Life Lessons From Seisen Teachers

At the beginning of the school year, we asked teachers to share some activities/hobbies/interests of theirs that relate to the CAS program so that students could see that teachers do CAS too. The point is that CAS goes beyond the DP; it is lifelong, real-world stuff, designed to help students become healthy, well-rounded individuals.

Many students were inspired, and the activity provided opportunities for students and teachers to connect (teachers have told me that students keep coming up to them to say things like, 'hi, I saw that you like cooking too!'). However, some students told me that they wanted to know more about the ‘life lessons’ that CAS experiences may present; not just what people do, but how it has benefited them and helped them to grow and be happy. 

Therefore we asked teachers the following questions:
Why is creativity valuable as a life-long habit?
Why is (physical) activity valuable as a life-long habit?
Why is service valuable as a life-long habit?

Here are some of my favorite quotes (See the three videos below to hear their full answers): 

Creativity:

“Creativity…. makes every moment more interesting and worth living.” - Mr. Steele
“It allows us to keep responding to the world in new, fresh ways.” - Mr. Graham
“I think it’s great that you’re able to share something beautiful with the world, no matter how small it might be.” - Ms. Hashimoto

Activity:

“It makes you feel better, helps you sleep better, you tend to have better, healthier relationships.” Ms. Brittany
“Things that you don’t learn in the classroom, you can learn when you’re participating in Activity; you know perseverance, really having to be a support for someone else..” Ms Jury
“Being active, being fit, can really transform your life in every dimension of your life that’s important to you.” Mr. Granger

Service:

“While we are helping others, we are also helping ourselves.” Ms. Dawson
“It helps us to see some of the things we take for granted, and it helps us to see the humanity and the resilience of the people we serve.” Mr. Usher
“It really helped to open my mind up to the whole world and to see opportunities to help others.” Mr. Skulmoski