A lesson in Mark Strohminger’s Upper School class recently started with Dolly Parton, but the conversation went well beyond music.

Students looked at Parton’s life, her philanthropy and literacy work, and the many ways she used her success to help others. They also talked about something that has made her especially unusual in American culture: her ability to be loved by people with very different backgrounds, beliefs and political views.

The class considered what it takes to build that kind of legacy and how one person’s choices can have an impact far beyond a career or public image.

Afterward, students stepped outside together to lower the flag in her honor, bringing their classroom conversation into the world around them.

It was the kind of Upper School learning we value at TIS, where history is not simply something to memorize. Students are asked to look closely at people and events, consider different perspectives, make connections and think about what those stories can teach us about the world they are growing into.