Kids are same, challenges different, says Rocky Hill headmaster

Posted 10/22/13

Peter Branch is new to Rocky Hill but he has been a school headmaster for the last 35 years, so he actually expects people to ask if children have changed.

He didn’t wait for the question. On …

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Kids are same, challenges different, says Rocky Hill headmaster

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Peter Branch is new to Rocky Hill but he has been a school headmaster for the last 35 years, so he actually expects people to ask if children have changed.

He didn’t wait for the question. On Thursday, when he spoke at the Warwick Rotary Club, he started with the answer.

He assumed the position of head of school on July 1, after having served as executive director of the Washington Ballet since 2011.

But speaking from his background in education and directing schools, he said that children are fundamentally the same today as when he started his career in 1971. Nonetheless, he said, the world has changed dramatically and there are new influences and challenges brought on by technology and society, including the Internet, social media and drugs, to name a few. Advances in technology and medicine have also provided greater understanding of what’s happening to children and their bodies.

“We know a lot more about brains and how they develop,” Branch said. He said that has made “the profession better but not any easier.”

He said children still struggle to learn who they are and they still need to discover to be resilient and independent.

And, in many cases, Branch doesn’t think society has helped.

“We’re wrapping them up in bubble wrap,” he said.

He said children aren’t permitted to walk in the woods on their own and that parents are frequently involved in every aspect of their lives, to the detriment of their development and independence.

In running a school, he said the parents are often more of a challenge than their children. And texting and e-mail doesn’t make it any easier when it comes to parents who question everything their child is doing.

Branch described Rocky Hill, which was founded in 1934, as more of an “educational village” than a school. Branch called Rocky Hill a “small school, big opportunities.” He called the 84-acre campus on the Greene River in Potowomut the most beautiful school campus he has seen, offering outdoor “hands-on” learning experiences. Classes are small and the ratio of students to teachers is five to one.

Such a ratio would be non sustainable in public school, yet, he said, “No school is right for all students in my judgment.”

The key to an education is teaching.

“If they get a good teacher, they get a good education. If they get a bad teacher, they have lost a year,” he said.

Asked why American students are behind other countries, Branch talked about Finland and that country’s system of teacher selection and training. Teachers in Finland are carefully screened and subjected to rigorous training and testing. Only the best get to be teachers.

Branch considers every person who comes in contact with students at Rocky Hill as critical to the educational process. He believes that is so important that, when filling posts, he interviews all candidates, from groundskeepers to teachers.

That is not all the headmaster of a small school does.

“I do know how to plunge a toilet. It’s essential for a headmaster,” he said, evoking laughs.

Getting back to serious education, Branch said he is looking for children who are motivated, resilient and empathetic.

Addressing the hot topic of high stakes tests in Rhode Island, and whether a high school diploma should be awarded on the results of a single test, Branch said accountability is essential, “but I think you have to be very careful about testing.” With high stakes tests, he said, “They’re all trying to game the system.” He said teachers whose own performance is judged by the scores of students end up “teaching the test.” And, he added, “It’s inevitable [that] cheating is going to take place on a grand scale.”

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