What’s next?
'encore
Dr. Henry Selby, Headmaster All Saints’ Episcopal School, Morristown, TN
There are some children who are always asking, “What are we going to do next?” Right in the middle of a project, class work, a field trip, or family vacation, the question is blurted out with some urgency. The adult in charge is frequently miffed by the child’s seeming disregard for the present joyful task, responding with curt instructions to stay focused on the job at hand.
I doubt that the question was given serious thought before it emerged. In all likelihood the child’s subconscious mind was working out various possibilities, calculating how long the current activity would last, perhaps even creating a future scenario more diverting than the present one. Whatever the case, it reminds me of some wisdom I heard years ago regarding digital and analog watches. Both, of course, tell us what time it is. Analogs (those with hands) will never disappear, I was told, because people really don’t want to know what time it is. People want to know how much time is left.
The future is uncertain. Even children grasp this concept. Mystics urge us to live in the now, business models tell us to plan, and sentimentalists take comfort in the good old days.
One of the many wonderful attributes of a school community is that it provides the comfort of routine combined with relatively painless daily interruptions to the routine. This ebb and flow is a gentle preparation to the twists and turns of adult life. It is easy to recognize when the interruptions are too frequent, however, for the teacher’s wintry smile accompanied by “you know I’m flexible” are red flags!
Routine is comfortable, and often an efficient means of conducting our lives. But as the saying goes, “life happens when you’re busy making other plans”. Most of us have been late to work due to a car problem, or had the washing machine quit on a Saturday night. The inconvenience is staggering. But we deal with it.
Effective classrooms gently teach children how to deal appropriately with the broken routine. It’s part of a curriculum that you will never see published in a handbook or series of benchmarks. “
What are we going to do next? Well, here’s what we plan to do. Let’s see what happens!”
Properly directed, our children will learn to look to the future with joyful anticipation instead of the anxieties that plague so many downcast adults today.
“Henry G. Selby, headmaster of All Saints’ Episcopal School in Morristown, is a popular speaker at seminars, conferences, civic events, and professional development meetings. He would be delighted to speak at your next meeting. Please call the school for more information.”
