Cool, but not that cool...

Happy New Year and Welcome 2026!

Although classes won’t start until tomorrow, Mr. Holt and I had the pleasure of administering the SSAT exam at BHS yesterday morning.  As I proctored the 15 students working their way through over 3 hours of testing, I suddenly remembered when I took the SSATs in the fall of 1986.

Way back then, I had no idea of what I was about to do.  I did not come from a place where SSAT tests were part of what anyone that I knew would call normal.  However, I grew up down the road from Choate Rosemary Hall, a boarding school that enrolled day students.  Without really understanding the process, I decided to apply to Choate, and discovered that I would need to take the SSAT.  Fortunately, Choate hosted the test on campus, otherwise, I would have no idea where one would take a test such as this.

I vividly recall walking into the test in one of their basketball courts, with what seemed like hundreds of desks lined up where I had once attended a basketball clinic.  The clinic was fun – this was scary.

I also remember clearly seeing a kid that I knew a little, Aaron Webb.  Aaron did not go to my public school; he went to a small private school a couple of towns over.  Aaron held himself with supreme confidence, what today would be referred to as swagger.  It was the type of cool that bordered indifference.  It was hard to know whether he saw himself as the Fonz or Jeff Spicoli, but he did not look scared or nervous.

I went on to take the test that day and, fortunately, did well enough, in addition to the rest of my application, to be admitted to Choate Rosemary Hall.  Attending Choate was the single most important experience in my life.  It set me on a course that I could never have imagined as a child in Wallingford, Connecticut.  For the most part, it started with the SSATs.

Now as Head of School, I have come to understand that the SSAT test should neither be scary, nor should it cause anxiety.  Further, I know that taking a standardized test of any sort is a skill that can be practiced, developed, and learned.  In fact, one can prepare specifically for the SSAT, and I have witnessed significant improvements in some students through preparation.  As such, SSAT preparation is becoming a larger part of The Beech Hill School’s Skill’s curriculum.

While I don’t want my students to walk into the SSAT with the over-the-top cool of Aaron Webb, I do hope that they will find themselves prepared and confident in this, or any standardized test setting they confront in their lives.

What goes around...

On Wednesday, The Beech Hill School’s Board of Directors gathered on campus for their  fall/winter meeting. The Science Room was reconfigured for the event, and the Board considered a wide variety of topics over the course of several hours.  It was exciting to recognize that we have successfully developed and executed so many initiatives in the 3-year Strategic Plan that was approved 18 months ago. 

For me, however, the most exciting part of the meeting happened in the opening minutes.  For the first time in the School’s history, a graduate of The Beech Hill School was officially elected to The Board of Directors!  Wyatt Ellinwood, a graduate of the very first class at BHS joined the board and has ushered in a new generation of leadership.  In its first fourteen years, the School has benefitted from exceptional leadership and guidance at The Board level by individuals that care deeply about the present and future of BHS.  As one that lived the experience and that will always call BHS his school, Wyatt brings a unique perspective and that is really exciting!

Unexpected Learning

This is time of year when classes are starting all over the country – from pre-K to Pre-Med.  While many younger students must take a clearly defined set of classes, a large number of students are still trying to select their classes.  At many schools, it can be a challenge to get the exact class that one desires.  While it may not be that all students are in the exact class they want, one never knows the impact of what they may learn in any given class. Or, as the Grateful Dead lyric goes – “once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if you look at it right.”

Perhaps there is no better example of unintended learning, than the story of Steve Jobs and what he learned by attending a calligraphy class at Reed College.  One might not expect that a tech focused individual would get much from a calligraphy class, but the tale has been well told, that it was in this class that Jobs learned to appreciate multiple fonts and spacing – which has become a critical piece of the Apple experience.

Here at The Beech Hill School, our students are choosing their electives for the fall trimester.  I am always amazed that our small school can offer up almost 10 elective classes every trimester, ranging from painting to robotics; gardening to drama – and it seems like just about everything in between. Our students are quite fortunate to have these choices, and although some may not get the exact class they want – like Steve Jobs, they all will have the chance to learn something that could have an unexpected impact later in their lives.  In the end, we never know when we might have the opportunity to “get shown the light.”

