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<\/a>I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the Cohort 21 experience. The \u2018big idea\u2019 thinking and the inclusivity has been essential for me as I continue to push the library forward. It\u2019s a big scary world out there and it doesn\u2019t seem quite so bad when we approach it together. But, through all this, I\u2019m still left wondering, what\u2019s wrong with old school? My How Might We statement is HMW create a culture around the library that promotes innovation, collaboration and scholarship? I have to admit, I\u2019m pretty comfortable with the second two of these, but the first has always been a tricky one for me. Innovation – it feels like guessing the future. Not necessarily a bad thing but the historian in me has always looked to the past for inspiration.<\/p>\nThis past weekend I attended the memorial service of the former school chaplain at Ridley. Rev. Shantz (or as he was known to us students, The Rev) was so influential in my education and he wasn\u2019t even my teacher (or a trained one at that). There was nothing new or innovative about what he did, even back in the 90s. His sermons were delivered three times a week from the front of the chapel as we all sat in rows and listened. No interaction. No gimmicks to promote engagement. No technology. Just him. His wisdom. His stories.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one in particular that will never leave me. It is the story of the word sincere<\/em> which comes from Latin sine cera<\/em> and what it means when we write the words, \u2018sincerely yours\u2019. It goes something like this\u2026<\/p>\n In ancient Rome, there were sculptors who would carve beautiful masterpieces out of large slabs of Italian marble. Every so often in the process of creation, there would be a slip or a chip and the intended work would be essentially ruined. Any artist today might call this a happy accident, but there was no room for error in Roman civilization and so the piece would have to be discarded. A true artisan would do so and start anew; however, there were some who would take marble-coloured wax and patch the piece to avoid having to start over. This practice became so wide spread that those wishing to convey to their consumer the authenticity of their piece began to carve sine cera<\/em> (without wax) into the bottom of their work. Thus, our word sincere was born. The Rev would then speak to us of the importance of living our lives authentically and truly living \u2018without wax\u2019.<\/p>\n I was fortunate enough to hear this story twice in my time at school. This was rare because he never really repeated himself, but I guess if you hang around a place long enough, it\u2019s bound to happen. I still remember both times. Where I was sitting. The smell of the radiators as they warmed the chapel occupants from the cold, grey, midwinter day. I remember when he told it the second time how excited I was to hear it again; nudging my friend in the arm to make her aware of the weight of this moment. I could actually feel the synapses in my brain firing as they made connections and were set on fire with knowledge and understanding. I remember the quiet smile that came across my face turning again to my friend to whisper excitedly, \u201cthis is my favourite story!\u201d<\/p>\n So now, I wonder, are we creating these moments for our students. Can smart boards and iPads really replace the power of a good story in teaching and inspiring our students? Do they really need to come to the library to gain access to technology? Or is there a much more authentic experience that I can provide? We can be so caught up in improving our practice and being a better teacher for our students, I think sometimes we may miss the mark. Not always, but sometimes.<\/p>\n As I sat in the chapel last Sunday and said my final good-bye to The Rev, I expressed my eternal gratitude to him. Everyone else had left so I told the thick stone walls of my silent promise to always act with sincerity towards my students and thereby bringing that authentic experience. Be present. Be me. Be sincere.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the Cohort 21 experience. The \u2018big idea\u2019 thinking and the inclusivity has been essential for me as I continue to push the library forward. It\u2019s a big scary world out there and it doesn\u2019t seem quite so bad when we approach it together. But, through all this, … Continue reading “Sincerely Yours, Mrs. Darby”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-face-2-face-sessions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions\/73"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/wendydarby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}