-Tim Breen, Ph.D., Head of School
I have been moved by the tributes following the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Whether you agreed with her court opinions or not, there was so much to admire about Justice Ginsburg. She was a pioneer for women's rights since the early 1970's, and a steadfast advocate for including all Americans in the American project. She was a loving, committed wife and mother (I am amazed that, while she was attending Harvard Law School, she was simultaneously raising a toddler and caring for her husband who had cancer). And she was a model for how to care for other people, even when you disagree with them.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was good friends with Antonin Scalia -- another Supreme Court Justice. Justice Ginsburg and Justice Scalia could not have been farther apart on the ideological spectrum, yet they maintained a close social friendship across decades. They shared a love for opera, and spent New Year's Eve together every year. They disagreed about many cases, yet they were willing to learn from each other, and each felt the other made them stronger and wiser. In this way, Ginsburg and Scalia were models for how to listen and learn across difference, and for connection and compassion across difference. We can all learn from this, for it seems to be in short supply in our world.
I believe this a challenge for education today -- a challenge we must embrace if we hope to prepare our students to build a better world. I feel lucky to be at a school where we take this seriously. One example: In our Democracy course students not only learn about controversial issues, they discuss them with others who disagree with them. In the past we've done this by traveling to Sterling, Colorado to meet with other high school students and learn not just their views, but learn about them as people. (This year, we may have to zoom instead, due to COVID challenges). In these conversations, our students learn to listen across difference, talk across difference, and care across difference. This is a great example of Watershed at work. At some schools you might read in a textbook about different political views held in different areas of the country. In other schools you might go a step further and read a current Atlantic article about the partisan divide. At Watershed, students directly interact with others whose views and life experiences are different from their own. In this way, they not only reflect on and develop their own understandings of the world, they develop compassion for others.
I think Justices Ginsburg and Scalia would approve.
