On Tuesday, Election Day, David Brooks chose to write about the Grant Study that I mentioned during my Chapel a few weeks ago. He focused on one of the key findings of the the study, that '[the] positive effect of one loving relative, mentor or friend can overwhelm the negative effects of the bad things that happen.' I have created a permalink to the article here, and I encourage you to take a look at it on your own: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/opinion/brooks-the-heart-grows-smarter.html?hp&_r=0
As we go through our daily professional lives at Blair, it struck me that we are, possibly/hopefully, helping to foster and create just these types of relationships for our students which will serve them throughout their lives as they encounter the usual obstacles and challenges that life presents. Brooks also chose to focus on one particular member of the Grant Study who seemed to 'turn things around' and achieve the type of success he always sought starting in his 60's, demonstrating that we are all life-long learners, and that in fact, all of us can change, grow, and develop at any point in our lives.
For further reading, here is the link to The Atlantic article that goes into the Grant Study in greater detail: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/06/what-makes-us-happy/307439/
No comments:
Post a Comment