Convocation 2013 - John McGiff

Visual arts teacher John McGiff opens up the school year with his convocation talk titled "Framing Possibilities." He starts out by talking about his boyhood dream of being able to fly. His theme is carried throughout his talk. John speaks about the founding fathers, "the framers," the students are here to "frame questions and possibilities," "we frame the possibility of ourselves," "the field of play is the frame we build to test our agility and acumen," "we are forced to frame what matters," "she framed her day," and so on. He leaves the students with some great advice: "For us to grow in this way, for you and me to design and create the geographies of place that we believe in and are challenged by, we have to be open to possibility and vulnerable to the passing world." ... "I still occasionally have dreams in which, not only am I not flying, but I’ve shown up to class in my underwear and I’m not sure if I’m a student or the teacher. Fear of failure never really vanishes and it can lead us to create a box for ourselves to hide in. Maybe this is why the activities and relationships we initially find the most difficult, are often the ones we commit ourselves to over the long run."