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Home > Fall Forum > 2001
Hudi Podolsky's Opening Remarks
Fall Forum 2001
 I am delighted to see you all. It's quite an amazing assemblage. Let me say a few words about what's in store for you tonight. I'm going to talk for about fifteen minutes and at the end of that I will have the pleasure of introducing our keynote speaker tonight. She's going to keep you spellbound, and when she's finished we have a wonderful group of student performers who will close the formal part of the program and I know that you are going to find them quite electrifying. When they are done we'll invite you all to migrate that direction and we have a reception, a chance for you to mingle and meet with old friends and have a good time. And take a look at the beautiful student artwork that is all over the area outside of the exhibit hall, it's absolutely fabulous.
I can actually see you from up here as separate individuals sitting there each in your own seats, but what I know is that each of you is linked to a great web of relationships that I can't see, personal and professional relationships that have enabled you to be here tonight, as I am linked to such relationships. Let's take a moment to thank the people on our networks and to think about them, the people who have helped us come here tonight. I think of a loving family who supports my work and tolerates my absence. Including my daughter whose birthday falls on November 10. And I think of an incredible web of professional relationships, my wonderful staff, board, and center directors and the many people I know in schools and universities who have helped me imagine what this great Fall gathering can be.
We are all here tonight thanks to a lot of people who are not here with us. People who love us, learn with us, and help us deepen and hold fast to our vision of great schools for all of our children. Because many of us here are friends, there are a lot of overlaps in our networks, we know a lot of the same people. But I suspect that there is only one person, who in some way, is responsible for each and every one of us to being here tonight, and that person is Ted Sizer.
For the first time in 15 years of Fall Forum gatherings, Ted isn't able to be here with us tonight. He is at home recovering from surgery and I am delighted to be able tell you that he is doing very well, but he wasn't up for cross-country travel yet. I think his wonderful wife and partner, Nancy Sizer, probably had to tie him down to prevent him from leaving on a plane to get out here. But he is not able to be here with us tonight. Now we are taping this session tonight, and of course we'll be sending him a tape just as soon as we can. So I thought it would be nice if, in just a moment, each of you would stand up for maximum lung power so that we can all yell "Hi Ted" so that he'll hear us on the tape and know that we were all thinking of him. So in just a moment, I will ask you to stand up, and after our group yell, if you will stay standing, I am going to ask you to do one more thing. Okay, on your feet. So on my mark you will be "Hi Ted"
The crowd: "Hi Ted!!!"
Beautiful! Hi Ted. Okay so while you are standing, look around you, there is probably someone standing near you who you don't know yet. Introduce yourself tell them what you do, if this is your first Fall Forum.
[introduction of staff, board, and hints for program guide and packet]
So here we all are in the midst of this great enduring web of relationships that Ted started. It struck me as I was thinking about introducing our speaker to you, that one of the characteristics that I cherish the most in the CES web of relationships is the mutual respect that is almost always present. You see it in the way teachers treat students, in the way students treat each other, in the way coaches treat teachers and principles, in the way principles treat teachers, parents. I hope you always see it in the way CES National interacts with you. Sadly, in the world of public education, and for that matter, most of the world, the level of respect that we share is not the norm. But if it is already our norm, why are we here to learn about it? Why should we read Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot's wonderful book or listen to her stories? We've got it all figured out. We know that respect creates virtuous cycles that sustain and deepen it. So why worry? We are already on a roll? I think we have to worry about respect, and pay attention to it, and share our stories about it, because it is so precious, so central to our vision of schooling, and so vulnerable to attack. Whatever we may do to design schools on a human scale, to improve classroom practice, to develop great leaders and to strengthen our ties to the communities, if it is done without respect for each person involved in the effort, it cannot produce the results we dream of. It cannot help students become good citizens, good friends, productive people. It cannot create a more just society. Respect has many champions in this room and in the great web we are part of. But it also has many enemies and they are within each of us. They are fear, and confusion, and fatigue, and despair. External events can strengthen those enemies within us and weaken our commitment to respect in every human encounter. And so, in this hard year, perhaps more than in most, we need to reflect on this cherished value and the acts that keep it alive everyday, making our schools fit places for human beings. I can think of no one better able lead us in this reflection than our speaker this evening. Ladies and gentleman, please give a warm and a respectful welcome to Professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot.
Page last updated: May 15, 2002
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