February 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

Robert Browning's poem "Andrea del Sarto" recounts the musings of the man who was called the "perfect painter," whose technique surpassed Raphael and all his other contemporaries, but who never showed the artistic fire needed for greatness. In our love for analysis, we would today call him the ultimate left-brained artist. Sandy and I, in contrast, recently had the privilege of hearing the American Bach Soloists perform Bach's Christmas Oratorio-a work with which I happen to be very familiar. Each note was right-in tone, in intonation, in rhythm. The musicians' left brain discipline could not have been more apparent. Yet in addition, the singers were almost laughing aloud at their delight at what they were accomplishing, their bodies moving to the music, duettists enjoying each others artistic company. Here was an example of a magnificent fusion of the entire brain, uniting necessary discipline to creative enthusiasm.

Schools, including the Bay School, are good at training the left brain. We speak of "rigor in mastering detail, accurate and elegant communication, careful stewardship of time" among other values. These are important; indeed they are a necessary condition for useful intuitive or creative work. I believe that we are just at the beginning, however, in developing programs and curricula which encourage the growth of the right brain, the domain of intuition, judgment, creativity and synthesis.

Clearly, we do some things right. The time we spend each day in silence allows all the brain's synapses to grow in health. Our emphasis on open-ended questions, on problems with no right answer, on fostering healthy relationships with ourselves and others gives confidence to that part of us which goes beyond the intellectually analytic.

And yet.

My four in the morning fear is that this is not good enough. We have to ask what it is that our country will have to offer the world in 2040 and beyond. Clearly not manufacturing excellence or efficiency. By then, I suspect, our dominance in computer technology may also have moved abroad. What we can offer, perhaps, is well-trained leaders who have the intellectual skills to analyze issues and the intuitive and creative skills to suggest new solutions. And that is where we come in.

So, let us all put on our thinking caps and see where we might start transforming our curriculum to emphasize right-brain skills, without denigrating or diminishing the left. It is at the front of my personal agenda. I hope to do some writing, starting now and continuing through the spring.

Comments are eagerly solicited.

All best wishes,

Fr. Malcolm

Creating a Mindful Community

Thanks to the generosity and support of Bay School parent, Kathleen Patterson, ten students are now in the midst of the second year of the transformative personal development course called the Mindful Community Program. The program is designed to support and encourage teens as they transition into young adulthood through teaching and practicing mindfulness, kind-heartedness, and intentionality in an intimate and supportive group setting. Two experienced and skilled youth mentors, Shai Lavie, MFT and Alice Higham, LCSW, lead the program in conjunction with Bay School Chaplain, Teah Strozer. Student participants bring what they learn back to the school community in numerable ways through their personal relationships, peer mentoring, and leadership training-as Teah notes, "these students will take this experience, the skills they'll learn and the friends they'll make with them long after they've graduated."

The Bay School offers many opportunities for all students to consider the pivotal questions "Who am I?" "What do I believe?" and "Where do I belong?" Some students wish only to glance at the questions and move on. For those we offer daily all-school morning meetings at which ethical issues are discussed employing the school precepts as guiding principles, quiet time for meditation, and time out for reflection in many classes. Meeting weekly for an hour and forty-five minutes, the Mindful Community Group provides students at the more open end of the spectrum with the opportunity to go deeper to have direct experiences of their deepest selves. They are offered skills to address issues such as their 'critic voice' and feelings of anger and aversion. They are given time to reflect and inquire in an intimate and safe environment which often leads to real insights. In addition to meeting weekly on campus, highlights of the course include a one-day ropes course outing and a two night, three day retreat off campus. Junior Peter Nowell, comments: "The group continues to surprise me in how close everybody's experience as a teen really is. Our outing and overnight camping trip let me connect with the group on a much closer and more serene level. Something about the organic-ness of nature facilitates returning to the organic essence of your mind and emotions. The experiences and visualizations we have often lead us to new understandings and newfound openness of mind."

Senior Angelina Gómez shares her Mindful Community experiences:

Every Thursday at 3:30 I make my way up to the third floor into the small "Quiet Room" and onto one of the stacks of plush, decorative cushions (removing my shoes at some point along the way). There, I am met by 9 other students and 2 adults, all of whom make my heart glad when I see them. We settle down on our cushions, sometimes noisy and giddy, sometimes more subdued and pensive. As a single note on the bell is rung, a candle lit, sage passed around and water poured, I close my eyes briefly and sink into myself. As I breathe in the scent of sage, feeling the presence of people that I love and trust around me, I begin to shed the layers of stress, confusion, excitement, hurt, or anything else that has accumulated throughout the day. When we open our eyes and start our meeting, I am able to speak from a place that is true and real, unclouded by the superficial grime that is a trademark of the high school experience.

