For those who follow this blog, you will know the importance I have placed on personal history. My mother has been one consistent presence in my life always ready to offer me sound advice at key moments in time. Whether selecting my high school, choosing my career path, or discerning a parenting direction, my mother has routinely provided sage wisdom while affording me the ability to choose for myself. Often her perspective is given through parable, story, or quotation. I vividly recall one such time when I was weighing two professional pathways. In describing to her the opportunities and challenges of each, she simply said, “In order to know where to go, you must first remember who you are.”

A new school year is an opportunity to reconnect, reimagine, and return to the core purpose of why we exist as a school. Over the past decade, we have worked tirelessly to instill the Crescent difference in all we do as a school through our curriculum and co-curriculum inside and outside of the classroom. We do this by offering high levels of challenge and support so that our boys develop the character competencies we believe they need to be flourishing men in the world. This work is done not just by words but through the modelling of our school’s core values.

In the 1890 landmark textbook, The Principles of Psychology, philosopher and founding father of modern psychology, William James, made a bold claim. He stated, “In most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again.” At last week’s closing ceremonies, I took immense pride in our boys' impressive character display. However, as a school dedicated to this mission, we know that the journey toward character is a lifelong pursuit. 

“You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” 
– Maya Angelou

It’s often said that, to determine whether the path you are travelling is the right one, you need to understand where you have come from. Three seminal events at Crescent this spring have driven home this concept for me.

Feedback is a key ingredient to ongoing growth and improvement. This is true whether you are 15 or 50 years old; a student, parent, or professional. Giving and receiving feedback is a reciprocal process that happens formally and informally at Crescent. It usually starts with setting goals and objectives and then tracking progress with a classmate, teammate, mentor, teacher, or colleague.

Many of us use figurative language and metaphors to describe life experiences. As a young person, when imagining my future or ruminating on the purpose of life, my mother would often encourage me to “till the garden.” A former colleague often challenged incoming students with “High school is not a spectator sport. Get in the game.” One of the great lines from the Stoics was “not to expect figs in winter.” By combining two unrelated elements, these figures of speech allow us to see things from different angles and in a new light.

Recently, I received some feedback about “Experience Crescent.” This annual enrolment event invites prospective students to the school without their parents to take part in a variety of literacy, numeracy, and collaborative activities. The day is led by Crescent teachers and our Enrolment team with the goal of getting to know the boys who’ve applied to Crescent. It is one of the most important days of the school year.