Growth Mindset

Hi everyone.

In this time of relative isolation I've decided I want to retain a growth mindset...I want to be creative and I want to remind myself that little steps each day will lead to big results. One fun and simple way I've tried to do this is by doing a blind line drawing each day.

Here's what I do.

1) set up my iPad or iPhone camera in "selfie" mode
2) take out a writing implement and piece of paper
3) without looking away from the "selfie" (i.e. I never look at my drawing, itself), I draw a self portrait


Each time I do it, it ends up a little different...and that's okay. I'm learning things about moving slowly, about space and time, and also about trusting my inner voice. I also have been embracing my own imperfection and I've studied my own face (weird, but really interesting to do as I don't necessarily spend much time carefully looking at the shapes and lines that constitute my visage).

Anyway, I encourage you to give it a try! Maybe we can have a virtual art show one day.

-Mr. McDonough

The Next Right Thing : pause and acknowledge

Dear students,

I wanted to share this resource with you. My wife, Nicole, and I created it when we wanted to process the negative/neutral/positive emotions we were experiencing as well as the ways we think/feel/do in response to those emotions.

What you can see in the above is that the left column shows negative emotions.

The middle column shows neutral emotions.

The right column shows positive emotions.

On the horizontal rows, we have thinking (top), feeling (middle), and doing (bottom row).

Our hope was that we could share a tool for folks to process their emotions and move forward. I am sharing it with you because there are so many ways to use this as a launching point for the #nextrightthing

Perhaps you could make a list of the things that calm you so you can revisit them when you need calm. Maybe you could write a poem about one of them, or leave a message for a friend reflecting on one. Really, this can be a tool for anything you want it to be.

Speaking of the next right thing, one of my calming strategies is Disney music. So here is the song, Next Right Thing, from Frozen 2.

May you find your next right thing for right now.

#RightNowMatters

-Mr. McDonough

A letter to my students 3/16/2020

I sent this message to my students today. 

That is all for right now. 

More to come soon.

-WM

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Dear Students,

Hi.

I want to connect with you this morning in an effort to say a few things.

1) First, I just want to say hello. 

So, hi. I want to extend some social connection to you all in the midst of this unprecedented time of "social distancing." I wonder what this is like for each of you, and how you might be managing. I imagine, in some ways, your generation is benefitting because of your relationship with technology. Perhaps some of you are still feeling a sense of community and camaraderie through group texts, silly Tik-Tok videos, or other means of communication. It reminds me of that poem we read that included the line "I pledge allegiance to the group text..." 

2) And, of course, at the same time, I know that technology can only do so much to unite us in times such as these. This is hard.

3) Over the course of the next few weeks I am going to start posting some content on my blog. By no means is it homework or required, but it is certainly an invitation. You can comment, you can send me an email, and you can reflect on any of the things I post. Or, do nothing. Enjoy your time away from school (and me) and just do what you need to for yourself. Take this time to be a human being (not just a human doing).

4) Since we last saw each other on Wednesday, I've thought about two specific things we've worked on together this year. The first was our study of "ubuntu," the Zulu word that Desmond Tutu describes as "I am because you are, and because you are, I am." In essence, it speaks to that reality that our own humanity is irrevocably tied up in everyone else's humanness as well. Nothing feels more important than this right now.

I've also thought a great deal about poetry, and about the ways poems try to "put words to what can't be said," as Julia Alvarez so beautifully put it. This is such a time for poems. I look forward to reading your poetry in April (thanks to those of you who sent me your digital chapbooks, and no worries to those of you waiting until our return from break) and I encourage you to keep writing. There are likely a litany of emotions you're feeling right now, and by putting words to them you will be saving a relic of these days for your future self, and you will be leaving a legacy for future generations. The things you feel, and the words you put to them as eighth graders are so important. So feel your feelings, and write them down.

5) Weirdly, this whole change has really made me miss each of you (it's only weird because this is technically our first day of spring break). Our time shared in the classroom this year has been so important and the unknown that lies ahead just made me want to check in with you. So, hi. I hope you're all doing alright. Let this be an extension of myself and an invitation to engage with me over the break. I am excited to read your World Congress papers, and I invite you to follow my blog in the days to come.

Thanks for reading. I sincerely wish you well. Reach out if you need some human contact. Remember that right now matters.

Sending you my best.

Onward,

Mr. McDonough

Will McDonough

Upper School Humanities

Social Studies Department Co-Chair

Co-Director of Service Learning