Teacher Voices

Head of US Scott Small Kicks off the School Year

Amy Zlatic /

On the first day of school, Upper School students gathered in Brauer Auditorium to hear from Scott Small. He began by welcoming each class, and then continued: 

If you are feeling nervous at the outset of the year, especially as a freshman, I want to show you one of my favorite images—used in three assemblies now; it probably borders on harassment, but as usual, this person has been very kind in letting me continue to use it.

 This is Mr. Ludbrook’s freshman year student ID card. Class of 2029, not only did your dean survive his first year of high school, but he grew into the best version of himself and is truly the type of person you would want to be. Like every single adult in this room today, he has committed his life and expertise to supporting you and is always here for you if you find yourself in need of some guidance or moral support.

I’d like to share some statements with you now that are incredibly important to what it means to be an MICDS student and community member. We will return to these over the course of the year and their underlying principles will impact much of what we do together in the classroom, in advisory, in our activities—really anytime we are in community together. First, our Mission Statement. While this is all important, I bolded the sentence I believe might be most important at this moment in time and actually want to draw your attention to one word in particular: think. More than anything, this is the whole purpose of why we are here – why we come together as a learning community—“thinking” is ultimately what we are here to do and to get better at doing.

And it is equally critical that you don’t offload this responsibility—this opportunity to grow as a thinker—to AI. I believe strongly that abdicating your opportunities for thought to a computer will severely stunt your ability to remain relevant in all of the endeavors that will require you to think in your future and, I mean this earnestly, ultimately sacrifice what makes you, what makes all of us, human. If it helps you to think in terms of consequences, it is also a violation of our Honor Code and something that will quickly jeopardize your ability to remain a part of the MICDS. That said, there will be times and ways in which AI (Flint) will be introduced in your classes to help accelerate and accentuate your thinking, but you/we cannot use AI to replace your responsibilities as a thinker.

The human element is the central point of our Upper School Vision Statement: We build meaningful relationships that champion and challenge students as scholars and global citizens. It’s about building relationships and the importance therein of thinking and being curious. It’s about critical thinking, creative thinking, and compassionate thinking.

Core Attributes – Your teachers worked hard this past school year to define those characteristics that best represent how to be an effective learner, a positively contributing member of our MICDS community and someone truly prepared to excel in college and live beyond.

  • Intellectual Curiosity (Motivated Learning): engaged in the learning, problem seeker and solver, critical and computational thinker
  • Reflective Awareness of Self (Commitment to Personal Growth): honest and accountable, resilient, and embraces self care and wellness
  • Warm-Hearted Knowledge of Others (Commitment to Community): empathetic and compassionate, ethical decision maker, inclusive

If we all commit to living into these attributes in our daily pursuits and our interactions with one another, I think we will be well on our way to realizing what lives of purpose and service truly look like.

I have two reminders:

  1. Phone Policy – Just a couple of community norms that I need to review with you as we start our year together – One very specific way we will live into this commitment is to ensure we are truly present in our daily time with one another. We are going to work hard every day to be engaged and to be in community. This is a community commitment that we ask everyone to adhere to.
  2. Dress Code – There are so many opportunities in front of us this year – I look forward to celebrating your many successes.

Let’s go back to our core attributes for your moment of reflection: focus on one of these attributes and how living fully into it at the outset of the school year will help you find your footing.