of winter vacation. Often, the first few weeks of January feel like a sprint to the next day off and the next opportunity to unwind as we reacclimate to normal life.

The first holiday of each new year, however, is a unique one. Though we don’t attend school on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it isn’t intended to be a day of rest and relaxation. Beginning in 1994, Americans across the country have been called to participate in a National Day of Service in recognition of Dr. King’s mission of service in the name of building a more just, equitable and inclusive society. People young and old are encouraged to take time not as a day off, but a day on: a day to get out into your community and help those around you in service of making the world a better place. 

Service, of course, has always been a key component of our school’s mission. As citizens of a globally interconnected world, our students and community embrace service as a core piece of our W+H identity. Service projects form a cornerstone of our student experience, from the annual Middle School Giving Tree collaboration with the Crossroads School of Westfield, which provides winter gifts to students in need, to the Lower School’s year-long initiative to support local animal shelters with food and supplies for homeless animals, to intensive work in the Upper School to partner with the Community Food Bank of NJ to supply families with much-needed nutritional assistance. Through these long-running and vital programs, students are able to build community with each other, develop empathy, and create the foundations for a lifelong commitment to service and social engagement. As they discover the impact they can have on the world, we foster the growth of pioneering thinkers:  compassionate, socially aware individuals who will leave a positive mark on our world.

In honor of Dr. King’s legacy, our Middle Schoolers leaped into action this year. Before the day off from school, each advisory worked to examine the needs of others and how they could be called to serve their communities in ways big or small. Together, they planned ways to brighten the lives of others, brainstormed needed donations for local food banks and children’s aid organizations, and considered ways they could serve at home – by taking out the trash, helping their folks, or lending a helping hand to a sibling. I challenged them to capture these acts of service in photographs and share them with me over the long weekend. 

All weekend long, my inbox filled with images. Students shared time spent preparing meals for those in need, baking cookies for neighbors, and cleaning up litter in local parks. Many took advantage of the extended time off on our snow day to do more – shoveling snow for those unable to do so was a popular activity! 

While these pictures were a delight, they were by no means a surprise. Time and time again, I am grateful for the caring, giving spirit our Middle School students embody. It speaks to the values and priorities of our community that they embrace the call to serve with joy and excitement.

Of course, as Dr. King famously noted, “The time is always right to do what is right.” I encourage you and your family to continue to seek out opportunities to perform acts of service, whether they are great or small. Take time with your children to help others and to lend a hand. Together, we can make a difference and honor Dr. King’s legacy today and every day as pioneering thinkers.