In Cherokee Creek’s Medicine Wheel philosophy, the “Quarter of the Visionary” has begun and the “I am” statements of creativity, authenticity, truthfulness and insight are at the forefront of our thoughts.
If I were a creative person, and I think I am, I would invent the RESET button for life. If I said the wrong thing to a coworker and hurt their feelings? PUSH, and get an instant Do-Over. When my newly licensed child wrecks her car not once, but TWICE in a month? PUSH… never happened. But alas, in a Real and True World, there is no reset button to make things all better.
I have often wondered if the availability of a reset button is one of the reasons middle school boys enjoy video games so much. Society pretty much expects boys, during this time of their still-developing prefrontal cortex, to mess up. The PFC is that part of the brain that develops quicker in girls than in boys which governs executive function. “EF” relates to anything having to do with “future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social ‘control’”. Having a reset button and more “lives” in a virtual world gives middle school boys the opportunity to do over what may not come easily to them. That would be a very handy thing to have in the real world, at times.
I think teachers often choose the profession of teaching because it comes with a quasi-reset button every fall. There is a new class to greet. There are new minds to engage. There are new relationships to build. There are ALWAYS new programs coming down from somewhere out there. And there is the opportunity each and every year to improve upon the year prior.
It is that time of year again to hit the reset button at CCBS. Despite the fact that classes went all summer, there has to be a moment when someone declares that the school year has begun anew. On August 18th, most of the boys ascended to the next grade and many were placed in a new class group. They get a “mini do-over” within the “overall do-over” of past choices that comes with enrolling here. It is their time to highlight their creativity, authenticity, truthfulness, and insight. And we wish them all the best in the 2014-2015 school year!
Denise Savidge, Academic Dean, Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding School
