Dr. Laura Konigsberg, Author at Turning Point School

Designing a Perfectly Imperfect Holiday Season

November 22, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

As we move into a time of gratitude with the celebrations of light that can help us through the winter solstice and into the renewal of the new year, we can simultaneously face the pressures of pleasing others, of reuniting with families and friends, and of making the holidays memorable and joyful—as well, perhaps, as the anticipation of disappointment when things might not feel as “perfect” as we planned.

Lessons from Election Season

November 1, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

It’s hard to ignore the swirling emotions that are building the closer we get to November 5, as the anticipation of what the news cycle might bring can lead to unease and uncertainty. At Turning Point, we have the anchoring responsibility of our shared commitment to children. In the coming days, teachers and staff will continue to provide a non-anxious presence that encourages students to access curiosity and compassion when exploring their own questions and feelings around the election. This also affords us an excellent opportunity to teach about the democratic process in age-appropriate ways.

Our Breathtaking Capacity for Hope

October 7, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

William Bruggemann, the renowned scholar, wrote that hope is a “tenacious act of imagination.” This concept requires us to remain committed to envisioning a future that transcends our current understanding and invites us to dream freely of new possibilities. Even with broken hearts, we have the ability to hold the complex and often messy truths of our world. We can resist oversimplified narratives that paint conflicts in black and white, labeling one side as entirely “right and good” and the other side as wholly “wrong and bad.” Our hearts are big enough to both honor our own viewpoints and to feel the suffering of those in opposition to us.

The Power of Community: Embracing Interdependence at Turning Point School

September 17, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

In our diverse community, each member brings their own complex histories, identities, and experiences to common experiences: we all enjoy celebrations and endure sorrows, and we all want to be seen and valued. At Turning Point, we celebrate our diversity and strive to create an environment where everyone can belong. This includes caring for each other in community by inviting new families to join events, reaching out to those who are grieving, listening closely to others to hear and honor their stories—not even when but especially when their experiences diverge from our own.

First Day of School 2024: Creating Connections

August 27, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

This year our essential question is: How can we build strong bridges? Creating connections is essential to learning: connections between students and teachers, among students, between students and ideas, and between parents and the school. As interconnected and interdependent beings, we need the gifts and contributions of all to build a strong community defined by integrity, fellowship, and creativity. We know that creativity comes not from a bolt of inspiration from out of the blue but from the heady alchemy of uniting disparate ideas that no one previously thought to connect to generate something that wasn’t there before.

How Can We Build Strong Bridges?

August 12, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Over the summer, I learned a bit about the engineering challenges of building good, durable bridges. With gravity pulling bridges down and compromising their integrity, a well-designed bridge must balance inward compression with outward tension. Certainly, these principles apply to our own efforts at Turning Point to build a resilient community. As we build metaphorical bridges across differences, we also need to create balance, share the load of telling our own stories and listening to others’ stories, and remain flexible in our outlook and mindset about our opinions.

Summer Reading + Year-End Reflections

June 5, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Children teach us that being in the moment can be liberating and joyful. I encourage you to make time for the unexpected adventures that can show up unbidden and enjoy the simple bounty of summer produce, the feeling of sand between your toes, air-conditioned afternoon matinees, outdoor concerts, summer camps, and crafty pursuits. We all know that whatever currently exists will inevitably change, and I hope you can be present through this cycle of transition while letting go to make space for what's to come.

Class of 2024 – High School Acceptances

May 30, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Connecting Deeply Through Reading

January 12, 2024 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Reasoning, thinking critically, communicating clearly, and cultivating empathy are all predicated on developing sustained attention. When our attention splinters, the way our brains are shaped to think about the world noticeably changes. While thinking quickly in critical moments is a survival technique, it is not a tool we want our children to use daily as they navigate through life. If we wish to educate and equip our children to meet the unknown with the best tools available, we must cultivate strategies that can enhance our attention and ability to think deeply.

Navigating a Path to Joy

December 15, 2023 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

As the Winter Solstice approaches and we look to ways we can be the light in a dark world, I’m encouraged by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ reflection on optimism versus hope: “Optimism and hope are not the same. Optimism is the belief that the world is changing for the better; hope is the belief that, together, we can make the world better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope an active one. It needs no courage to be an optimist, but it takes a great deal of courage to hope.”