Veterans' Day 2022

Since I started writing “From the Head’s Desk” I have freely shared a number of insights about my personal life.  On several occasions, I have written about my family’s connection to The Marine Corps. My father, grandfather, and uncle, for whom I am named, all served our country in the USMC.  This past Thursday, The United States Marine Corps celebrated its 247th birthday and a day later we celebrated the service of all Veterans.  Thank you to all the members of our BHS community that have served and currently serve our country.

When I was growing up, I recall vividly a political discussion with my father, as we frequently engage in spirited debates.  I took a very hawkish view regarding the use of the United States Military in a world issue at the time.  I thought for certain my father, a veteran and a proud Marine, would agree with my position.  I remember being shocked to hear his response was much more measured than mine, and he was quite warry of using the military in armed conflicts.  As one that served, and lost his brother in combat, my father understood better than I did at the time the gravity of war and the huge cost that those who serve could be asked to pay.  His response struck me to my core and impacted my views on war and peace ever since.

Recently, my 8th Grade history class finished a unit on Theodore Roosevelt and his impact on the definition of the modern presidency.  While discussing the Spanish-American War, the class learned that William McKinley, the last President that served in the Civil War was quite reluctant to become involved.  He witnessed the horrors of battles like Antietam, and McKinley plead, “I've been through one war. I have seen the dead piled up, and I do not want to see another.”

On Veteran’s Day, when I reflect on the service and sacrifice of the men and women in the armed services, I am grateful.  I also hope that the wisdom of veterans like President McKinley and my father can be embraced widely – and that we can live in a world where armed conflict is rare and peace is embraced and enjoyed.

Thank you to all our veterans and to all that love and support them.

A Time and Place for All Things...

This week, during Community, I asked the students if they knew the word propriety.  Unfortunately, there was not a single student that knew this word, so I allowed them to search it on their phone.  Quickly, a student told me it means to relate to ownership.  I let the student know that was the definition of proprietary, not propriety.  Soon, a student found the actual definition – the state or quality of conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior or morals.

The reason that I asked, is because I have started to realize that for many of our students that did not attend school for periods of time during the pandemic that they either forgot or were never asked to differentiate between the way that one acts at school and how one acts in other places.  There is a way that one must behave when in class or at school, in general, that is different from the way one may act at home or when with friends out of school. At school, one must be part of a community, where they must balance their own wants and needs with the wants and needs of the others in the community.  While a small school like BHS affords many opportunities to meet individual needs, our students still must realize that they are not the only one that matters.

Similarly, the pandemic limited the number of places our students could go outside their own homes.  As a child, I learned that different places and different situations required different behaviors.  Whether it is the way that one dresses for church, or the manners required when going to a Grandparents house, or the level of one’s voice in a movie theater – the greater diversity of settings one encounters, the more likely that they will become attuned to the proper behaviors required.  Many of our students spent the last couple of years in a homogenous environment, that did not require an awareness of propriety in different environments.

It is hard to fully appreciate that myriad ways that the pandemic has impacted the growth and development of our students.  Throughout the year, I will continue to work with our students to become more aware of the behavioral expectations for different settings.  Who knows, maybe we will have a seated lunch at some point in the year, which will require our students to practice manners associated with a more formal meal than they encounter on a daily basis.

Lessons from Mount St. Helens

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.  While I was only 7 years old at the time, I remember the scope of the eruption and the utter devastation.  All told, this was the deadliest eruption in United States’ history, and hundreds of square miles were turned into barren wastelands. Interestingly, that same area is now well known for its amazing wildflower blooms.  Over the years, nature found a way to come back and to reclaim land that looked as if it would always be gray, ashen, and hopeless.

I think about this often when considering challenges and setbacks.  I believe that the Mount St. Helens eruption and the wildflower blooms serve as a metaphor for many of life’s challenges.  Immediately following the eruption, few, if any, were celebrating the possibility that new growth could emerge from destruction. Unexpectedly, the first wildflowers started to return, and they were brilliant.  Soon the entire area around Mount. St. Helens was teeming with life and vitality.  Indicating, metaphorically that even after the most horrendous of events - beauty, growth, and life will emerge in time.

