ESPrit de Corps

I told Phil that a wonderful way to gear-up for reflecting on the bright and shiny qualities of ESP is to spend a couple of hours talking with the Strategic Foundation Building retreat facilitators.

I had this opportunity just two days ago, and - as I always am since I moved to NYC and joined the ESP team - I was totally struck by the fabulous quality of the network that ESP has cultivated over the years. The diverse range of intelligent individuals, passionately committed to what they do, is really something to marvel at.

Dear Reader: I am not just stringing together a bunch of superlatives here. Really. In fact, what I am doing is struggling for some way to put into meaningful language what I experience through this network

So maybe to be a little more concrete - I regularly see:

• Artists who care about being artists - both in and out of the classroom,
• Educators (all types) interested in ongoing research about learning,
• Partnerships that are truly in partnership with one another (planning together, teaching together, researching and assessing together),
• People who are interested in their own learning (and humble enough to be curious!),
• Energy! - from classroom teachers, to administrators, to artists, to consultants; all with too much on their plate and STILL raring to go!
• Evidence that a good chuckle and being productive can go hand in hand
• and finally - Vision - the belief in the long-term, the belief in the future of the work that we are doing every day

- Stephanie