One of the most endearing attributes of children is their almost limitless faith in their own abilities and the future. We see this faith most clearly when they talk about what they want to be when they grow up. Some children keep their cards pretty close to their chest when they are asked about their aspirations, but it is one of the many benefits of working with younger children that most of them are wonderfully honest when it comes to their hopes and dreams. As you might imagine, I hear a wide range of careers represented in their answers. From their answers, I know we have lots of future doctors, teachers (yeah), “Presidents,” fashion designers, soccer players, moms, singers, authors, artists, explorers, lawyers, actresses, and even entrepreneurs (expressed as “I want to start my own business selling . . .”). I also regularly hear of hybrid jobs, “First I want to be a singer when I am young, then I want to be a doctor, then I want to be a mom, then I want to open a shop,” or my personal favorite, “Teacher on the weekdays, soccer player on the weekends.”
It is perfectly appropriate that children should feel as though the world is their oyster. As they grow, they should continue to aspire to their naturally evolving sense of what they can achieve in their lives. It is our job to continue to encourage them to think big about their future because they all have the potential to do great things with their lives, and the vast majority of them will. We see this time and time again during our alumnae reunions, as highly accomplished women return to talk of their full lives, and the positive role Holton played therein.
One rapidly emerging career field for women is STEM. Many of our Lower School families are very excited, and for good reason, to hear about the new Holton-Arms Center for the Advancement of STEM, a promising collaboration to help our girls become fluent in the emerging, and converging, worlds of science, technology, engineering, and math. As you stroll through our Lower School hallways, you will likely see and hear the impact of the STEM program on our curriculum: the fourth grade sanding and building go-carts, the fifth grade constructing and testing their mousetrap carts, and the sixth grade designing and assembling their robotic prototypes. As a positive sign of changing times, our girls don’t spend much time thinking about the barriers to entry in these fields, but, instead, focus keenly on how they will envision, innovate, and create a new, better world to come.