Friday I had the distinct pleasure of watching Park’s Mock Trial compete and win the State Finals. The trial was held in Annapolis and Judge Joseph Murphy, Maryland’s Chief Judge of the Court of Special Appeals, presided over the case. I watched via webstream which was an up and down experience, but a bit more about that later.
Park’s team has enjoyed great success under Coach Tina Forbush, assisted this year by Tony Asdourian. In eleven years, Park has won two championships and has had two second-place finishes. As you watch the competition unfold, you realize that the preparation must be intense, and I imagine our coaches facilitated this task masterfully. The first thing I noticed as I started watching was how quickly you forget that these are high school students competing in a fictional situation. Both teams delivered a professional performance.
Our role at the championship match was the plaintiff. Our three attorneys, Eli Block, Tanika Lynch, and Daniel Stern were nothing short of brilliant. I can say without reservation that based on our championship record, our defense team must be just as able.
The Park attorneys questioned their witnesses with precision and grace—two qualities that many professional litigators would benefit from having. They were poised and their manners were impeccable. You never lost sight of the fact that this was a competition, but one of the most heartwarming moments came when the judges retired to reach a verdict and both teams congratulated each other in what seemed to be a most genuine manner.
Judge Murphy asked the attorneys some tough questions, and on top of that they had to examine ‘hostile’ witnesses, which is never easy, but these kids never flinched. There were a few moments for each team where they had to back track, rethink their approach and proceed, and our team rose to the occasion each time. I highly recommend that you check this out at http://www.courts.state.md.us/education/mocktrial.html (Watch the timer on the video; the trial begins just after 10:00.)
So Park brings home a state championship. You won’t read about it in The Sun—although you can read about an awful lot of lacrosse, softball, and baseball games that happened on Friday. Local schools were even webstreaming lacrosse games on that afternoon. I love high school sports and think they’re great, but the Park kids were doing something equally, if not more, spectacular. This was truly a battle of wits and guile. I watched on the edge of my seat, and almost jumped out of it at one point during the closing argument that I believed sealed the victory. I have no idea if any of these competitors will go on to be practicing attorneys, but I do know that using their analytical skills, powers of inquiry and oration, command and poise will serve them well for a lifetime.
Way to go Park Mock Trial Team---You Rock!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Fantasy and The Ties that Bind
Well at least I made you look. Fantasy refers to fantasy baseball of course. It’s a term which makes me very uncomfortable but we’ll get to that later. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Fantasy baseball, well, I envy you. Fantasy baseball (“Fantasy”) is an opportunity for a group of 8-12 regular people to draft real major league baseball players and create a team. Your team competes against your league mates’ teams and the outcomes are based on the stats of the real baseball players--and this is supposed to be fun.
As the real baseball season kicks off this week, so do countless Fantasy leagues, including one that was conceived at The Park School 10 years ago. The group, which originally consisted of students and faculty, is still going strong a decade later after the students graduated from Park, and graduated from college, and moved on to graduate school and professional lives. (The faculty members are still stuck here.) In speaking to two of the founding members of this Park league, history teachers Peter Warren and John Kessinger, I learned some important stuff (and never mind about the unimportant stuff). The important stuff was that the following folks have participated in this league: Adam Dunn ’02, Dan Flamholz ’02, Robbie Gross ’02, Brian London ’02, Zac Milner ’03, Tyler Rorison ’03, Ben Hyman ’06, Dan McGill ’10, science teacher Elliott Huntsman, Upper School principal Mike McGill, and, who it seems is Commissioner for Life, Ben Jacobs ’02.
No matter how you feel about Fantasy, how great is it that these teachers and students (now alumni) are still at it? Most schools promote the significance of the teacher-student relationship for obvious reasons. This league is one tangible example that speaks to friendship and real connections. I’m sure for all of them it is also a great time, well except maybe for Ben. Being the Commissioner is a non-stop headache. More about that in a moment. Peter and John were quick to point out that Ben was perfect for this role in that he was masterful in dispute resolution. So I wish the league Happy Tenth Anniversary, and Ben a dispute-free year or at least one day without trouble.
I must confess that Fantasy has played a sordid role in my life as well. I am so old that to me this habit is known as Rotisserie baseball. Like poor Ben, I served as Commissioner of my league, but Commissioner only. When I did have a team for a few brief weeks, the conflict it caused when my Fantasy players competed with the Orioles was too much to bear. I ran the league for many years with law school pals. Talk about disputes! But these Fantasy ties do bind us, and now I am the silent co-owner of a team with longtime Park friend, Michael Stiller ’85. He’s the brains, and I run the in-stadium promotions.
So this season is just beginning for Fantasy baseball, Major League Baseball, and Park baseball. Fantasies about Fantasy abound. Whether your life is empty enough that you play or full enough that you don’t, take a look around at the ties that bind you to friends and mentors, Park or otherwise, and celebrate them.
