I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities:  an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion.
- Kurt Hahn
founder, Outward Bound

Saturday, October 11, 2008

What's in a name?

It's interesting to me that the first few comments placed on the Menifee 24/7 site are regarding the name that I chose for the school.  Don't get me wrong...I'm excited that people are talking about the school at all, so if they want to discuss the name, that's fine with me.  It's just interesting that they would focus on the name instead of the type of school or the type of framework.

As for why I chose Aberdovey Charter School...in my research about ELOB, I read a lot about Kurt Hahn (the founder of Outward Bound).  The first school that he started was in Aberdovey, North Wales (as "anonymous" pointed out on Menifee 24/7).  I thought that the place had a cool name and used it as a nod to the origins of ELOB.  Doesn't seem like a rip-off to me as the school had a different name.  I want this school to have a unique identity that is tied to its foundation in Expeditionary Learning.  It is not just Menifee Charter School...it is an ELOB charter school and as such, I want to make note of it in the name.  Since Menifee Expeditionary Learning Charter School is pretty long, I was looking for a name that "symbolized" ELOB.  Maybe "Hahn Charter School" would work just as well.  I happened to like the sound of Aberdovey.

Point is, I am the ONLY PERSON working on this charter school at the moment, and while there aren't many advantages to being the sole crew member on a voyage, one of them is that I get to name the ship!  If you'd like to join my crew, we can certainly explore other names.

I want more crew members.  But this crew is not focused on the beauty of a name.  It is focused on the important task of creating a school that will give children in this area a chance for a great education.

1 comment:

AskMieke said...

I found your site. Just wanted to thank you again for joining us on Menifee Matters, our blogtalkradio forum. We learned so much from you and your passion to teach really showed through.

Your school sounds like a perfect match for Menifee. I'm a grandmother of 10 and I'm a big critic of the monopoly of the public school system. Parents need choices, children need a love of education that they are not getting in our traditional school programs.

We've had great teachers here in Menifee, in spite of the system, so I won't labor that point, but I'm thrilled that you are working so hard to bring this about. I KNOW you will succeed, and I promise to try harder to make your next meeting.