Greetings from Lexington, Virginia – home of Washington and Lee University – where I am dropping my son off for college for the first time. I have yet to actually move him in and drop him off, so I will save my thoughts on that for another day. What really has my mind racing, however, was a visit to Luray Caverns on the way down.
A little over an hour’s drive northeast of Lexington is a geological wonder that is millions of years old. Discovered in the 1800’s this cavern is truly breathtaking. When my wife suggested that we stop, I have to admit, I was dubious. I thought this would be some tourist trap with a lame tour guide and a gift shop full of the type of stuff I would want if I were 10. What I discovered was only half true – the gift shop was exactly as I imagined. The caverns, however, were vast and the geological formations were truly awesome. Around every turn, one of us would utter sounds of wonder and amazement.
To visit a site like this only reinforces my belief that curiosity is the spark that fuels the engine of understanding. Were it not for the curiosity of the individual that noticed the air flowing out of the little hole in the ground, the caverns would not have been uncovered. Within the caverns, geologists have found ways to understand how something so beautiful and so unique was formed. Using mathematics, curious minds could figure out the rate at which the stalactites and stalagmites grow. Scientists figured out what made them form in the ways in which they did. And curious literate minds, were able to imagine how these formations could inspire one to think of mythological characters like Pluto and the underworld. On the way out, there was a quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan.
In visiting Luray Caverns on the precipice of starting a new school year, it has reinforced my excitement for learning and the year ahead. At BHS, we say that students that are most likely to find success are “get-to” kids. That is students that view learning as an opportunity – or that they “get-to.” That spirit is the same curiosity that discovered the Luray Caverns and that can still find wonder in it today. I am excited to be surrounded by faculty and students that embody that spirit and look forward to an amazing school year!