Cindy Murray and Learning in the 21st Century
Cindy Murray doesn’t shy away from failure. In fact, she sees it as a critical part of the Catlin Gabel (CGS) experience. “When high school students struggle, they gain resilience and grit,” Murray says.
Cindy Murray, the Upper School Learning Specialist, is retiring at the end of this year, and has been reflecting on her work at CGS, her perception of school culture and her hopes for the future development of the school.
Cindy exudes an easygoing, but serious demeanor, considering questions carefully and giving detailed and colorful answers.
Cindy Murray (third from right) at the annual Communicare year-end showcase in 2016.
As the Upper School Learning Specialist, Cindy has been sharing her vast work management expertise with CGS learners for the past eight years. Despite a prior 40 years of diverse work experience, Cindy has come to appreciate the different learning styles she has seen at CGS .
“I’ve worked to empower all Catlin students, both to target their strengths and accept their challenges,” Murray says.
Cindy’s passion for working with kids became evident at a young age. At age ten, Cindy was already an entrepreneur and community activist, running her own nursery school.
“I would walk around my neighborhood, recruiting children to come to my program for 50 cents a week.”
Later, she found her calling while working as a camp counselor. “One year, I had a deaf camper who struggled to get her horsemanship badge because she couldn’t learn the parts of a horse,” she said smiling. “After devising a way to help that child, I realized in that moment, that I wanted to make helping children with learning disabilities my life’s work.”
Cindy came to relish her ability to work through complex developmental problems and help students of all backgrounds find their voice and connect to their interests.
Cindy’s life trajectory took her to many different cities, including London, Paris, and Miami before she ended up in Portland. Each location offered different opportunities to work with and for children.
She worked both in public and private schools, hospital and residential settings and in her own private practice. Moving around and changing jobs exposed her to different cultures and educational systems, she says.
She has worked with children from age three to 21 and her varied experiences led to a passionate interest in the intersection of emotional issues and learning differences.
“I admire how Catlin supports diverse learning and I’m proud that students feel comfortable enough to come to me when they need help.”
Looking to the future, Cindy is hopeful that CGS , as a culture, will become more vulnerable. In her view, “Everyone wants to be seen as the smartest, but we need, as individuals and as a community, to accept and celebrate our differences.”
Cindy also believes wholeheartedly in the idea of student exploration outside of the classroom, especially when it comes to immservies and other programs under experimental learning. She realizes that it’s these opportunities that allow students to grapple with both success and failure in a much more nuanced way, and are often what lay the groundwork for positive learning development.
When asked what she will miss most when she leaves CGS, Cindy didn’t hesitate for even a moment before saying simply, “the kids.” Through her dedicated service as part of the Communicare Club, her heavy involvement in Winterim, and her open door policy welcoming hordes of new students each year, Cindy has been a fearless advocate for CGS students.
While Cindy plans to take some time off this coming year, she also plans to eventually resume work with her previous private practice, increasing outcomes for student potential just as she has done at CGS for the past 8 years. We will miss her unwavering support, but we wish her the the best in her future endeavors!