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A Letter From The Headmaster, Jim Astman
Not much more than a century ago, a debate raged in academic circles
about techniques for measuring intelligence. A highly respected
scientist named Samuel Morton had developed a widely accepted method
of determining cranial capacity. He filled the cranial cavity of a
skull with white mustard seed and, by pouring the seed into a graduated
cylinder, determined cranial volume. The greater the volume, the
greater the intelligence. The procedure was problematic for at least
two reasons: first, the person had to be dead; and second, the mustard
seed generated inaccurate measurements because its consistency changed
when the humidity was high. Morton was thought to have made a great
advance when he replaced the mustard seed with eighth-inch buckshot,
since the buck-shot was not affected by dampness. Now, it was believed,
intelligence could finally be measured accurately! (It was H.L. Mencken
who said that "for every complex problem there is a solution that is
precise, simple, clear, and wrong.")
We can snicker at this crude practice, and at the set of assumptions
that gave rise to it, but the truth is that much of modern education
remains mired in the notion that intelligence is a fixed and easily
measurable quality. All we need to do is assign the appropriate number.
Of course one problem is that not everyone gets a high number, whether
in skull measurement or aptitude tests. Another problem is that students
who get low numbers too often act out of the belief that they are
intellectually limited. And students who get high numbers sometimes
fail to challenge themselves sufficiently in the mistaken belief that
they already have the requisite talents. A vital task of a school
ought to be, has to be, helping students discover the richness and
depth of their own intellects. Unless students come to experience
themselves as people whose thoughts count for something, they won't
believe in their power to do anything significant with those thoughts.
The power of a school to vitalize students, to help them take themselves
seriously, intellectually and morally, rests with its faculty. And that
is Oakwood's greatest resource. Our teachers do not assume that every
child who comes here is raw material for the educational mill - a sort
of manufacturing process whose goal is a standardized end product.
Throughout our program, therefore, students are inspired to stretch,
to examine and to challenge their own assumptions, to engage, and not
simply to mimic, the ideas they encounter. This is a school infused at
every level by creative, joyful, and impassioned inquiry.
This is a school that tackles a delicate balancing act. We sponsor a
rigorous, challenging college preparatory program and we recognize the
extraordinary diversity among students - a diversity not only of skill
levels but of interests as well. This is a school where children do not
fall through the cracks and teachers know the students they teach.
This is a school that does not pay lip service to the performing
and fine arts, but holds them in equally high regard with science,
history and the other academic subjects. We know that intelligence
is not reducible to a number, and that aesthetics play an essential
role in every form of thinking and discovery. (Albert Einstein
explained that he thought neither in words nor in numbers, but in
vivid imagery.)
This is a school which fosters a sense of decency. Toward this
critical end, we provide students with constant opportunities to
reflect, throughout our curriculum and our extensive community service
program, on the moral challenges confronting them from within and
without. It should be obvious that our agenda is not a neutral one.
In a world of extraordinary diversity - social, cultural, racial,
religious, and personal we want students whose knowledge enables them
to value difference, and not merely to know about it. We also want
students who have learned to hold themselves accountable for what
they do.
Decades of research on the nature of intelligence have underscored
not only its complexity and variability, but also, and perhaps most
importantly, its connection to character. The world itself has made
abundantly clear the simple truth that information, alone, has no
necessary relationship to goodness, or to living a meaningful life.
That is the fundamental reason why, at Oakwood, when we speak about
educating intelligence, we have in mind something much more than high
test scores, more than skill with words and numbers, more than artistic
or kinesthetic fluency, more, even, than self-knowledge. We have in
mind those qualities of character without which intelligence is an
empty vessel.
We also, and always, have in mind the moral foundation upon which
every good school is built. Such a foundation predisposes us to
seeing the years of childhood and adolescence as precious ones,
full of awkwardness and grace, to be met with respect and flexibility,
patience and humor, imagination and thoughtfulness. These are the
features of an Oakwood education that make it profoundly rewarding
for students and teachers alike.
James Alan Astman, PH.D.
Headmaster
Oakwood Secondary School11600 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, California 91601-3015 Phone 818-752-4400 · Fax 818-766-1285
Oakwood Elementary School11230 Moorpark Street, North Hollywood, California 91602-2602 Phone 818-752-4444 · Fax 818-752-4466 Contact Oakwood's Webmaster
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