A Light in the Darkness

One of the absolute joys of working in education is having the opportunity to be in awe of children. Consider this as an example: while we were preparing for the return to school this past spring and summer, many people, with microphones and newspaper ink at their disposal, wondered aloud about whether or not children would be able to manage wearing masks. With very, very few exceptions, our students are consistently wearing their masks. 

For some children, this is a break from the norm. They experienced a typical school year last year until the middle of March, and when they returned, in the case of St. Johnsbury, they have half their classmates and are wearing masks all the time. However, for some of our youngest members of our learning community, this is their first education experience. For all they know, masks are a part of how we are in school. 

This is no small feat. Wearing a mask all day is challenging, even for adults. Occasionally when I'm visiting a classroom, I see a kiddo whose mask has slipped on their face a little bit. A simple gesture, pulling on my own mask in the right direction, is enough to help return the mask to the safe location, over their nose and mouth. Our children deserve a lot of credit. 

But this past Friday, something happened in our building that is truly inspiring. Our Upper School Principal, Jeremy Ross, was called to a 4th-grade classroom, with the message that a student had a note for him. Here's what the note said: 

Dear Mr. Ross, 

Since I enjoy learning at school so much, I wanted to give back. Each month I get an allowance of ten cents for each chore I do each day. Some goes to my college account. Some stays with me. And some goes to charity. 

So this fall I choose to donate 100 dollars to our school to help with supplies for students and teachers during the hard time of COVID. 

"I choose to donate." 

No one is forcing this young man to give this money to us. No one is making this young man share some of his allowance with us. No one is saying this is where your money has to go. 

"I choose to donate... since I enjoy learning at school so much." 

It is tough to measure how well schools meet our students' needs in years when we are not experiencing a global health pandemic. Too often "experts" rely on testing that happens only once a year, which really only measures how well students take tests, not the knowledge they have in their heads. Then those "experts" report out the results in sound bytes, easily repeatable. In Vermont, it is then accompanied by a call to reduce education spending, an easy target in our state. 

What our faculty and staff are doing this year is nothing short of heroic. It is nothing short of phenomenal. It is nothing short of life-changing. In case you were wondering, that happens each year, but this year in particular, within the context of our public health crisis, it is truly exemplary. 

Not sure if hybrid learning is working in our building? We have a ten-year-old boy, earning ten cents a day for allowance. If he's donating $100, then it's taken quite some time to amass enough to go to his college account, for his own piggy bank, and then to donate to us. 

We are approaching the time in our calendar when the Earth is physically closest to the sun but tilted away, reducing the hours of daylight we have in the northern hemisphere. Coupled with the state of the COVID-19 virus, it would be easy to believe we are surrounded by near darkness. And yet, I offer that our school continues to be a place where young people, inspired by their teachers, like Callum, are guiding us through this time. 

They are a light in the darkness. 

Co-Principal Jeremy Ross, with our selfless 4th Grader Callum