Creating a Mindful Community operates on three levels: the individual, the group itself, and the wider community of which the group members are a part. By creating an atmosphere of kindness, acceptance, and self-knowledge, each individual in the group is able to really explore their own experience (by "experience" I mean thoughts, emotions and actions-basically what goes on within a person on a daily basis). In group each week, individuals work through what is present for them on that day. Issues range from frustration over homework and social concerns to family dynamics and issues of self-acceptance. The combination of simply being able to talk about such issues and gaining the insights of the group is an intellectual boon and an emotional balm. I find that I leave each group feeling happier and better about myself and my life than I have all week.

The second level of operation is the actual group of 10 students and 2 adults. Over the year and a half that we have been meeting, we have formed a close, thoughtful and open group of friends who truly care about each other. I feel lucky to be a part of this rare group of teenagers that can connect on such a deep, personal level. One of the group's favorite "theme" songs is "Shelter From the Storm" by Bob Dylan, because the relationships that we have built in the group are a comforting shelter from life's storms, both big and small.

The third and most abstract level of group operation is the wider community of which we are a part. Certainly, we do not bring literal group practices outside of group (I do not walk around with sage and I do not get into deeply personal conversations with everyone I see-usually). However, I do share what I have learned about thoughts, emotions, and relationships with people in the wider community. It is not surprising that many of my peers are unaware of the powers of their own minds. So, when the occasion arises, I have shared my insight and (I'd like to hope) helped out a friend. Just as the group is a shelter from my storms, I offer shelter to those around me. And this process not only helps my friends, but is deeply rewarding to me as well. And thus, the benefit of Creating Mindful Community comes through the group, to me, to the wider community, back to me, and further enriches the group: a full circle.

Thinking and Creating in 3 Dimensions

The Three Dimensional Foundations Sculpture class offered during the second trimester is one of several new fine arts electives that have been launched at Bay this year. Chemistry teacher Meisa Khoshbin has shifted gears–seizing the opportunity to teach students about her other passion, art. Having sculpted for years throughout college and graduate school, Meisa has developed a course to introduce students to a variety of sculptural media. The main goal of this introductory class is to encourage students to begin to view the three dimensional world around them from a sculptural perspective. For instance, one project had the students bringing in an everyday object of their choice, such as rubber bands or walnuts, using them to form sculptures. Through this project, students not only gained an understanding of composition and form, but they also began to see how such objects take on different meanings when placed in new contexts.

The course began with students turning a two dimensional object into a three dimensional work of art. They manipulated paper and foam core to develop abstract sculptures. The practice of creating abstract art is something new to many students–but they took the challenge and ran with it! To help them through this, Meisa asked her students to focus mainly on the process of creating the piece, instead of having a vision of what their final sculpture would look like. This approach caused them to continually rethink their work. While monitoring this creative process, Meisa shared her thoughts. "It's been really neat to watch my students examine their work with a critical eye. I know that it was hard for many of them to make something abstract, but they really tried hard and stepped up to the challenge. The resulting pieces are beautiful, creative, and really thoughtful."

As another project, students created sculptures using bamboo skewers. However, instead of having the process guide their final product, the development of each sculpture was to be driven by a particular emotion. Students explored how, as artists, they could use lines to articulate feelings. For example, short messy lines extending in many directions tended to produce sculptures that were angry, while clean, curved lines often gave a feeling of peace and calmness.

Through projects such as these, students have expanded their artistic literacy. They are learning the elements of art and principles of design as they relate to three dimensional sculpture. Throughout the remainder of the trimester, students will continue to build upon what they have learned so far by making "found art" sculptures, carving plaster blocks, and sculpting clay.

Trigonometry in the Real World

Sophomores and juniors in Liz Colleran's Math III class ended their first unit in January with the challenge of applying their newly learned trigonometric skills to solving real world problems–transforming the abstract into the concrete. As their final project they were asked to determine the height of the school's chimney, to determine whether the campus wheelchair ramp in fact meets ADA requirements, to measure the length of the Alexa Internet Building directly across Keyes Avenue from campus, and to model the Bay tide cycle by constructing an equation yielding the height of the tide based on time.

Working in groups, students first took measurements, strategized, and collaborated about solutions to their problems with their partners. They began by constructing their tools which included clinometers, a device used to measure angles of inclination and depression, using string, straws, protractors, and tape. In evaluating the wheelchair ramp students were able to use only tape measures, measuring lengths not angles; however they were also required to determine the angle of the ramp in order to fully answer their question. In measuring the Alexa Building students took the necessary measurements from across the street standing on the elevated concrete platform just outside the campus doors using meter sticks, protractors, and measuring tapes. In modeling the Bay tide cycle students worked from a graph of the tides predicted on September 9th, 2006 and were challenged to construct an equation that gave the height of the tide based on time.

