Pride in the Future

That was a great essay, Nick. I am talking about Nicholas Kristof’s op ed in the New York Times today, Thursday January 25^th. Because it addresses exactly what I see in my students: “Doing good is no longer a matter of writing a few checks at the end of the years, as it was for my generation; for many young people, it’s an ethos that governs where they work, shop and invest.”

I certainly see that in the topics that students choose for their personal essays these days. Sometimes it feels like every other student wants to write about climate change, sustainability and the responsibility to protect the environment and doing things that change the world, from helping Syrian refugees to getting young girls excited about STEM, from finding cures for diseases to working with children with emotional and physical ailments. I see essays about students talking about friendship and comradery and teamwork, about understanding and appreciating differences among peoples – and about discovering their individualities and their own voices and standing up to injustices and overcoming their own challenges.  To coin a few words from what one student wrote this year, I see determination, support and positivity. I hope those never go away.

Those essays make me happy to be working with these students and make me more confident about the future, that whatever turmoil the world is experiencing right now may some day disappear when this generation gets to be its leaders.