News & Weekly Letters

Over the years, Laurence and I have intentionally remained discreet about our private lives and my professional career. One reason is that I have worked for 27 years (more than half my life) as a partner at Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund that is more than discreet—it is completely opaque and mysterious when viewed from the outside. Renaissance is, however, legendary in the world of finance for its outstanding performance over the decades.

“William the Conqueror didn’t want to be called ‘the Conqueror,’” writes Michel Foucault, because the nickname betrayed the fact that the power he exercised over the English did not come from a legitimate dynastic claim. We know that history is always written by the powerful, by those who have the privilege of choosing on behalf of others what is important and what is not.

The snow day closure on Tuesday reminded me of something Richard Brautigan wrote, “The smallest snowstorm on record took place an hour ago in my backyard.” It didn’t really matter that there was no real snow to speak of; a surprise day off in the midst of a very busy week at school was nonetheless very welcome.

The Lunar New Year celebrations that took place at school today, thanks to the Parents Association, brought back memories of the years I spent in China and Taiwan. Over there, it’s the biggest celebration of the year, and being a 老外 lǎowài (in China) or wāiguǒrén 外國人 (in Taiwan),* I had a tricky time getting my head around its importance. At school, we frequently refer to intercultural competencies, and the Lunar New Year is a prime example of one—it’s important for us not only to know about traditions in other cultures but also to understand what they mean for those who celebrate so we can enjoy the festivities with them.

Those of you who follow my Instagram account (which I am frankly not very good at keeping up-to-date) will know that I spent a few days in San Diego at the AFSA head of schools conference at the start of this week. I completely forgot to mention it in last week’s letter, even though it would have fitted in quite nicely—like every educational conference taking place these days, a considerable amount of time was spent discussing Artificial Intelligence (in short: it’s a bit scary today, but it will be brilliant tomorrow.)