The final product of the project was a typed paper/lab report drafted by each student individually. Their reports included a clear description and diagram of the process used in taking their measurements, a clear, well-documented summary of their solution process that included graphs and tables where necessary, and a discussion of the accuracy of their solutions considering the elements of their measuring process that might have introduced inaccuracy in the process and why they think that their conclusions are correct. All in all, the goals of the project were more than achieved. Students not only met the challenge of acquiring the many skills and reasoning processes required to master basic trigonometry, but they were encouraged to apply those skills in ways that made them relevant in real world situations.

View Trigonometry Project Write-Ups

The Secret in the Wings - Winter Drama Production

Sagging winter spirits will soon be lifted by the upcoming Bay School theater troupe's production of The Secret in the Wings by playwright Mary Zimmerman. The musical is a fanciful meditation on the nature of the fairy tales traditionally told to children and a look at the darker corners of these tales and our collective imagination. Bay actors each play several roles, and stories are told through song and movement with a sense of whimsy.

"The framing story of the play is an updated version of Perrault's familiar classic "Beauty and the Beast." In it, a merchant steals a rose from a monster and for his crime his young daughter is compelled to go live with the beast. Each night the beast asks his captive to marry him; and each night she refuses him. Yet every night she dreams of a prince who tells her, "Do not trust your eyes." It is this story which most movingly illustrates what has been written of fairy tales: their profound lesson is "you must love a thing before it is loveable." —Playwright Mary Zimmerman

The Bay School production of The Secret in the Wings will be performed on February 7th, 8th, and 9th at 7:30pm on campus.

For complimentary tickets please contact: tickets@bayschoolsf.org.

Cast: Benjy Wachter, Pearl Morgan, Allison Cleary, Hannah Blockley, Maddy Engelfried, Michael Hemberger, Katie Yeilding, Kris Doodha, Spencer Stamats, and Jessica Peck.

Original score by: Jake Holtzman, Class of 2011 and Meyer Jacobs, Class of 2010.

The Engineering Club in Action

Engineering is a passion for a dedicated group of Bay School students who founded the Engineering Club at Bay in 2005. Activities in the first three years focused on the design and construction of underwater remotely controlled vehicles (ROVs) that competed in the national Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) contest held at Monterey Peninsula College. During the 2007-2008 academic year the club program has expanded further to include the launch of a VEX Robotics Program, as well as the design and manufacture of an underwater ROV that will be used by the San Francisco Bay class to conduct water quality tests at different depths throughout San Francisco Bay.

This year we are very fortunate to have Dr. Eugene Mizusawa, Director of Senior Projects and Field-based Learning, as well as Edward Chen, Bay School Director of Technology, serving as advisors to the robotics club. The VEX system was built with the education market in mind and is part of Dean Kamen's popular FIRST Robotics competitions, the premiere robotics competition for high school students. The VEX Robotics design system (http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-competitions.shtml.) challenges students' problem solving skills as they design and construct radio-controlled devices that push the boundaries of experimental intelligence. This year's plan gives Bay students the option of breaking into smaller groups and building robots to compete against each other in intramurals as well as competing in the VEX competitions. Both activities require real dedication and as much as 75 hours spent outside of the academic day and on weekends. That's real passion!

Meanwhile, a group of four Bay students are hard at work on the design and construction of this year's ROV. Using the mill, welder, and other tools available in the Engineering Lab, students are in the process of finishing the frame and will soon begin work on the controller, camera, and motor enclosures. Real teamwork is crucial to the success of this complicated project.

For up to date information about Engineering Club activities at Bay visit the Engineering Club Website at: http://engineering.bayschool.us.

Library News
From the Stacks

As the school grows, so does our library. With each new course the Bay School offers, I have the exciting task of making sure that our library has books that support each area of study. Here are a number of exciting recent additions to our collection based on several of our new courses:

• Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years
  

• Rodin: His Art and His Inspiration
  by Catherine Lampert
  

• Tom Friedman,
  by Bruce Hainley
  

• What is Good and Why?: the Ethics of Well-being,
  by Richard Kraut
  

• The Science of Good and Evil:
  Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule,
  by Michael Shermer
  

• From the Heart: Voices of the American Indian,
  by Lee Miller
  

• Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
  

• Leonardo da Vinci: 1452-1519: The Complete Paintings and Drawings,
  by Frank Zollner
  

• Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution,
  by Caroline Weber
  

• The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century,
  by Ross E. Dunn
  

The Bay School library "Wish List" is available online at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1HJU4AU2V35GP. All gifts and donations are welcome and greatly appreciated!

Rachel Shaw
Bay School Librarian

February 2008 Events Calendar