As the real baseball season kicks off this week, so do countless Fantasy leagues, including one that was conceived at The Park School 10 years ago. The group, which originally consisted of students and faculty, is still going strong a decade later after the students graduated from Park, and graduated from college, and moved on to graduate school and professional lives. (The faculty members are still stuck here.) In speaking to two of the founding members of this Park league, history teachers Peter Warren and John Kessinger, I learned some important stuff (and never mind about the unimportant stuff). The important stuff was that the following folks have participated in this league: Adam Dunn ’02, Dan Flamholz ’02, Robbie Gross ’02, Brian London ’02, Zac Milner ’03, Tyler Rorison ’03, Ben Hyman ’06, Dan McGill ’10, science teacher Elliott Huntsman, Upper School principal Mike McGill, and, who it seems is Commissioner for Life, Ben Jacobs ’02.
No matter how you feel about Fantasy, how great is it that these teachers and students (now alumni) are still at it? Most schools promote the significance of the teacher-student relationship for obvious reasons. This league is one tangible example that speaks to friendship and real connections. I’m sure for all of them it is also a great time, well except maybe for Ben. Being the Commissioner is a non-stop headache. More about that in a moment. Peter and John were quick to point out that Ben was perfect for this role in that he was masterful in dispute resolution. So I wish the league Happy Tenth Anniversary, and Ben a dispute-free year or at least one day without trouble.
I must confess that Fantasy has played a sordid role in my life as well. I am so old that to me this habit is known as Rotisserie baseball. Like poor Ben, I served as Commissioner of my league, but Commissioner only. When I did have a team for a few brief weeks, the conflict it caused when my Fantasy players competed with the Orioles was too much to bear. I ran the league for many years with law school pals. Talk about disputes! But these Fantasy ties do bind us, and now I am the silent co-owner of a team with longtime Park friend, Michael Stiller ’85. He’s the brains, and I run the in-stadium promotions.
So this season is just beginning for Fantasy baseball, Major League Baseball, and Park baseball. Fantasies about Fantasy abound. Whether your life is empty enough that you play or full enough that you don’t, take a look around at the ties that bind you to friends and mentors, Park or otherwise, and celebrate them.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Park is Top Choice
It is admissions season around here, not to be confused with wabbit season. By admissions season, I mean letters of acceptance have gone out and now it is time to convince those students and their families that Park School is their best option.
For what it’s worth, I’m convinced. And here’s why:
Last week, I had the good fortune to substitute teach in an Upper School English class. The class was in the middle of reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We discussed chapters XVII and XVIII, which focus primarily on Southern sensibilities and feudin’. The kids were brilliant and engaged. Where else would you discover connections between Huck Finn and mixed martial arts, the Ravens, and Donald Duck? One of the better definitions I’ve heard for intelligence is the ability to apply material learned in one context to another one, and these kids did that in lightning fashion. Not only that, they did it with ease and humor, and then they were able to back up their positions with textual references. Needless to say, I think we all walked out of the room with a good understanding of the reading and some new things to ponder.
Two weeks ago, aforeblogged Park graduate and author Adam Gidwitz ’00 was on campus. In the morning, he spoke with fourth and fifth graders. The kids asked him all kinds of questions about the life of a writer and the back and forth conversation was candid, heartwarming, and ultimately inspiring. Park will most certainly be producing a good many more celebrated authors in the not too distant future.
In April, we will be holding an alumni event in New York featuring a panel discussion with three of our alumni in the media world, Ruth Franklin ’91 who is on the editorial board of The New Republic, Rahsan Lindsay ’90, Vice President, MTV2, MTVU & Palladia, and Josh Tyrangiel ’90, editor of Bloomberg BusinessWeek. A dynamic trio to say the least, and they all graduated within one year of each other. That’s not to mention that earlier this month we were in New York for an event at The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted by Malcolm Daniel ’74, Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs. Malcolm discussed the Stieglitz, Steichen, and Strand exhibit he had assembled. He was both expert and accessible.
I could keep going and going. Park fosters intellectual curiosity, and it galvanizes the passion and perseverance to follow it. For those who have the opportunity to be here, treasure it. “Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.” Mark Twain
For what it’s worth, I’m convinced. And here’s why:
Last week, I had the good fortune to substitute teach in an Upper School English class. The class was in the middle of reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We discussed chapters XVII and XVIII, which focus primarily on Southern sensibilities and feudin’. The kids were brilliant and engaged. Where else would you discover connections between Huck Finn and mixed martial arts, the Ravens, and Donald Duck? One of the better definitions I’ve heard for intelligence is the ability to apply material learned in one context to another one, and these kids did that in lightning fashion. Not only that, they did it with ease and humor, and then they were able to back up their positions with textual references. Needless to say, I think we all walked out of the room with a good understanding of the reading and some new things to ponder.
Two weeks ago, aforeblogged Park graduate and author Adam Gidwitz ’00 was on campus. In the morning, he spoke with fourth and fifth graders. The kids asked him all kinds of questions about the life of a writer and the back and forth conversation was candid, heartwarming, and ultimately inspiring. Park will most certainly be producing a good many more celebrated authors in the not too distant future.
