Bears Repeating from Jess Hill: Starting the year with a vision

With a deepening understanding of herself and boundless curiosity about the world, each Harpeth Hall graduate embraces her strengths and leads a life of purpose.

-Harpeth Hall Vision Statement​-
 

As this school year begins, and you — as parents of engaged and busy daughters — juggle meetings, rehearsals, practices, and household calendars, it is understandable if you are not thinking about the vision for your daughter’s future. Right now, the focus is on getting to school on time and settling back into the rhythm of the school year.

Rest assured that at Harpeth Hall, your daughters’ teachers, division directors, and the school’s leaders have dedicated significant time this past year to envisioning how we can best prepare your daughter for what comes ahead. We know that the future will demand continuous learning, growth and nimbleness, and our girls are developing those muscles right here.

Harpeth Hall’s vision statement, which we debuted with the release of our strategic design, reflects the school’s role in that development. The vision statement is our north star — our promise to your daughters that, when we fulfill our mission as a school, this is what we envision for their futures. No one is expecting this vision to come to fruition today or tomorrow. A vision statement is about taking the long view — the very long view. Your daughters may see it realized 10, 20, or 30 years from now.

In the meantime, the question becomes: How do we balance the demands of the here and now while keeping our eyes on this ultimate goal? You may want your daughter to develop a “boundless curiosity about the world,” yet she might seem more focused on maintaining her grades. How can we help her understand that her value as a human being is not tied to her GPA? How do we encourage her to remain curious about the world around her when it feels like any available moment for self-directed exploration is consumed by the screen of a handheld device?

The outcomes in our vision statement may, right now, seem beyond reach. Even with a big-picture mindset, it can be difficult to visualize anything beyond a college admittance. A recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Education with over 6,500 responses found that 80% of parents agree with the statement, “Parents in my community generally agree that getting into a selective college is one of the most important ingredients for later life success.”

This statistic doesn’t surprise me. After all, at our school, we see dedicated, hardworking students and parents who sacrifice a great deal to provide opportunities for their daughters to attend both Harpeth Hall and college. While the privilege of going to college is undoubtedly valuable, I hope we also remember the other factors that contribute to “later life success.”​

Jennifer Wallace, author of Never Enough and our guest speaker for September’s PLAID parent engagement event, notes that healthy high achievers feel they “matter.” They feel valued at their core by their schools, families, and friends. These students know their worth is not connected to their performance, and that understanding buoys them in challenging times.

I believe that “mattering” is the first step toward developing a life of purpose. A 5th grade student can only be expected to have a short-term sense of purpose, and even a senior may not have found her true north star. However, when a girl knows she matters, she begins to recognize her strengths. Identifying these strengths can help her discover her motivations and begin to define her purpose.

Ms. Wallace suggests that we help kids reach their full potential not by constantly praising them but by noticing their strengths. Developing these strengths will then help them overcome hardship. It is tempting for parents to create individualized safety nets for children. Most often, these nets make it harder for girls to thrive. I believe most of our girls know deep down they are valued, but some may not always have the opportunity to stand on their own.

This school year, we look forward to partnering with you to make sure your daughter knows she truly matters — both at home and at school. Her worth is always more than her grades. She matters because she is an integral part of this community, and we depend on her. At the same time, we also understand that building her competence and confidence requires us to increase her capacity for resilience. And we feel certain that one day in the future, you will begin to see her “embrace her strengths and lead a life of purpose.”