We started with music…the Advanced Band kicked off the event, the pre-K kids sang a song about the Earth,  then I stood up to rededicate the gardens. We had chosen the word “rededicate” intentionally because gardens take effort. They can’t simply be “opened.” The minute the word “rededicate” came out of my mouth this little 4-year-old sitting in the front shot up his hand and asked, “What is rededicate?” 

So, I said, “Thank you, that’s a good question. What is rededicate?”

“Let’s start with the word ‘dedicate.’ To be dedicated; to dedicate something to someone; to be dedicated to something; to have dedication. What does that even mean?”

Hands started going up from eighth graders, first graders, fourth graders, kindergartners. There was no shortage of thinking or participation. And it was quiet, everyone was listening. Some took a lot of time to get their ideas out, but there was no rush. At one point a first grader struggled with the words she wanted to find for her definition of dedicate. She actually said, “I'm struggling…I'm having a hard time right now. I don't really know what I mean yet.” 

“That’s OK,” I said. “Just give it a try.” 

Little by little, she and several others shared their thoughts as I repeated them out loud so everyone could hear the definition of dedicate begin to emerge.

Then my friend in the front, jumped into action. “OK, so…so, what you're saying is that rededicate means something wasn't good any more. Like you had to make it better so you did some things and you rebuilt, or you did it better. You made it better. And now you're, now you're coming to the better thing because you made it better.” 

And I said, “Yeah! OK. Let's go with that. That seems like a really good way of thinking about it. We needed to improve. We think it’s valuable. It matters to us. So we are coming back to this garden to give ourselves to it…to commit ourselves to this place and to this work. Rededicating.”

As I continued to speak, I mentioned that these things don’t just happen by accident, there is some funding that occurs. Again, the little guy in the front chimed in, “What's funding?”

I was impressed with his inquisitiveness. Afterall, we encourage our students to ask questions, and it was clear that he had taken that to heart. I quickly realized that he and I could continue our back and forth if time allowed.

I smiled as I answered, “Funding is having money to do something.” The answer satisfied the young student’s curiosity, and I appreciated the depth of his listening and questioning. 

The whole interaction was a testament to our school culture and to the ways we engage with others and live our values around constructive dialogue and cultivating respectful relationships.  That day we were all reminded of the power of childrens’ questions and of gathering to build collective understanding. This child, at 4 years old, was really listening and really trying to make sense of what I said. And for a 4-year-old kid to have the safe space and self-assurance to ask his question in front of 350 people and for students of every age to follow his lead and jump in with their ideas, is a testament to the progressive education model we practice at High Meadows School every day. All of the students were listening to one another and giving each other space to have a voice and express their ideas. 

As we listened to more than 25 different definitions, that 4-year-old took those ideas and made his own definition before anybody else made that definition for him. I could have just answered his question right away, which would have taken less time. But it would have been my definition and not nearly as powerful as asking the group, “What do you think?” 

At High Meadows, we are building knowledge as opposed to simply providing facts and figures. We all obtain knowledge and build skill through our own questions, imagination, and experiences. Those answers we create with our own understanding and self advocacy are so much more powerful than memorizing a definition.

By allowing room for self advocacy students gain a greater sense of self. Within the High Meadows community we value the questions; we value the diverse voices; and, therefore, collectively there is an expectation around how we function together that is modeled and practiced. Students at High Meadows quickly understand that they each have perspective and a voice and they are allowed, encouraged, and taught to share that voice. 

Teaching and modeling how to use our voices is important because everybody's individual propensity for sharing is different. There are some kids who would never ever ask a question in front of 350 people. But if they see someone else do it, they have room in their heads to have the question. And as we sit patiently listening to others as they work through their words, we are modeling the expectation that says you deserve time. You get time to think. You're not expected to just spout out an answer. There are lots of different ways to define a word like rededicate. And it may take time to realize its full meaning. There is a lot of power in knowing that truly understanding something takes time.