Post #13: Altruism
In my last post, I shared my biology teacher background and my thoughts about the concept of homeostasis (the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems) and how it applies to adjusting to the disruptions of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this post, I want to examine another biological concept and how it applies to our current school and home partnership.
Altruism is the behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense. A common example of this would be an animal giving a warning cry to others of its kind. The individual makes a sacrifice in the moment to ensure survival of the herd.
As I think about what our Governor, the Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control ask of us during the current pandemic, I recognize we are being asked to make individual sacrifices for the good of the whole community--sacrifices regarding personal choices about where we go, who we see, and what we do. Then I come to school each day and see the joy and hear the laughter of these kids and I see the benefit of such sacrifice. These children belong in school and with each other learning.
Each week I am on video calls with Heads of schools across the country that are struggling to stay open on campus, in part, because they have communities who cannot unite around such altruism. I have been made aware there are local private schools neighboring counties that are not following the state guidelines and are starting to see drastic programmatic impacts--driven by quarantine requirements from the Department of Public Health. Such struggles to offer a full in-person program in many cases stem from what happens on weekends and from school communities who do not have such a common sense of altruism.
I am grateful for your continued effort and partnership to keep us open and safe by following the Cavalier COVID Community Commitment in our reopening plan. I am impressed by the altruism displayed by all our community members. Again, thank you for your sacrifices which help us continue to serve our entire Cavalier community on campus. We are thrilled to have been able to serve you for a full quarter of the school year thus far--and we want to remain open to serve your family safely for the remainder of the year.
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As I think about what our Governor, the Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control ask of us during the current pandemic, I recognize we are being asked to make individual sacrifices for the good of the whole community--sacrifices regarding personal choices about where we go, who we see, and what we do. Then I come to school each day and see the joy and hear the laughter of these kids and I see the benefit of such sacrifice. These children belong in school and with each other learning.
Each week I am on video calls with Heads of schools across the country that are struggling to stay open on campus, in part, because they have communities who cannot unite around such altruism. I have been made aware there are local private schools neighboring counties that are not following the state guidelines and are starting to see drastic programmatic impacts--driven by quarantine requirements from the Department of Public Health. Such struggles to offer a full in-person program in many cases stem from what happens on weekends and from school communities who do not have such a common sense of altruism.
I am grateful for your continued effort and partnership to keep us open and safe by following the Cavalier COVID Community Commitment in our reopening plan. I am impressed by the altruism displayed by all our community members. Again, thank you for your sacrifices which help us continue to serve our entire Cavalier community on campus. We are thrilled to have been able to serve you for a full quarter of the school year thus far--and we want to remain open to serve your family safely for the remainder of the year.
Augusta Preparatory Day School
Augusta Preparatory Day School is an independent, college preparatory school serving children ages 2 through Grade 12 from the greater Augusta-Aiken area. Augusta Prep seeks to enroll a group of diverse students. We follow an open admission policy, whereby qualified candidates are admitted without regard to religion, race, nationality, economic background, or ethnic origin.
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