{"id":799,"date":"2012-07-27T21:50:28","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T21:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=799"},"modified":"2012-10-29T19:31:37","modified_gmt":"2012-10-29T19:31:37","slug":"where-are-we-headed-a-speech-by-kinne-stires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2012\/07\/where-are-we-headed-a-speech-by-kinne-stires\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Where Are We Headed’ – A Speech By Kinne Stires"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a couple of stories to tell you, and some associated thoughts about education.<\/p>\n

First\u2026 a story.<\/p>\n

A traveler in Maine was lost and stopped at a farmhouse to ask for directions.\u00a0 He called out to the farmer, \u201cWhich way to East Vasselboro?\u201d The farmer thought for while, and replied, \u201cWell, go down this road, the way you\u2019re headed, for about 2 miles, then turn left at the white church\u2026.\u201d He paused, \u201cBut then\u2026 you could go back about a mile and a half, turn right just before you get to Jonah\u2019s apple orchard\u2026\u201d He paused again, and thought for a moment more.\u00a0 \u201cYa know, come to think of it, I don\u2019t think you can get there from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through my years in education, I have been building a vision for a future that we continually seem to be moving towards, but one that never seems to be transformed into a present reality.\u00a0 I see a future where a global understanding of earth systems will replace a general ignorance of them, where competition<\/em> between industries, and between nations, will be replaced by cooperation<\/em>, where corporate success will be judged not by its value to market growth, but by its value to the quality and sustainability of all living systems, where consumerism will be widely accepted as a social AND global<\/em> responsibility, a future where progress will be measured not by upward trending graphs, but by habits of the mind, wholeness of the heart, and health of the Earth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mr. Stires as seen in this year’s Fieldglass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And how will we get there from here?\u00a0 We will allow children to engage in play far longer, in their early years, than we allow them at present, so their minds might become full of wonder and fortified by it.\u00a0 We will foster that wonder and employ it, allow it to grow, and to lead<\/em> their studies through all of their school years.\u00a0 We will engage in culturally relevant teaching so that ideological differences and national heritage will enhance the necessity and importance of diversity, weaken walls of fear, and strengthen communities, worldwide. \u00a0We will create ethnic history and language-study courses for all people, in all communities, so that inclusion may replace oppression as the undercurrent of our society, so many of Earth\u2019s citizens won\u2019t have to fight their way out of the shadows, but be born into the light\u2026 and welcomed.<\/p>\n

And why will we do this?\u00a0 Because Earth is the common ground we share, and survival of all life depends on our cooperation, not on competition.\u00a0 A global realization of that concept is real progress.<\/p>\n

Contrary to the farmer\u2019s opinion, we can<\/em> get to any place from where we are with enough imagination and a willingness to take a road less traveled by.\u00a0 We know the way.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another story:<\/p>\n

A traveler in Maine stopped to ask for directions from an old fellow sitting on his porch.\u00a0 \u201cIs this the road to Portland,\u201d he called out.\u00a0 The old fellow answered, \u201cIt sure is, sonny, but if I were you, I\u2019d change ends with that car.\u00a0 It\u2019s about 30,000 miles the way you\u2019re headed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are the global \u201cwe\u201d headed in the right direction?\u00a0 Some are.\u00a0 Most are not\u2026 yet.\u00a0 Can we retool the word progress<\/em> and give new life to the word progressive<\/em>?\u00a0 When the today\u2019s students are at the peak of their professional lives, thirty or forty years from now, this world will be a very different place.\u00a0 For example, the oil that has suckled Earth citizens for the past four or five generations will be nearing its end.\u00a0 Are we training enough problem finders to help Earth move successfully past this era and into a truly sustainable future?\u00a0 I have great faith in Fieldston\u2019s resourcefulness and creativity, and I believe she can be an integral part of such a future.\u00a0 I will miss not being involved in that evolution, but will love hearing about it.<\/p>\n

As Fieldston students say, when they leave the classroom, \u201cThank you.\u201d\u00a0 Thank you for fifteen of the best years of my life.\u00a0 This community has a large heart and a willingness and ability to spread its influence well beyond the oaks that have stood as constant witness to its many fluctuations.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t got it right\u2026 yet, but I <\/em><\/strong>believe we\u2019re headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Remarks to the faculty<\/p>\n

June 8, 2012<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kinne Stires<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a couple of stories to tell you, and some associated thoughts about education. First\u2026 a story. A traveler in Maine was lost and stopped at a farmhouse to ask for directions.\u00a0 He called out to the farmer, \u201cWhich way to East Vasselboro?\u201d The farmer thought for while, and replied, \u201cWell, go down this road, the way you\u2019re headed, for about 2 miles, then turn left at the white church\u2026.\u201d He paused, \u201cBut then\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"coauthors":[33,285],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Stires-Web.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1038,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions\/1038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}