Structure

Think back to the first time you saw a Picasso painting - how disorientingit seemed - how utterly without structure. But upon learning of the strategiesPicasso used in attempting to capture multiple perspectives in one two-dimensionalspace, the structure of the artist's work became more clear. "Structure" at theHutch is a fundamental issue. To see and understand the regularity and structurethat provides the support for our school and its students and staff, one mustknow what to look for. At a glance, one might take Habibi's to be a place wherethere is no structure, but just like a Picasso painting there is something holdingit all together. Habibi's is actually a deeply structured place, in fact, itis ALL about structure. Theroutines and the consistencies are what make Habibi's work. If the children couldnot count on us to be as consistent as we are, there would be no rhyme and reasonto what we do here. We are acutely aware of any decisions that we make as adults,especially ones that limit the children's activities or movement through thehouse and yard. When we give children reasons for the "way things are" we arespecifically attuned to the underlying message that we are presenting them. Whenwe tell a child that she must lie down and stay quiet for a while on her mat,we examine every detail of that requirement, making sure that there is a just,reasonable, understandable explanation for our request. This deeply, criticalway of thinking about the requirements that we ask of our children helps to insurethat at other places in their lives, where the rules are more arbitrary, theywill be able to recognize that there are underlying reasons for the restrictionsthat surround all of us.

On a less philosophical level there is also a deep and rigid structure toour lives at HH. The children know when "outside time" is. They know that lunchprocedure will be the same every day. They know that Friday is "swinging" day.There are very few surprises that involve the routine here. The days are veryfluid. Not much breaks them up or renders them disjointed, like separating childreninto different rooms or having specific "math" time would do. This provides astark contrast from the life outside the Hutch where schedules are constantlychanging and hundreds of errands and tasks must be accomplished each week. Wesupply an environment where consistency is the marble from which our days aresculpted.