Communications from the Director

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Communications from the Director

On the Same Page

December 2007
David W. Magill, Director

One of the first leadership lessons I learned was the imperative to surround myself with highly intelligent, clear thinking, and passionate people whose work would complement what I offered. Selecting Catie Bell to be our “Teacher on Special Assignment” has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. She is a Golden Apple winning teacher, a respected member of our faculty, and a John Dewey scholar. Catie is currently teaching freshman English, guiding new teachers as they adjust to the demands of the Laboratory Schools, and assisting all teachers to shape the kind of professional development that will contribute to their growth.

As we enter this season of renewal, Catie offers an interesting Lab perspective on “Meaning” as an expansion of chapter nine in Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind.

Greeting a New Season
by Catie Bell

With Thanksgiving behind us, winter break cannot be far off. Most of us eagerly anticipate the joyous spirit of the holiday season. In A Whole New Mind Daniel Pink devotes a chapter to the importance of searching for meaning in life. He suggests we can do this by taking spirituality and happiness seriously. Given this season, pregnant with possibilities for both, how do we pursue spirituality and happiness in our diverse community?

Let’s start with a general view of this season. December 21 is the darkest day of the year, but after it, the days begin to brighten. Against cold and dark, the promise of warmth and light is something worth celebrating. In ancient times, farmers in our northern hemisphere prayed for the sun’s northward movement. Their crops needed sunshine to grow. Moreover, preparing to survive the winter was not easy. Not only did families store material goods—seeds, breeding stock, and food to eat—but they also tended to spiritual needs. Celebrating the solstice today provides us means to increase the chance for survival, spiritual and material. Fires and lights serve to welcome the traveler from outside seeking fellowship. Brightness dispels the gloom of darkness. A fragrant evergreen bough reminds us of the possibility of rebirth, the renewal of a new year. Overall, it seems that participation in these traditions, handed down from the past and spanning the globe, offers possibilities to rise above the commonplace, what Pink calls “getting out of the maw,” that may become the abyss of everydayness.

Now let’s shift to a more local version of holiday festivities: December at the Laboratory Schools in the early decade of the last century. Remember that John D. Rockefeller, himself a staunch Baptist, and the American Baptist Education Society founded the University of Chicago in 1890. In those earlier days, observing the solstice meant celebrating Christmas, and it seems the Schools were devoted to this—teaching through hands-on activities that culminated in a Christmas program the day before vacation. As part of a unit on studying crystals, for example, students made rock candy ornaments to decorate the Christmas tree. Eighth graders wrote verses for a Christmas poem they performed. The third grade recited “The Night Before Christmas.” Students sang carols in German and French, performed a German play, and acted out the Magi and St. Nicholas. Activities during December were infused with the social spirit of sharing and giving. In addition to making gifts for each other and their families, students gave generously to others in institutions, such as orphanages and settlement houses. A cooking class, for example, made jelly, jam, and Christmas cake to put in yard-long stockings, along with shawls, mufflers, nuts and raisins, for the elderly. Based on early accounts, we can imagine that teachers and students were taking both spirituality and happiness seriously. Not unlike U-High students today, a boy complained in the school newspaper about having to study for end-of-term examinations in such a convivial atmosphere.

A century later, December at Lab Schools continues to be busy with students and teachers dedicated to ending the term with activities—both educational and celebratory. There are countless service projects including drives to collect a variety of things—toys, mittens, and other clothes, to name a few. The accumulated goods not only go to Chicagoans in need, but also to people in distant countries. Students learn seasonal music, including songs in languages other than English, performing in concerts, and even caroling in the halls. Our festivities have expanded to embrace more cultures. There is the tradition of Lobby Sings, during which families can choose to gather, before school, and sing together surrounded by the beautiful “hands around the world” decorations. Now, in addition to Christmas in December, for example, we celebrate Chanukah and Kwanza. Walking through the halls, it’s possible to enjoy the smells of frying potatoes for latkes and sweet potato pies baking.

Whatever our cultural roots, however, we each have the opportunity for renewal in this joyous season. Given the additional burdens of taking happiness and spirituality seriously, right now you may feel too exhausted to think about a new year. After a couple of weeks to rest, however, each of us might be ready and even eager for new beginning.