The Grampa J Way

Due to several circumstances, this week I had to clean the school on Thursday night.  All told it was not an unbearable task, but it wasn’t easy either.  As I was going about my tasks, a voice popped up in my head, asking why I needed to be so thorough.  The voice went on to taunt me, saying, certainly the boys would never notice if I cleaned their bathroom well or not.  To quiet that voice, I thought of my Grampa Johnson.

Grampa Johnson was what nowadays would be called, Old School.  He was a Marine that served in both World War II and was recalled to serve during the Korean Conflict.  Family lore has it that he was the first football player in Maine to wear a face mask, as he had broken his nose too frequently.  Growing up, Gramp was an amazing role model, and his work ethic was legendary.  When not working his regular job or coaching youth football, he was known to frequent a local orchard to help out with odd jobs around the farm.  As a child, I thought that when one became an adult, a switch just flipped, and everyone had this same work ethic.  In my mind, adults did work and never questioned why or if it was too hard, they just did it.

Now I know differently, that voice telling me to take the easy way out is there for all adults.  Just as it was there for me, it was there for Grampa J too.   Thursday, and most times that the voice pops up telling me to take the easy way out, I think to myself, Grampa J never asked whether it was easy or hard, he asked what was right.  If it was the right way, then it was worth doing. Right away, my mindset went from seeking ease to a sense of gratitude.  I was so lucky to have a role model that taught me that the question is not easy or hard, but right or wrong.  Once I had considered this, I cleaned the rest of the building with peace of mind – and did a good job, if I do say so myself.

I shared this story with the students during Community on Friday.  I also shared with them the notion that they are lucky to have the teachers at BHS as role models, as they, like Grampa J, also seek to do what is right, not what is easy.  Day in and day out, our faculty strive to do what is right, even if it is more work or takes a little longer.  I was lucky to have Grampa J to model right over easy – our students are lucky to have the faculty.

Chunking

Tomorrow, we start the second trimester of the year, and we will return to school for 18 days of classes before the start of our winter break.  As we return, my thoughts turn to chunking.  Chunking is a concept which suggests that there is utility in breaking down something into smaller units or groupings to lead to a better outcome than looking at the whole.  This concept can be used to help memorize names or numbers, and many of our students will utilize this technique when pi day rolls around to help them memorize well over a hundred digits of pi.

There was a time when I used to run marathons, and chunking was a useful way to think about the race.  Although I have never broken 4 hours, it was always my target.  To give me a chance at hitting my target, I would break the race down into smaller chunks and try to keep a certain pace per segment.

It is easy to see the similarities between a school year and a marathon.  They both seem to be very long, daunting, and full of challenges.  As we return, however, I am going to ask the faculty and students to focus on 18 days.  I believe that if our students and faculty can put forth their best effort for this finite and manageable period, they may surprise themselves with what they can accomplish.

I am excited to return and to see what we can do in next 18 days!

Time

The saying goes – if you love what you do, then you will never work a day in your life.  Well, I know that the faculty at BHS certainly love what they do, but I believe that they are working quite hard at it.  In fact, I was struck by the significant amount of time that our teachers so freely give.  They go well beyond the expectation, and in turn the students get an experience that goes well beyond expectations.

Just a few days back, Mr. Holt and Ms. Marklin took the 5th and 6th Grade students for a three-day, two-night trip.  Were we a boarding school, this would all be part of the job.  We are not, however, and both Mr. Holt and Ms. Marklin spent all that time making sure that our students were safe, engaged, and happy.  At the same time, Mr. Arruda was holding extra rehearsals after school and on weekends.  Hopefully, you were all able to see the fruits of the cast’s labors; as the students put on a tremendous show.  At the same time, Ms. Fries was also holding extra practices for the school’s First LEGO League Robotics teams.  As I write this, the two teams are spending their Saturday competing in Wolfeboro at a Regional Qualifier Competition, which typically starts at 7:30AM and extends well into the afternoon.

During this season of Thanksgiving, I wanted to use this opportunity to thank our faculty for always going the extra-mile.  Their dedication to the students’ well-being and their desire to create and cultivate meaningful co-curricular activities is truly extraordinary and I am so grateful for the selfless way our faculty provide opportunities for our students.

Lessons

Lately, Dr. Dienes has been teaching our 7th Grade history class about life in Colonial America.  As part of the unit, the class made soap by hand from animal fat and they made bees wax candles, with the tutelage and assistance of Ms. Marklin.  As is generally the case at The Beech Hill School, our students love the chance to actively learn.  I had the good fortune of observing some of these classes, and every student was fully engaged.

As part of this unit, Ms. Marklin’s father  - a candle maker and beekeeper – came by campus with a hive of bees.  Again, the students watched in awe as he handled the hives, showed them the bee’s wax and the honey.  They eagerly stuck their fingers into the warm honeycomb to taste the fresh raw honey.

If you ask the students, they would all tell you how cool this was and how much they liked making the soap and candles and handling the bees.  In my opinion, however, the best part of the unit occurred while the students were making the candles.  One of the students observed how long it took just to make one candle.  Then the other said, yeah, and then they had to make the soap, too.  One by one they all started to realize how hard colonial life was and how much we take for granted in our modern world.

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, I am so thankful to have dedicated and creative teachers, like Dr. Dienes, that allow our students to engage, observe, and discover. 

Takeoff

I lived in Philadelphia for seven years and loved it.  So, when I saw that Rocky was on the other day, I could not help but watch it.  I was especially excited to see the scene when Rocky triumphantly ran through the city and bound victoriously up the Art Museum steps.  This had to have been nearly the hundredth time that I watched this film, so I was not expecting to be struck by something new or different.  Of course, I was.

Soon after Rocky agrees to fight Apollo Creed, he is confronted in his South Philly apartment by Micky, and at that moment, Rocky begins his ascent from journeyman boxer and mafia muscle to heavyweight champion of the world.  The next scene is one of the famous city jogging scenes, but unlike the triumphant bounds up the Art Museum stairs, Rocky is laboring and his anguish shows in his face and his every stride.

This scene had never really impacted me, but this time, I was struck by the way that this scene depicts the pain it takes to make a change.  While we all aspire to jump in the air triumphantly, as Rocky eventually does after working extremely hard – and believe me, everyday hundreds of people, myself and my family included, recreate that scene on those steps.  I would guess that the first scene, of simply getting out and going, should be the real triumph.  Few people publicly mimic Rocky lumbering up the steps and wincing from a side stitch, but that is the hardest part to overcome.

At The Beech Hill School, we hold an all-school road race twice a year.  We just held our fall race this past week.  For me, I was wincing in pain throughout, as I have been nursing a sore glut for several weeks.  Many of the students too, could have done better.  And that is why we run twice – so that we can set a goal of improvement and work steadily toward it in the spring race.

Whether running, training for a heavy weight boxing match, or simply trying to understand how to divide fractions, one must start somewhere.  Getting out there – engaging – is the real work of a champion!