How to Measure a School Year

A school year is measured by quarters, semesters, days rolled into months, just all the typical ways we calculate time. But a better measurement might be the ways in which you celebrate together, with bonfires and field trips and goofy spirit days and community meetings and yes, stimulating classes, institutionalizing camaraderie, learning and joy every day. Let’s consider those moments to gauge time well spent, because this past year, I would say, we nailed it! As with any endeavor with a diverse population in these ever demanding times, there are always challenges, but in reflection, the caring culture of my high school is one I’m quite proud to be part of.

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Subjectivity

Call me modernist if you wish, but I really don’t know how to inhabit life without my own personal interests, memories, and desires, all working together to create my perception. Yesterday my daughter wrote, You love luck. She’s a perceptive one, but that is hardly a secret. I am obsessed with lucky objects, from a penny found on the road to any number of things that seem to ignite good fortune. I am equally obsessed with avoiding bad luck or drifting into that storyline. Not like I play the lottery, but if I am able to wrap up my work day with enough time to enjoy the outdoors under a moving canopy, I consider my fortune to be worthwhile. This week I’ve had a string of days with such luck. Hiking, running, biking and even a woods walk, all skirted between rain bursts.

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Art, Artifacts, and Architecture

Today of all days we needed to get out of the classroom and out into the world of art, artifacts, and architecture, if for no other reason than to return the joyous smiles to our lucky busload of students. These kiddos have hung in through the shut-down of COVID, the masked return, the uncertainty of their future, civil liberties, freedoms, and especially their lives. Even with the wind blowing at a mighty clip, or perhaps in awe of it, we stood in front of Nancy Winship Milliken’s moving sculptures and allowed the conversation to soar. Nothing like a road-trip field-trip to generate well-needed good vibes to keep spirits moving to the positive.

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