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A Credo That Still Rings True

By Learning Forward — January 14, 2013 1 min read
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Over the holidays I was the beneficiary of a wonderful message from someone I trust and value as a scholar and critical friend to Learning Forward. The message was the credo of Lucy Sprague Mitchell, co-founder and first president of the Bankstreet College of Education.

It’s quite fascinating how our desire for children to be successful 100 years ago mirrors what we aspire to achieve today. I love the way she expresses these aspirations, and want to preserve the message. I hope you all appreciate reading this over and over as much as I have.

What potential in human beings, children, and ourselves, do we want to develop?

  • A zest for living that comes from taking the world with all five senses alert.
  • Lively intellectual curiosities that turn the world into an exciting laboratory and keep one ever a learner.
  • Flexibility when confronted with change and ability to relinquish patterns that no longer fit the present.
  • The courage to work, unafraid and efficiently, in a world of new needs, new problems, and new ideas.
  • Gentleness combined with justice in passing judgment on other human beings.
  • Sensitivity, not only to the formal rights of the other fellow, but to him as another human being seeking a good life through his own standards.
  • A striving to live democratically, in and out of schools, as the best way to advance our concept of democracy.

Stephanie Hirsh

Executive Director, Learning Forward

The opinions expressed in Learning Forward’s PD Watch are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.