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!

Mountain Day 2022

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a beautiful campus at The Beech Hill School.  Most mornings, as I walk from my car to the front door, I try to linger for a second or two to take in its natural beauty.  Soon, however, my day begins, and I tend to see things like my computer screen or a piece of paper and my mind moves from nature’s splendor to the myriad things that are happening at BHS.  Those moments in the morning, however, help to reset my mind and spirit each day.

Likewise, we ask the students to take a moment to pause and set their daily intention when we gather every morning for community.  This year, with few exceptions, we have gathered for community on The Knoll.  In the quiet that surrounds us during our moment of intention, it is not uncommon to hear the cry of a hawk, the moan of a cow, or the wind in the trees.  Our morning communion in our serene surroundings helps the entire community to start the day well.

On Friday, we traveled to Bald Peak for a longer sojourn in nature, our annual mountain day trek.  Mountain Day is the oldest tradition at The Beech Hill School, and one that I hope will live well beyond my time at BHS.  Mountain Day provides our students an opportunity to physically, accomplish a task – climb a mountain – and to spend time with the community in the beauty of New England.  While I scurried about taking pictures for the school’s social media outlets, the students were noticeably untethered from electronics and connected to their surroundings and one another.

Henry David Thoreau wrote that he “took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”  Watching our kids as they sat on the exposed peak of Bald Knob, it was easy to see that this walk in the woods had elevated them as well.  As they enjoyed one another’s company and gazed over Lake Winnipesaukee and beyond, one could see the power of time in nature and the great value of our cherished Mountain Day tradition.

No, Not Again!

Last Monday morning, my alarm sounded at 4:03 – a little over an hour earlier than I typically rise, but I had a big day in front of me, and I wanted to make the most of the week.  As the day progressed, I was getting a lot done, but I felt off.  I was sure that it was just because of when I awoke.  When the class day ended, I convened our weekly faculty meeting.  As the meeting progressed, I felt good about all that we were doing, but thought it crazy that getting up early was making me so tired.  We wrapped the meeting, and I packed up my stuff to head home.  Just as I passed Concord High, I started to feel chills – and that is when my second bout with COVID kicked into high gear.

My first run in with COVID came rather early in the pandemic.  Having lost a few relatives and listened to my younger cousin’s travails in the ICU on oxygen, fear was the primary emotion present when I first encountered this virus.  This time around, because I witnessed so many family members, friends, colleagues, and students safely return from a positive test, my response this time was frustration.  I could not believe that I had to isolate – and on the week that we had Parents’ Night and Mountain Day.  I suppose it speaks volumes to where we have come in the last few years, in that my second positive could be so different from my first.

The pandemic will continue to pose problems for individuals and for the community, and it is important that we continue to be open to new solutions to these new challenges.  Last week, in my blog, I asked that we practice patience in allowing students time to develop and this week, I was served a very real reminder of the patience that is required to deal with those things that we cannot control.  What I learned this week, is that it is easier to be patient when you trust that those around you are doing all they can to support you in your absence.  I am incredibly grateful for all that the faculty did this week, the way that students stayed engaged in class, and for all that our families did in managing unexpected schedule changes. 

There was a time when I was petrified to think that a member of the community might contract COVID.  Now, I have come to know that it is a likelihood that many members of our community will contract the virus.  This week, I have learned through experience that if one tests positive for COVID, they need not worry about school.  The BHS community will be there to support them in their absence and in their return.

I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of spirit of The Beech Hill School Community – thank you!