June (2014)
May (2014)
April (2014)
March (2014)
3/25/2014
George's Gift
3/14/2014
Pick Yourself
February (2014)
December (2013)
12/27/2013
Holiday Card
12/4/2013
Good Causes
12/2/2013
Frozen Assets
November (2013)
11/16/2013
Sally B.
11/10/2013
End Game
October (2013)
September (2013)
9/21/2013
Self Study
Good Causes
12/4/2013
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Mike welcomed the school to the winter term by noting the healthy byproduct of our off-campus programs: thirty-two students have just returned from Ocean Classroom, Proctor in Spain and Costa Rica, and twenty-four have departed for Proctor in Spain, European Art Classroom, Mountain Classroom and Costa Rica. There's a newness to the community that is refreshing and healthy.

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T
hat--in itself--is a cool story. As a human community, Proctor reinvents inself by about 8% each term! Stories....

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M
arketing guru Seth Godin, who is more an observer of human behavior and common sense than a marketing guru, writes a blog that I read regularly. In a recent post titled "What Do We Get When We Give to a Good Cause?" he writes about giving to non-profits. I feel like he's writing about us, and I feel that he's writing about me.

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H
e writes, "Why on earth would a rational person give money to charity--particularly a charity that supports strangers? What do they get?

A story.

In fact, every time someone donates to a good cause, they're buying a story, a story that's worth more than the amount they donated."

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He continues, "It might be the story of doing the right thing, or fitting in, or pleasing a friend or honoring a memory, but the story has value. It might be the story that you, and you alone are able to make this difference, or perhaps it's the story of using leverage to change the world. For many, it's the story of what it means to be part of a community."

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"The fundraiser, then, isn't taking, she's giving. She's giving someone the chance to buy a story that's worth far more than it costs."

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"Stories are the way we navigate our world, our chance to make sense of who we are and what we do."

Below, Stefan--who took forestry this fall--explains tree identification to new foresters.

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I
'll just keep on telling the story. Nick differentiates between the needles of white and red pine.

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I
t's time to harvest balsalms!

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Back from off campus programs, Alex, Carter and Speight look for assembly seating.
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What are you looking at?
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Cutting balsalm.
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Like Birnham Wood to Dunsinane?