New York Times columnist and PBS NewsHour contributor David Brooks was Colorado Academy‘s featured guest at the first SPEAK event of the year. David touched on many topics, including civil discourse, the U.S. presidential election, strategies for finding connection in a divided society, the state of journalism, and more. Weaving interesting, funny, and poignant stories from his lifetime as a writer and educator, David’s presentation was insightful and entertaining.
It was a wonderful opportunity for me to sit one-on-one with David, where I asked a variety of questions, including some about how schools can best teach character and ways to educate our students with the soft skills they will need to succeed.
Juniors and Seniors in our Super Powers ASR course, led by Liz Sarles, had a private session with David, where they engaged with him on a variety of international relations questions connected to the topics they were studying in class. These same students then shared the Leach Center stage with David, as they presented thoughtful questions and contributed to discussions in front of the full Upper School.
When teaching my history class after his presentation to the Upper School, my students shared with me how impactful his talk was. They noted how direct he was, but also how well he connected with them through humor. When the students asked him difficult questions about political positions and world events, he really modeled the kind of intellectual humility and curiosity we are striving to achieve at CA.
In the future, we are going to be very intentional about building community through events like this. What I mean by that is that we want our entire community to get something out of this time together. Today, our parents and guardians, faculty and staff, and in particular our students, got to see intellect, vulnerability, humor, and incredible story-telling come to life, and more importantly, got to learn from it. I implore you to watch the recording because I know you will get something out of it that you will not expect. Today was a day that represents the beauty, kindness, and unique culture we have at CA. Thank you to David Brooks for his thoughtful approach and his genuine care for our students.
What a fantastic day!
