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What’s the Springmont distinction?  There is a great scene in Everybody Loves Raymond where mom goes to talk to the math teacher about how her Elementary-age daughter feels about math.  The teacher tells mom he doesn’t care about those things; he cares only that his students know math.  This scene is the antithesis of the distinctive Springmont approach, where knowledge and the human experience intersect.  Our highest aspiration for our students is to know things – a vast number of things which they use to become wise - and lead fulfilled lives.  How is that done? Curiosity.  Mastery.  Wisdom.  Distinction. 

Social psychologist Peter Benson identified this distinction as human thriving – it is different from management and control of children, test scores, safety, physical health or athletic rank. Benson spent his life studying the vocabulary of human thriving - fulfillment, joy, kindness, generosity, passion, in love with life, contributor to society, compassion. 
Human thriving starts with knowing one’s one true talent or spark - the core of who we are and what we bring to life.  This spark provides hope, direction and purpose. You may wonder why I mention this.  Springmont is a school.  Academic accomplishment is the goal.  Competitive placement in high school is expected.

But here’s the thing…Benson determined that human thriving requires knowing one’s affinity, having three champions and opportunity.  Of those researched, 100% understood spark and 66% could identify their spark, but less than half of those had champions and opportunity.  This included the smart kids who knew things.  This included the kids in great schools.  This left 75% of those studied NOT on the path to human thriving.  Academics alone is not distinctive.

So, students must know stuff to be prepared for their future, and there’s a lot of knowing and understanding going on here today, but our students love school, thrive and find success at Atlanta’s finest high schools because we know innovation comes from the inside. Human thriving comes from the inside.  Developing and discovering the spark happens in childhood. Distinction follows the intersection of content mastery and the spark, unique to each student. Nurturing both, as one informs the other, creates a distinctive student, easily identified in a crowd.  Grandparents enjoyed fantastic examples of distinction in the students who presented at Grandparents & Special Friends Day last Friday, and we have the opportunity to see more such examples at the upcoming Graduation of our 8th year students.  I look forward to seeing you there!