Reely?!?

Sometimes I imagine that the Instagram algorithm that generates my feed has a form and personality – kind of like the characters in Monsters, Inc.  My algorithm is kind of a weird amalgamation of all the things that interest me, maybe wearing a Rhoback, University of Michigan Gameday polo – as that has been in my feed front and center for the past week or so.  Anyway, I guess in the ideal, if AI got it right, our algorithms would be an exact match of our personalities, interests, and tastes.  For now, it gets close, but it is not quite right.

The other day, a reel from a wannabe educator influencer popped up in my feed.  In general, the teacher was “taking a stand” – announcing all the things that they would NOT be doing this year.  For example, they would NOT stay late - unless compensated, they would NOT take on extra responsibility - unless it was stipulated in their contract, and so on.  I get that the individual was trying to send a message about setting appropriate boundaries in support of a healthy work-life balance; however, this should have never popped up in my feed as constructed – as it infuriated me.  Maybe the algorithm had it right, and this was click-bait – but, in my career in education, I have always taken great pride in the fact that what I do, in the end, is always for the good of my students.  To answer the calling of a career in education, one must pay attention to boundaries; however, from my perspective, any individual worth their salt, in any vocation, must always go above and beyond basic expectations.  As a caveat, my father was a labor union president, so I understand that workers should not be exploited – but going into a new school year dictating what one WILL NOT DO could not be further from my description of “looking forward to a new school year.”

I am extremely fortunate that this one-off post is so far from the ethos of the faculty and staff of The Beech Hill School.  For better or worse, we have accepted the reality that the value of what we do is not necessarily equivalent to our cash compensation; however, to a person, we aspire to be the best educators possible.  We all understand that high quality teaching begets high quality students, and high-quality students beget individuals of character and substance that will lead us into the future.  Imagine a student going into a school year telling their teacher – my goal this year is to do no more than 10 minutes of homework a night, to keep my weekends free from reading, and to never volunteer for interesting opportunities in the community!

Students absorb, and eventually, to some degree, reflect the lessons and values of their teachers.  At BHS, my fellow educators and I believe this to our core.  I know that we are extremely excited for all that we will be doing this year!

My Last Trip

This Tuesday, just before midnight, I pulled into the driveway, having left Maryland many hours earlier.  My daughter had a two day lacrosse goalie training in Columbia, Maryland with an outfit named Goaliesmith.  As I turned off the car and entered the house, my role as a youth sports father drew to a close.  For years, I had been taking my kids to hockey, lacrosse, baseball, and other sporting events throughout New England – and in recent years, the country.  Some would see this as a humble brag, and others would see it as lunacy.  However one might judge it, the fact remains that my wife and I dedicated time, energy, and resources to our children’s athletic endeavors.  Around fifth grade, my children’s interests and commitments to extracurricular activities began to grow exponentially.  Now, my youngest is about to head to college – where she will continue to play lacrosse – but my job in getting her to games, practices, and such is over.

There are many lessons that I have learned through the years regarding youth sports and activities, but one that is most applicable to this forum, is that middle school is a time when parents should support more deeply their children’s interests.  It is never too late to try new things, as my daughter who played varsity field hockey and varsity basketball for the first time as a senior in high school would say, however, she was the exception, not the rule.  Middle school is a time when opportunities for kids are abundant and is also a time when the opportunity to participate at more significant levels present themselves.  In a similar way, middle school academic subjects become more focused and more challenging, youth activities at the middle school level also tend to require a greater commitment.

At The Beech Hill School, we do our best to refrain from offering regular programming after-school, in the evenings, and throughout the weekend.  We do this purposely, so that parents can find programs in their communities for their children during these hours.  At another time I will address the “youth sports industrial complex,” specialization, and other related issues to youth activities and programming.   During middle school, however, whether it is theater, sports, music, Scouting, robotics, chess, etc. – parents should expect an increased load in supporting their children’s extra-curricular passions.