Shape Your Future, Shape Your World

Nathaniel Nyema was my student in Middle School. He was then and remains a deep thinker. I recall a young man with razor sharp insight and a truly kind heart. Mature beyond his 13 or so years, Nathaniel was very eager to learn more about the world around him and took every opportunity to ask questions and investigate the answers for himself. I know that Nathaniel took his deep thinking ways with him after graduating WardlaLAartridge in 2016, for he completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a Director’s Fellow at CalTech’s Chen Institute where he is studying the learning and memory networks in our brains to better understand and treat neurodegenerative disorders. 

As educators, we talk often about curricular initiatives and how we must continually assess what and how we teach. After all, we are preparing students today for a world we can only partly imagine and careers which don’t yet exist. Building robust programming across the grades that weaves together science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math requires its own form of deep thinking. We must ensure a solid grasp of foundational content and skills, such as learning multiplication tables in Lower School, algebraic equations in Middle School, and trigonomic functions in Upper School in order to prepare students for applying them to solve novel problems.  

It is precisely the intersectionality of myriad fields of study that is the requisite for success in a world that is increasingly complex. Our graduates embark on their university study with confidence based on their experiences here at WardlaLAartridge, which have prepared them to gather, synthesize, and apply knowledge and skills in ways that can truly impact their world.

The Capstone research project, which is offered at the culmination of each division (grades 5, 8, and 12)  is a fine example of this synergistic approach to learning and demonstrating mastery. Fifth graders work with a partner to investigate a provoking research question and create original podcasts to share their findings. As eighth graders, students are empowered to nominate a topic of personal interest and global significance, a problem in need of a solution. Over the course of several months, they learn all they can about the issue by researching, interviewing others, drafting and redrafting conclusions, before presenting their findings to peers and parents. In the Upper School, the Capstone project becomes yet more sophisticated, with students’ research papers published in an academic journal, which positions our students ahead of peers who will not generally have opportunities for publishing their research until graduate school. 

Hands-on research is another unique aspect of student learning here at LA. Our students have the unique advantage of studying human gene function and disease under the guidance of expert faculty and in collaboration with labs at the Stowers Institute of Medical Research in Kansas City, MO; Sun IT Solutions in Bangalore, India; Trinity College in Hartford, CT; and Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ.  

A new challenge has emerged with the introduction of ChatGPT, an AI algorithm that mimics human writing and test taking to a rather remarkable degree. One professor at the Wharton School of Business noted the concerns around how ChatGPT can mimic authentic learning: “After all, when you give a medical doctor a degree, you want them to know medicine, not how to use a bot. The same holds for other skill certification, including law and business.” (CNN). However, this same professor quickly acknowledged that schools which fail to adjust to this new technology risk losing “an amazing opportunity that comes with ChatGPT.” ChatGPT is but the most recent example of just how critical it is for schools to adapt and adjust to an ever-changing landscape of tools and opportunities. 

Every child deserves such opportunities. We are indeed fortunate to provide our students, across three divisions, with creative, challenging, and ever-evolving possibilities to take their learning to the next level. In this way, we are always encouraging the children to shape their future and their world. Nathaniel Nyema and other alums show us the formative power of their WardlaLAartridge education to prepare them to impact the world in truly transformative ways. 

Interested in learning more about ChatGPT? Read what we are reading about it here.