May 20, 2019
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
Proverbs 25:11

Dear Parents and Friends of St. Michael’s School,

At the end of the last century, Time magazine published a periodical identifying the 100 most influential people from 1,000 – 1,999 AD. At the top of the list was Johannes Gutenberg who in the mid-1400s developed the concept of movable type, advancing the invention of block printing initiated by the Chinese in the 800s. The invention allowed books to be mass-produced rather than hand-copied by scribes. This, in turn, opened up the opportunity for “commoners” to access literature, a privilege previously reserved for religious and nobles, and literacy flourished.

As we prepare our students for success as mathematicians or scientists, doctors or lawyers, artists or musicians, the common skill necessary for all fields of study is communication – the ability to read, write, speak, and listen effectively. Our students have demonstrated a high level of mastery in reading and writing across the grade levels, and we are thrilled when we see learners enthusiastically devouring books and writing reflections on the content with great clarity. Speaking and listening, however, have proven to be more challenging, and it is a focus for us going forward.

If the printing press was an important catalyst in advancing knowledge, one could argue that, in recent times, the evolution of computers and the Internet has had a similar affect. A wealth of information is instantly at our fingertips so that what students need to learn and how they learn has changed dramatically. For all of its promises, though, because of technology we have also experienced a regression in the art of speaking and listening, not only in children, but in adults as well. I have addressed this issue in previous messages, but it bears repeating. Areas for growth include making eye contact when speaking, listening to dialogue and forming a logical reply, speaking in complete sentences, and extemporaneously discussing a topic. To confront this challenge, the faculty of St. Michael’s School is developing plans to address each of these areas in our curricula next year.

How can you help? Don’t wait until fall – get started this summer: set and adhere to screen time limits, don’t allow cell phones at the dinner table (or in the bedroom at night), engage in family conversations on topics of interest, and insist on eye contact and clarity (no mumbling). Misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and lost opportunities can be the result of poor communication, so if we truly want our children to achieve their dreams, they must first be articulate.
In Mission,