As I headed home on Saturday afternoon after a long walk, having met with a friend and browsed through a book store, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a difference I noticed in my headspace. Getting outside, making personal connections, and being away from the pull of technology, all contributed to this positive feeling. Whether the amount is an hour, a day, or a weekend, I am the one who has control over the time I choose to take.
The experience got me thinking about Daylight Savings Time, when regional adjustments are made to capitalize on as much daylight as possible. The earliest examples of this approach can be found in Ancient Civilizations, who adjusted activity to capitalize on sunlight. Nowadays, over seventy countries do so for economic reasons. Either way, a conscious decision was made to ‘move time’ to achieve a benefit.
Why, you may wonder, am I addressing this now- almost a month after we shifted our clocks back? My thoughts come as a result of several recent conversations about time, scheduling, and the frenetic pace of life. While there is no doubt that there is a ‘busyness’ about us, I believe more than ever that we must impose our own ‘time changes.’
St. Clement’s School has, throughout its history, focused on providing our girls with an academic experience that challenges and stretches them. However, what used to be organic learning- as girls gradually learned to balance school work, co-curricular involvement and time-management- has become a far more explicit curriculum for the School. Our LINCWell approach to enrichment and support of all girls threads the important lessons of organization, time-management and self-compassion into our girls’ learning. Later in life when our students- bright girls and young women- find themselves balancing work, family, and play, these skills will become increasingly important.
While life has changed and the pace has seemingly quickened, it is our wish to foster our girls’ ability to reflect and then impose their own ‘time changes.’