Dear Spartanburg Day School Learning Community,
Often, for those of us who work at school year-round, summer offers an opportunity to think a bit deeper about education and where it is headed in the future. A foundational component of that is built on understanding the children who we are teaching. This summer and throughout the school year, the faculty will engage in an all-school read of David Yeager’s 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation— And Making Your Own Life Easier. The key understanding for us at SDS? Young people yearn for status and respect. Sounds simple — and it should be — and Yeager has written a book that outlines key ways for parents, educators, and managers to adopt a mentor mindset which helps our children attain both status and respect in the eyes of those they want it from most dearly — the adults and mentors in their lives. As Yeager explains in the opening pages:
“Anyone can adopt the mentor mindset by following a few highly effective and easy-to-learn practices such as validating young people’s perspectives (rather than dismissing them), asking them questions (rather than telling them what to do), being transparent about your beliefs and goals (rather than assuming that they will accurately guess your thoughts), and holding them to high standards (rather than coddling them).”
Over the course of the school year, through our department and divisional meetings, faculty will discuss the strategies outlined in Yeager’s book and how we can integrate them into our instructional practice in our classrooms, on the playgrounds, on the stage, and on the fields. This work will culminate in Mr. Yeager giving a talk as the featured speaker in our inaugural Stone Thought Leadership Series, generously underwritten by Michel and Eliot Stone and their family. On the night of April 15, 2027, in the Valerie M. Barnet Theater, we will have the opportunity to hear from the nationally acclaimed author and engage in a Q&A in a talk that is open to our community and the Spartanburg community. I think it is worth picking up a copy of the book in preparation for this night!
Enjoy this weekend. Go Griffins! And we will see you on Monday!
Sincerely,
Dave Skeen
Head of School
