Seven Hills and Literary Culture

One of my favorite Seven Hills events is Books for Lunch, a remarkable opportunity for students, teachers, families, and friends to interact with renowned authors. During this year’s assembly with novelist Colm Tóibín, one of our Upper Schoolers asked a question to this effect: “How do you take a piece that you’ve written, one that is personal and meaningful to you, and share it with others?” It’s a question that I imagine any number of other young writers, artists, and creators in the audience were also eager to hear answered. Tóibín responded that the more a person writes, the more they will want to share their writing with others — and that it’s therefore important to find a community that will support and appreciate your work. I’m proud to say that Seven Hills is just such a community, and I’d like to share with you a few observations about the vital role that reading, writing, and literature play in our school.

Novelist Colm Tóibín speaking at Books for Lunch. Read more about the event.

The school’s commitment to literacy and literature is, of course, embedded in our PreK-12 curriculum. One of the real treats for me this past year has been spending time with our pre-kindergarten and Lower School students and witnessing how they first learn to love reading. Teaching young people to read is both an art and a science, and I’ve been awed by the passion and expertise that our teachers bring to this endeavor. I’ve even gotten a chance to do some reading in Lower myself, which is always a highlight of my week (ask me about “The Day the Crayons Quit,” my new favorite book).

Reading at Doherty

Given the central role of books in our curriculum and culture, it’s not surprising that one of the questions I hear most frequently about our new Lower School is, “Will it have a library?” Of course, it will! A library that is welcoming, student-centered, and full of books — one that feels like the heart of the division.

In Middle and Upper, teachers build on the strong foundation that our colleagues in Lower have established. I had the privilege of teaching in the English department for a decade, where I discussed novels, epics, poetry, and plays with ninth and 10th graders — as well as with my colleagues. This past fall, the English teachers and I were all talking about an article in The Atlantic titled “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” This piece sounded the alarm about a trend in which schools are assigning excerpts and passages rather than entire texts, and thus producing graduates with no experience reading a book cover to cover. I’m grateful that our own Middle and Upper School language arts and English classes are still built around reading novels in their entirety. There’s no substitute for that comprehensive experience, and as a compulsive reader myself, I can’t imagine doing without that feeling of turning the last page of a great book.

Illustration by Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva for The Atlantic.

Reading and writing go hand-in-hand, and our teachers are likewise producing confident young writers who have found their voices and learned to express themselves. One measure of our Middle and Upper Schoolers’ writing prowess is found in their performance in the Scholastic Art and Writing Contest. This year, more than 100 Seven Hills students won 226 awards, the most of any school in our region. These results are a testament to the dedication of our teachers and students alike.

In an age in which social media and the 24/7 news cycle compete for our collective attention, I’m grateful that reading, writing, and literature play such a central role in our school’s community and culture.

P.S. The Portrait of A Seven HIlls Learner

After months of reflection and revision among our faculty, I am pleased to unveil The Portrait of a Seven Hills Learner. Please take some time to read more about our new portrait.