What makes us who we are? Is it our families, our economic backgrounds, our schooling? Most often, of course, it is all those things. For Thomas Jefferson, however, one influence stood out above the others. “I thank on my knees,” he wrote in his autobiography, “him who directed my early education, for having put into my possession this rich source of delight; and I would not exchange it for anything which I could then have acquired and have now since acquired.” I must agree with Jefferson on this point.
Looking at our Cadets here at the New York Military Academy, I wonder where their education will take them. I know they have aspirations. Max wants to go to law school, Joshua hopes to get into West Point, Ellie-Marie, working on her portfolio, wants to go to Art school in New Paltz. It is our job as educators to give them the tools to achieve their goals. As Archimedes said, “Give me a firm place to stand, and I will move the earth.”
I thank our teachers, who daily inspire our students with enthusiasm in the classroom and commitment to providing a meaningful education to our Corps of Cadets, especially in such challenging times. This week we were hit with a snowstorm. Yes, that presents challenges, but just like the proverb says, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So what did our science teacher Ms. Platon do? She took the cadets out into the snow, wearing lab coats and looking quite the scientists, and conducted experiments using snow to learn about atmospheric pressure in the Earth Science class. What more could we ask? In these daily lessons our teachers are putting into our cadets’ “possession” the “rich source of delight” that Jefferson wrote of, reflecting on when he as a schoolboy.
As an administrator, but just as importantly as a NYMA parent, I see the difference this school is making. With the leadership skills being taught coupled with an enriching educational experience, NYMA is giving the foundation for the next generation to “move the earth,” as Archimedes said, and for that “I thank on my knees” those teachers directing the early education of our cadets.
-Christine C. McDonald, Dean of Academics
