Lise's Lens: April 18, 2024
Due to illness, I was sadly unable to attend this year’s Michael H. Feldman ’67 Social Justice Day programming. This is one of our flagship events so I was truly devastated to miss it. But as we say to our students, the work and the research we do at events like this don’t have to be confined to one day. In fact, the hope is that we will all continue to pursue the topics that are interesting to us on our own. So that is exactly what I intend to do over the coming days — to explore this year’s SJ Day topic, “Gun Violence and Legislation,” on my own time.
WHAT I’M READING
- I’m not entirely sure when it was posted, but there are a lot of intriguing reading selections on the topic of gun violence available on this curated list of recommendations from Penguin Random House — including our SJ Day keynote speaker David Hogg’s We Say #NeverAgain and Glimmer of Hope, which also features Hogg’s writing. While I am glad there are so many resources available, it’s also very sad that so many of these books need to exist.
WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
- When I ask people about David Hogg’s keynote remarks, they say one of the biggest takeaways David imparted on students is that their voices are far more powerful than they think, emphasizing the importance and capacity of hope. And he encouraged students not to let the negative headlines about today’s youth feeling defeated, listless, and unmotivated become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In a world of so much darkness, I was glad to hear that David believes hope is still very much alive in the souls of our students. I believe it too.
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
- Since I missed out on all of the amazing workshops offered at this year’s event, I have been researching some of our esteemed presenters and workshop topics, like this CNN interview with Dominic Erdozain (one of our amazing presenters!). I can't believe that in the 70s this issue wasn’t nearly as contested, and that even the republican government wanted to ban the use of handguns. I also watched the Ted Talk, The Real Roots of Youth Violence, with Craig Pinkney. What really hit me was when he talks about how, when young people feel invisible and unheard, sometimes they do things to feel visible and heard. And yes, it takes a village to raise a child, but if young people don't feel a part of that village, they will burn it down to feel its warmth.
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
Keynote speaker David Hogg addressing the CSW community.
Campus News
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Photography Teacher Anne Rearick Releases New Book
Photography Teacher Anne Rearick has release a new book of photograpy, Gure Bazterrrak (Our Land). Published by the Deadbeat Club Press, the book will begin shipping this winter and will be available during Paris Photo at Polycopies, Porte de Solférino.Read More -
Anny '28 Wins International Film Awards
Read MoreThis past summer, Anny ’28, worked as executive director and cinematographer for two documentary films titled Shaolin Youth and Confined, earning multiple international awards for her efforts.Anny, a boarding student from China, spent her summer filming Shaolin Youth in the Shaolin Temple, a thousand-year-old temple, where she focused on different groups of Chinese teenagers, showcasing China's special martial arts program and the impact it can have on the growth of teenagers from low-income families. The film focuses on the stories of underserved families and troubled teenagers in rural China who are hoping to change their fate by learning martial arts, showing the dedication and love these teenagers have toward martial arts, and the influence martial arts can have on a person's growth. -
CSW Welcomes Students from Panama
Read MoreLast week CSW welcomed 12 students from C.A.D.I. Bilingual Academy in Panama, where our students spent some time during the mod abroad trip to Panama in mod 5 last school year! They were joined by C.A.D.I.'s Director and administrators. During their visit from October 17-21, 2024, they stayed with CSW host families and attended classes with student ambassadors. -
Mod Break Wilderness Trips are Back!
Read MoreMod break Wilderness Trips are back in action with the first one taking students to the White Mountains! During the 3-day trip, students were split up into two groups based on student preference. The introductory group made its foray into the Kinsman Mountains with History and English teacher/Wilderness Trip Guide Aidan Wang, while the advanced group tackled Mt. Garfield with Science teacher and longtime Wilderness Trip Guide Kevin Smith.
Meet CSW Students
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.