Head of School Blog "The Importance of Being Nice"
Dear Orchard Community,
Recently, Google wanted to know the secret to building a more productive team. The tech giant charged a team to find out. The project, known as Project Aristotle, took several years, and included interviews with hundreds of employees and analysis of data about the people on more than 100 active teams at the company. The Googlers looked hard to find a magic formula—the perfect mix of individuals necessary to form a stellar team—but it wasn’t that simple. “We were dead wrong,” the company said.
Google’s data-driven approach ended up highlighting what leaders in the business world have known for a while; the best teams respect one another’s emotions and are mindful that all members should contribute to the conversation equally. It has less to do with who is in a team, and more with how a team’s members interact with one another.
In other words, being nice is the key to productive interactions. So what does this have to do with Orchard? If we value character, relationships and an individual’s responsibility to the broader community of the classroom or the team how does this get played out at our school?
It begins with teachers who are as interested in the emotional and social lives of their students as they are in reading, writing and arithmetic. You can witness this as you walk through the school.
9:10 AM - A middle school teacher is quietly talking with a seventh-grade boy in a secluded nook to protect his privacy. They are discussing his haircut which he believes, disastrously, makes him look like a poodle and he refuses to take off his hat. After inspecting his hair, she privately agrees and gives him a dispensation to wear a hat all day and gives him a recommendation for a rescue barber. She actually gets him to smile.
10:00 AM - Uniforms are being passed out for one of the sports teams and a coach notices a girl hanging back and realizes she is fearful that none of the uniforms will fit. Without skipping a beat, she discretely reassures the girl, gives her a jersey that fits with a cool number on it and names her acting captain.
10:45 AM - An elementary school teacher sees a small storm brewing over who gets to use the stick with “the best fork branches ever” for a fort. Knowing her students, she co-opts the revolution, makes a cooperative game out of it and restores a friendship in the bargain.
12:00 PM - A four year-old bursts into tears uncharacteristically and shares that her grandmother has passed away. For the rest of the day her teachers hold her hand, give out extra hugs and defer the lesson on the life cycle of butterflies. At pick-up they confer with the parents on how to best offer support and sympathy during this hard time.
4:40 PM - The cross country coaches cheer on a runner finishing far behind the pack. Their support is contagious and soon the whole team, parents and coaches are applauding the perseverance of this lone runner. They model empathy, compassion and teamwork.
There are countless moments like these that I am privileged to witness each day. The other day a trustee was sharing that she was uncertain what to say to friends about why she chose Orchard. In addition to excellent academics, this community of caring and responsive teachers is a great answer.
Truly,
Tom
