NAIS - Summer Reflection: Books to Spur New Perspectives

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Ah summer, just around the corner. As we close out the school year and reflect on the events behind us and plan for those ahead, we pause to catch our breath and renew. Taking time to get out of one’s comfort zone through reading can be a great way to prep for the year ahead and to look at challenges with a new perspective. I am suggesting three very different books that may inspire and provoke some interesting conversations in the months ahead. In the April issue of Looking Ahead we will suggest additional titles. I hope you can curl up in a hammock or beach chair, and enjoy!

The Gift of Making Do with What You Have

At this year’s NAIS Annual Conference, closing speaker Luma Mufleh reminded us of the benefits of an “opportunity” rather than a “scarcity” mindset in overcoming insurmountable obstacles. In starting a school for refugees, she described the many setbacks she faced but also how she kept moving forward, focusing on her goals. I was inspired by her perseverance and wondered what inner spirit drove her.

This month, I picked up a book that provided an interesting theory on what makes some people so resourceful. Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less—and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined, by Rice University professor Scott Sonenshein, examines why constraints can be a fuel for creativity, while abundance can keep us locked in the status quo. Sonenshein describes two different mindsets that predict our outcomes. In the first, called “chasing,” we are constantly seeking more, in a race to be better than our competitors. The problem with this mindset is that there will always be someone with more, so the chasing never ends and can interfere with reaching goals and overall well-being. Chasers, he points out, rarely live meaningful lives. In contrast, a “stretching” mindset requires that we make use of the resources we already have and consider the possibilities they offer us. He says the constraint of working with what we have can motivate us to be “resourceful, act in more creative ways, and solve problems better.”

I found many applications in this book for independent schools, particularly in this time of tight budgets. As we look at new initiatives that we might introduce, too often we remain paralyzed because we perceive that we lack the financial resources to get them off the ground. In our western culture, we accept the notion of needing more to create more, which can inhibit us from being truly creative. Sonenshein suggests that we have to intentionally work to break out of chasing and develop a stretching mindset by following these steps:

Diversify your experiences. Stretching means searching for other perspectives. “It’s about finding diverse experiences, and recognizing that when you experience the world from different perspectives, you can see how your resources interact in new ways,” Sonenshein suggests. Summer seems a perfect time to try this one out!
Act now. If you spend too much time planning, you end up planning for a future that won’t exist. He suggests that you should begin processing real-time information and act with that information. I think a quest for perfection can limit us. Often, we just need to get started and learn as we go.
Set big expectations. Sonenshein is an advocate of expecting the most from every team member, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy for success. We do this naturally with our students, but do we take the same approach with the adults in our school?
Make unthinkable combinations. Much innovation comes from putting things together that normally don’t go together," Sonenshein suggests. For example, when phone manufacturers combined a phone and a camera, it changed so much about our daily lives and the technology we use. Are there ways that we can combine existing programs to create something truly innovative?

One of the most intriguing book chapters focused on Sonenshein’s study of the food-truck industry. He found that the people who worked in this business to be the quintessential stretchers, reaching for their dreams with limited resources. He also discovered something unusual about them: They combined competition with friendship, instead of approaching their work as rivals, and they behaved like a caring community. They helped each other, even when they were in direct competition. He discovered that they “taught each other how to fine-tune their operations to become more profitable, volunteered to work on each other’s trucks on their days off, and advertised on behalf of each other.” By doing so, all trucks in the community prospered. Food for proverbial thought at a time when the educational market has become quite competitive.

A Look Back at the Obama Years

One of the most celebrated books of the past year, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a collection of his essays, eight of which correspond to each year of the Obama presidency. Given the divisions in our society today, this book offers a school community the opportunity to engage in an important dialogue about racism in America. Like Coates, I grew up in Baltimore, and I have been drawn to his work, as it confronts me with the huge amount of privilege I was given as a white woman in comparison to his own experiences. His words in one of the final essays haunt me and demonstrate how far we are from equality for all.

There are no clean victories for black people, nor, perhaps for any people. The presidency of Barack Obama is no different. One can now say that an African-American individual can rise to the same level as a white individual, and yet also say that the number of black individuals who actually qualify for that status will be small. One thinks of Serena Williams, whose dominance and stunning achievements can’t, in and of themselves, ensure equal access to tennis facilities for young black girls. The gate is open and yet so very far away.”

At NAIS this year, we have examined that last statement through the lens of leadership. The gate to the head of school position for people of color is open, but the numbers who go through it are still very small. How do we change that as an industry? How can we open the gate for rising leaders in our schools and support them in this journey? I hope this is a dialogue that we will all be engaged in over the coming year.

Growing Up More Slowly, With Greater Fragility

This past school year was one in which we confronted the rise of anxiety, depression, and suicide among our students. In a much-debated article in The Atlantic, author and researcher Jean Twenge examined the relationship between smartphones and the declining well-being of teens. In 2017, she released the book iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood. I just began reading this book, and find her thesis one that we should consider in the context of our individual school communities. She examines 10 trends that are shaping students in school today, and ultimately society, including:

In No Hurry—young people growing up more slowly than previous generations.
Internet—the increasing time teens spend on their phones and what activities this phone time is replacing.
In Person No More—the alarming decline of person-to-person time.
Insecure—the rise in mental-health issues and what is driving them.
Insulated But Not Intrinsic—a growing interest in safety and a decline in civic involvement.
Irreligious—the decline in interest in religion.
Income security—new attitudes toward work and the implications of those attitudes for the workforce.
Indefinite—attitudes toward relationships, sex, and marriage.
Inclusive—growing interest in dialoguing about race and social justice and changing the trajectory of inequality.
Independent—a leaning away from major political parties.

Although some may quibble with Twenge’s conclusions, the book asks some tough questions of both parents and educators about how we best support and guide iGeners as they enter adulthood. Twenge says her research on this generation left her with the sense that they are “scared, maybe even terrified.” She suggests that “they are both the physically safest generation and the most mentally fragile.” We have an opportunity to engage in a dialogue about these issues and explore new strategies for nurturing healthy students.

Whether these title or others engage you, I hope that you have a peaceful and restful summer, and indulge in some stretching through your reading. Please share your “stretch” titles with the community. Happy summer!