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Dr. Grauer's Column - A Magnificent Notion

Magnificence: Is it a moment, an achievement, a natural phenomenon, an interaction? The relationship between magnificence and high school education can be seen from various lenses: integrating the natural world, inspirational learning and teaching, and emerging human potential. 

A Magnificent Notion
By Stuart Grauer

This season, I have been fending off all manner of invasive news feeds about sustainable change, disturbance, innovation and growth, mental health, navigating tough decisions, and a wide variety of educational disconnects and theories. Been there, done that. You could easily be finding all that in your field, too. While diversity of experience is healthy, this is not the same as the instability many of us find all around.  

Also this season, I saw a random pad of paper on my night stand with forgotten notes on it. On the pad, I found, I had been scribbling on about magnificence. I have no idea of the time or place or reason for this, but it was my handwriting. Now I have been thinking regularly over the past few weeks about magnificence: How there are many types of it; how time and place are the same in magnificence—possibly an indigenous notion. 

Here for dreaming are some images that slipped into my camera this past season. Plus there is a bonus image given to me recently by Mike Blake (alumni dad/Reuters photographer/friend). Guess which one. I haven’t known how to share his photo until now. 

When I look back at high school, magnificence does not come to mind. I want to ask you, since you are reading this, could it? I know the relationship between magnificence and high school education can be seen from various lenses: integrating the natural world, inspirational learning and teaching (in magnificence, that difference goes away, too), and emerging human potential. Will you send me your magnificence and enjoy mine if you can? 

Magnificence: Is it a moment, an achievement, a natural phenomenon, an interaction? I am letting the images speak for themselves. Enough language!

Somewhere in the Rockies

Belongingness

Aperture (Little White Portal)

 

Flamingos in an estuary are what they eat

Chichen Itza

 

Sahara Desert

 

Breakfast, Mexico

Name the place

 

Someplace between Pecos and Balmorea, up high

Ceviche

A cenote

A school event last June

Machete 

Caribbean Blur

At a red light

Resilience (Earthquake refugees, Morocco)

‎⁨Musée d’Art et d’Histoire⁩, ⁨Geneva⁩, ⁨Canton of Geneva⁩, ⁨Switzerland⁩: my favorite Swiss artist, Hodler

Name the place

Night heron in Miami Beach

The Best taco in Encinitas, I guarantee it

 

Las Vegas

Aspen tree in winter

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Photos for Dr. Grauer's Column

‎⁨Musée d’Art et d’Histoire⁩, ⁨Geneva⁩, ⁨Canton of Geneva⁩, ⁨Switzerland⁩: my favorite Swiss artist, Hodler

Do you have a spirit bird? Great blue heron

Somewhere in the Rockies

Las Vegas

Sahara Desert

Resilience (Earthquake refugees, Morocco)

The Best taco in Encinitas, I guarantee it

Aspen tree in winter

Ceviche

Flamingos in an estuary are what they eat

Caribbean Blur

A cenote

Someplace between Pecos and Balmorea, up high

Chichen Itza

Night heron in Miami Beach

Name the place

At a red light

Machete 

Name the place

Aperture (Little White Portal)

Belongingness

A school event last June

Breakfast, Mexico

Fearless Teaching® Book
by Dr. Stuart Grauer

Fearless Teaching® is a stirring and audacious jaunt around the world that peeks—with the eyes of one of America’s most seasoned educators–into places you will surely never see on your own. Some are disappearing. It is a bit like playing hooky from school. You will travel to the Swiss Alps, Korea, Navajo, an abandoned factory in Missouri, the Holy Land, the Great Rift Valley, the schools of Cuba, the ocean waves, and the human subconscious—oh, and Disneyland.

There you will find colorful stories for the encouragement, inspiration, and courage needed by educators and parents. Fearless Teaching is not a fix-it book—it is more a way of seeing the world and the school so that you can stay in your work and focus on what matters most to you.

"Grauer’s writing reminds us that Great Teaching, singular, rare, unusual, is something that should be sought after and found. Thank you.”
—Richard Dreyfuss, Actor, Oxford scholar, founder of The Dreyfuss Initiative

Click here to order Fearless Teaching® today

Dr. Grauer's Column: Archive of Past Columns

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Dr. Grauer's Column - Passion, Adventure, and Deep Connection
Dr. Grauer's Column - Passion, Adventure, and Deep Connection

Dr. Grauer has continually risked it all to create a unique, immersive learning environment. Learn how his passion, adventure, and deep connection to students and the natural world resulted in a widely sought-after education model based on freedom, creativity, and fearless teaching.

Dr. Grauer's Column - Uncle John’s School
Dr. Grauer's Column - Uncle John’s School

Can a song inspire or capture the heart of a school's philosophy? Dr. Grauer explores how the Grateful Dead's music may have been a guiding force at The Grauer School, influencing impactful small school education. We hope you enjoy this unexpected and joyful connection between music and teaching—and the special gift at the end.

Dr. Grauer's Column - How Big is a Socratic Class?
Dr. Grauer's Column - How Big is a Socratic Class?

Small classes are great, right! But what’s a small class? This story will help you discover why a small class size might be the key to unlocking deeper connections, meaningful learning, and lasting joy and success in education, if only we can know what a “real” small class is.

Dr. Grauer's Column - Thin Trail: A Parallel Narrative
Dr. Grauer's Column - Thin Trail: A Parallel Narrative

Educational leaders seek insight from those who have mastered their crafts outside the classroom — be they artists, spiritual leaders, or warriors. The voices of older and other intelligences, and of nature itself, are the original teachers. This column channels the native wisdom every great teacher can learn from the trackers.

Dr. Grauer's Column - A Hat From The Arctic
Dr. Grauer's Column - A Hat From The Arctic

When Dr. Grauer accepts an unexpected offer to paddle canoes far into the Arctic, a chance encounter leads him to explore the rich history and challenges faced by the Indigenous people. This story and expedition reveal deep truths about heritage, healing, the enduring spirit of the Arctic—and what it means to be a teacher.