In April, we will be holding an alumni event in New York featuring a panel discussion with three of our alumni in the media world, Ruth Franklin ’91 who is on the editorial board of The New Republic, Rahsan Lindsay ’90, Vice President, MTV2, MTVU & Palladia, and Josh Tyrangiel ’90, editor of Bloomberg BusinessWeek. A dynamic trio to say the least, and they all graduated within one year of each other. That’s not to mention that earlier this month we were in New York for an event at The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted by Malcolm Daniel ’74, Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs. Malcolm discussed the Stieglitz, Steichen, and Strand exhibit he had assembled. He was both expert and accessible.
I could keep going and going. Park fosters intellectual curiosity, and it galvanizes the passion and perseverance to follow it. For those who have the opportunity to be here, treasure it. “Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.” Mark Twain
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Access is a Blue Chipper
I remember from my youth a Saturday Night Live skit based on the notion of being able to buy and sell words as stocks. Each year, there are a number of words that rise to the top of everyone’s vocabulary list. In recent years, access has become one of those words. Locally and nationally, and here at Park, access is used to talk about having the opportunity to get a quality education, investing in education, and being able to afford an education.
At the Upper School Martin Luther King Jr. assembly, we were fortunate to have three alumni speak about their roles in education. Greg White ’81, is the President and CEO of the LEARN Charter School Network in Chicago. He is a terrific guy who has dedicated his life to providing access to a high quality learning environment for students, who without these charter opportunities, would be far less likely to be in a good school. The results of his labors thus far are a stellar 99% graduation rate from the LEARN Charter Schools and an impressive college graduate rate from LEARN alumni. To read more about Learn go to www.learncharter.org
Corey Gaber ’03 is in a master’s program at Harvard’s School of Education. His concern about the disparity of a Park education and what is typically offered in Baltimore City public schools was palpable. After finishing this program, it is Corey’s intention to teach in Baltimore City.
Adria Johnson ’05 is teaching at a Baltimore City public school. She conveyed to our kids how much her students shared their same eagerness for education and how they also possessed similar potential as scholars.
All three speakers were so complimentary of each other and had great respect for what the others were doing to expand access to quality education. In the context of the assembly, Greg likened the access to education as the civil rights issue of our time. As this challenge plays out in Baltimore and the rest of the nation, there are also struggles for access at Park.
The good news is that our community continues to support financial assistance in both small and large ways. Fundraising to provide more students with the opportunity to attend Park has become our central purpose, along with supporting faculty salaries. Thankfully, our donors find that providing access to a Park education is a compelling reason to give.
For those of you who did not witness or hear about our live auction in 2009, in just 15 seconds we sold six lots priced at $4,000 to provide a full tuition to a Park student in need of financial assistance. Many people commented afterwards that they wished we had done more. Well, Saturday night at our annual Bull and Oyster Roast we’re hoping to sell 25-$1,000 lots to provide tuition support for varsity athletes in need of financial assistance. We hope that this too will be compelling. If you will not be attending the Bull Roast but would like to buy one lot or more, please just let me know.
So to this bring this thing full circle, go long on access.
At the Upper School Martin Luther King Jr. assembly, we were fortunate to have three alumni speak about their roles in education. Greg White ’81, is the President and CEO of the LEARN Charter School Network in Chicago. He is a terrific guy who has dedicated his life to providing access to a high quality learning environment for students, who without these charter opportunities, would be far less likely to be in a good school. The results of his labors thus far are a stellar 99% graduation rate from the LEARN Charter Schools and an impressive college graduate rate from LEARN alumni. To read more about Learn go to www.learncharter.org
Corey Gaber ’03 is in a master’s program at Harvard’s School of Education. His concern about the disparity of a Park education and what is typically offered in Baltimore City public schools was palpable. After finishing this program, it is Corey’s intention to teach in Baltimore City.
Adria Johnson ’05 is teaching at a Baltimore City public school. She conveyed to our kids how much her students shared their same eagerness for education and how they also possessed similar potential as scholars.
All three speakers were so complimentary of each other and had great respect for what the others were doing to expand access to quality education. In the context of the assembly, Greg likened the access to education as the civil rights issue of our time. As this challenge plays out in Baltimore and the rest of the nation, there are also struggles for access at Park.
The good news is that our community continues to support financial assistance in both small and large ways. Fundraising to provide more students with the opportunity to attend Park has become our central purpose, along with supporting faculty salaries. Thankfully, our donors find that providing access to a Park education is a compelling reason to give.
For those of you who did not witness or hear about our live auction in 2009, in just 15 seconds we sold six lots priced at $4,000 to provide a full tuition to a Park student in need of financial assistance. Many people commented afterwards that they wished we had done more. Well, Saturday night at our annual Bull and Oyster Roast we’re hoping to sell 25-$1,000 lots to provide tuition support for varsity athletes in need of financial assistance. We hope that this too will be compelling. If you will not be attending the Bull Roast but would like to buy one lot or more, please just let me know.
So to this bring this thing full circle, go long on access.
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