Like schools all over the country, BHS is emerging from the pandemic.  Its onset was almost as sudden as a volcanic eruption and its impact was perhaps even more devastating.  Time is passing, however, and the wildflowers are beginning to bloom.  At BHS, our Parents’ Association is returning with renewed vigor.  Teachers are implementing tools and technologies that were not used prior to the pandemic and students are more eager than ever to experience learning in the classroom, around campus, in the woods, and on field trips.

The pandemic tested us, and at times it seemed pretty bleak.  But now, if we survey the landscape, the bloom of new growth surrounds us, which is exciting.

Just Like the NFL

Last weekend, my father-in-law and I were watching football.  It just so happened that the quarterback coach for one team was my friend from college.  My friend was injured early in his college football career and never played quarterback.  So my father-in-law asked why it was that these NFL professionals would trust a guy that barely played division III football and never played the position he was tasked with coaching.  While phrased differently, I had asked my friend essentially the same question back when he was coaching Eli Manning. (He eventually helped Eli win a Super Bowl ring.)

He shared that professional football players are very clear in their goals and aspirations.  They understand that the coach’s job is to make them better and to prepare them for success.  Of course, a good coach must constantly be working to know about the position they coach and the players they coach.  In the end, the player and the coach are united in their goals and aspirations.

At The Beech Hill School, the relationship between the students and the faculty work in much the same way.  The students, their parents, and the faculty are all on the same team, working together to help the student achieve their goals and chase their dreams.  To be effective in this, teachers must be honest in their feedback and thoughtful in their delivery.  I have worked at schools where students, and sometimes faculty, have taken an us and them stance, where they relationship is untrusting and adversarial.  Fortunately, that is not the case at BHS.

While our teachers are not compensated like NFL coaches and our students are not quite as single-mindedly focused on goals as professional athletes; we share a common purpose in understanding that the only way to “win” is to help bring out the best in those in our care.  This, I  believe, is one of the important reasons that students thrive at The Beech Hill School.

Segments

Growing up, I was involved in many different activities.  I was most active in sports, playing everything from football and wrestling to tennis and racquetball.  Fortunately, I was able to participate widely, and was also active in many other arenas, playing the trombone, singing in chorus, and acting in a variety of productions.  Common to all these different activities is the idea that within the game, production, or concert, there were always shorter segments – halves, acts, sets, and so on. 

Similarly, I have come to find that school years are broken into segments in much the same way.  There are the obvious segmentations of a school calendar – semesters, trimesters, or marking periods.  The school year, however, is also divided into less formal segments.  For example, we have just completed the first informal segment of the school year, which has spanned from Orientation to Fall Long Weekend.

In this segment, the overarching goal is acclimation and acculturation. In this segment, students and parents alike are introduced to the general expectations that guide the community for the remainder of the year.  In class and through all school meetings, we discuss the ways in which the Foundations of Community guide our school culture.  Students are trained how to use the planner, Google Classroom, and individual teachers spend time with students making sure that notebooks, binders, and the like are set up correctly.  Likewise, we have invited parents and guardians to join us so that they too can understand both institutional and class specific guidelines.

In just over a month, we have accomplished much, communicated expectations, and began in earnest the challenging work of learning and growth.  I hope that this weekend, you and your family are enjoying a well-earned and needed rest.  Though some of our 8th Graders will be busy with secondary school preparation, our goal is to allow the students to take a breather as this first segment draws to a close.  The next segment, which spans from Fall Long Weekend to Thanksgiving is one of the longest uninterrupted segments in the school year.  It is usually the time when the novelty of a new year has worn off, and the work requires a little more attention and effort.  Thus, the need for a 4-day weekend, to recharge for the upcoming challenges.

Overall, it has been a great start to the year, and we should feel good about a successful culmination of the first unofficial segment of the year - enjoy the break!