You’re a Freshman too

Sunset at the Lyon Farm, St Johnsbury, VT

Two months into the school year here at Lincoln Academy I continue to see promise in the education provided by town academies in a manner that is so specific to the place, purpose and connection built here in Newcastle. I have now had the chance to address our school in 4 weekly community meetings the following post is true to the message of the second address. In my first address I ”joined“ the freshman class as I too was new to Lincoln Academy.

I rediscovered this picture in my collection of photos when I was looking through some old writing.  It’s not a great picture, taken on an early generation iPhone.  There is more to this picture than its composition of a child throwing a frisbee and an adult with a puppy trailing along into the sunset. This picture was taken within a few months of my move to St Johnsbury, Vermont from Bath, Maine. More than 10 years ago I asked my family to take a leap of faith with me to a new school in a new town.  While my wife and I knew Vermont, my children did not, and together we were on our way to an adventure. We often found ourselves taking walks in the fields of the farm where we rented a house.  I still enjoy taking walks with my dog to relax and think and I share this picture with you to let you know more about me as we build our LA experience and to share my appreciation about the importance of human interaction and connection.

It seems these days that so much is competing for our infinitely divided attention.  We are bombarded with messaging on all sorts of media and, to me, we seem a bit too eager to be distracted at the expense of something much less tangible.   We find the allure of instant gratification by the ding of the text message, the like of the Instagram post, the accomplishment of keeping the streak alive or the ability to listen to what we want, when we want, to be entrancing.  But I’m not sure we ever truly take stock in what we are missing in these choices and to what extent these actions are having on the collective us. Walking in that field 10 years ago with my family there was a commitment to being present in the situation, not distracted by the immediate and unimportant but sharing moments personally, face to face. 

Humans are intimate beings that thrive and grow best in conditions where face to face interactions are encouraged, celebrated and embraced.  Where the notion of being present is not a conscious choice but an unconscious state of participation. I resist the notion that the influx of technology has changed us in a meaningful manner for the better or worse.  While I do see the power in holding a small computer in the palm of my hand, I do not see it as a true builder of human interaction.  Being introverted by nature I see it most often as an all too convenient barrier used when I am most uncomfortable. While there is little doubt that I can find the allure of this iPhone in my pocket tempting, there is also little doubt that it can replace authentic personal connection to the community I live in. 

Central in all communities has been communication.  How communities communicate and value that communication says a great deal about them.  In that light much of my week has been focused on building communication into our fabric.  I’ve spent time thinking and talking with anyone that would listen about how important it is to open channels of communication, to use these channels and to assume good will and best intentions.  I appreciated the chance to meet with a group of student leaders to share honestly and openly our opinions and feelings about topics we hold as important.  We have the opportunity to define our community together over the coming weeks, months and years and what we value by how we communicate.  I want to start today by asking us to commit to being intentional in our actions and interactions as we go through our days.  I am asking that we re-examine how we communicate and focus on minimizing the background noise. Further, that when we communicate a school-wide message that we do so first and foremost in person and in a manner that respects and includes the widest audience possible.

I’m going to close with an interaction I had.  One of my “peeps”, a member of the freshmen class came up to me at the girls field hockey game. My puppy Arlo was probably the draw and as this student recognized me they said something like…

”You’re the person who runs the school, right?”, 

I said “Yes I’m Mr. Burroughs”

He replied.  “Oh yeah you’re a freshman too.” 

I’ll take that as a good sign that I’ve found a place here in our community . I also will also savor that bit of “freshman” in me knowing that to see the school through their eyes will allow me to see beauty and wonder in places that my 52 year old eyes might miss.

Boys on a bench, NYC . Photo courtesy Jeb Burroughs www.jebburoughs.com