We're impressed with critical thinkers who gather information from all their senses and then apply energy in the form of reflection, discernment, and analysis to draw conclusions about the world and make decisions about how to act. We're moved by kind people, who respect and work well with others and who care about society at large. And we're inspired by imaginative types, whose intellectual curiosity and creative engines hatch solutions to complex problems. We love people who possess a combination of these qualities! We think they make great citizens and want to see more of them! And we hope to cultivate a few by nudging school-aged children in that general direction when we encounter them on summer break.



How do we do this? Attention is the holy grail. Nothing excellent is accomplished without deep and sustained attention, a condition in which the learner must be extensively complicit. Once that bargain is struck, producing insightful commentary or developing an answer to a thorny question or creating a thing of beauty becomes merely a matter of practice. All the students we've met have the capacity for such distinction. They need only to want it.



We offer plenty of time and opportunity for both reflective and verbal evaluation of fine thinking and writing. Then we insist on practice, practice, practice organizing and conveying a meaningful exploration of content, whether through fiction, poetry, or the expanding genre of creative nonfiction.  We encourage sharing, peer editing, and rewriting. We nurture authentic voices and a facility for language, emphasizing word choice that is both true and surprising. Our students come away gratified and improved.