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Dr. Hallowell Comes to Bellingham

In October, Intermediate and Middle School students at Whatcom Day Academy had a very distinguished visitor. Dr. Edward Hallowell, father of three and a clinical psychiatrist who has been featured on Oprah and other TV talk shows, was in town to present the inaugural speech for Whatcom Day Academy’s “Education in the Community” Speaker Series.

Dr. Edward Hallowell
Photo by Steve Robb, 2007

According to Mo West, the series organizer, the Education in the Community Speaker Series was born out of a desire to do something important to mark the school’s 20th Year of serving families in Whatcom County. “We wanted to do something in keeping with our educational mission, and something that would be for the benefit of the broader community in which Whatcom Day Academy has grown over the past two decades,” Mo explained.

“Dr. Hallowell, our first speaker, is the perfect person to start off this series,” said Susan Donnelly, Head of School at Whatcom Day Academy. “We chose him because we feel that what he has to say is critical to children being successful in learning and joyful in their lives. The fundamental requirements that he talks about – a strong sense of belonging to a community, the opportunity to engage imaginatively with ideas and learning, the challenge to work hard at meaningful activities, the support to achieve mastery, and the recognition for a job well done – are all things that we incorporate into our program and we can testify to the amazing results that they make possible.”

The morning after his public talk at the Squalicum Boathouse on October 20th, Dr. Hallowell spoke to the students at Whatcom Day Academy about the theme of a children’s book he wrote titled A Walk in the Rain with a Brain, about how each person has unique strengths and every brain has its own way of thinking. Two of the Intermediate students wrote a report on his visit for the school newsletter. Here is what they had to say:

Dr. Hallowell Comes to Class
By Ariel Rabkin-Meyer and Rio Breakell

Dr. Hallowell, a psychiatrist famous for his books, came to our class Tuesday October 21st. First, he talked about the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. Then he told us “I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your mind.” After talking a while about our minds, he asked “What can your brain do that a computer can’t do?” Then he talked to us about our senses, and told us how “Vision is a huge, huge part of your brain.” Toward the end he talked about how smart is a stupid word, because you have to be smart at something, and anything you don’t know, you can learn. And he told us about how we are all smart at something and have something we don’t know. In conclusion, the conversation from him to us was very complicated, but we still enjoyed it. We hope to have another guest speaker soon!