The Five R’s of Educational Excellence

Good schools are defined in many ways and most people have an opinion about what it is that creates a sense of goodness in their school. Within the upper division of New Garden Friends School (NGFS), we have set out to create a learning experience around the concept of the five R’s of educational excellence: relationship, relevance, restoration, risk and respect.

Education is essentially an exercise in relationships. When asked the question, “what makes a good teacher?” most adults relate stories of teachers they had in their past who stand out in their memory as those who built a relationship with them. The author, Tom Freidman in his book, The World is Flat, speaks of the need to create schools that produces students who are “connectors, collaborators and explainers” if we are to meet the challenges of the today’s 21st century world. At NGFS, we strive to create an environment in which teachers become connectors and mentors with students as opposed to simply feeding them information or process data.

We aim also to create a high school experience that is relevant to the world in which our students live. At NGFS, students experience life outside of the classroom – trips to study the ecosystem of the North Carolina coastal waters, a train ride to Washington DC to meet members of Congress (as well as volunteer at the homeless shelter and soup kitchen), leadership training on a high ropes course that builds team work and teaches problem solving skills – all relevant, life learning experiences. In his book, Beyond the Classroom, Lawrence Steinberg of Temple University writes of the need for schools to address more than cognitive ability in evaluating student performance. Addressing larger life issues of building human connections, increasing empathy and solidifying one’s work ethic are all part of a relevant education, according to Steinberg. At NGFS, teaching students to care is as important as teaching them calculus. Teaching English alongside of empathy and honesty alongside history is what makes an NGFS education a relevant, life-enriching experience. Content and character are not exclusive endeavors.

At NGFS, we are committed to a restorative model of resolving conflicts and handling student behaviors. As with a growing number of schools around the world, we have found this model is effective in improving the climate of school culture as it gives students the tools to handle conflicts and disagreements in mature, healthy and humane ways. Restorative practices start with the premise that human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive choices in their behavior when those in position of authority do things “with” them rather than “to” them or “for” them. This model allows students to become more engaged, connected and responsible in their school experience. Students become the center of helping to create, build and restore positive interpersonal relationships by learning creative problem solving and by establishing an environment of trust and mutual support. When conflicts arise, students are involved in finding the solution. When a student harms another student, both parties are involved in an attempt to restore the relationship. That practice grows out of our belief that responsibility and forgiveness are important life skills to learn.

Students at NGFS learn to be comfortable taking risks. Author Herb Childress refers to excellent schools as places where students are exposed to failure yet are supported in their risk taking. Students “need to know that it’s possible to fall down and still get up again. They need to know that anything really worth doing will be scary and intimidating,” says Childress. By creating an environment wherein students feel safe and connected, they can indeed make a mistake and learn from it. At NGFS, students are encouraged to take courses that will challenge them. They participate in service learning programs that take them to places that push them out of their comfort zones. They are given the opportunity to be leaders, to offer their opinions, to make suggestions on how to improve their school. They can take college-level courses and do career internships-- discovering their passion and exploring their purpose as they navigate the pathways to a meaningful and mature existence beyond their high schools years.

Respect must be the cornerstone of any human endeavor, and so it is with our school community. Sociologist Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot identifies respect as the “most powerful dimension of educational goodness.” Respect, she says, creates “symmetry, empathy and connection.” Schools grounded in a culture of respect will produce students who learn empowerment, healing, dialogue and curiosity.

I invite you to explore the community of New Garden Friends School. I trust you too will find it to be a place…