Most of you are probably watching the Bruins game right now, but I have never been much of a hockey fan. I'll probably watch some future games, but I wanted to take some time to finalize some thoughts I've had about this past spring and my recent trip to Washington DC.
One of my favorite authors, David McCullough once wrote that travel changes a person. He claims that seeing other places and visiting new worlds makes us better appreciate where we come from and who we are. It is a message that truly has impacted my life and until this past spring, I really only connected it with my travels to Europe. In a paraphrase of Socrates, I've learned that I know that I don't know enough...and that is all that I need to know. This past Spring has taught me so much that I hadn't known and I am so grateful for it.
I am thinking back on the past week and my time with the students of the Belmonte Middle School. Back in January, I had looked at this trip as the end of a very busy part of my life. There was a point when I almost asked to have Ms. Robbins find me a replacement, but I am very glad I didn't. This trip was supposed to be the end, but in reality, it just signaled a new beginning for me. I mentioned in my Graduation Blog that teaching is cyclical. Students enter our lives for a brief period of time. They do their work. They graduate. They move on and others take their place. This past week for me was simply the beginning of a new cycle. It was fitting that so many of the students who traveled to Washington DC with me are the younger brothers and sisters of former students of mine. It built a stronger bond with them and, for those entering Saugus High School next year, I think it will ease some of their potential anxiety knowing that Ms. Payne and myself will be there to greet them.
Our bus ride was long and exhausting. It tested our patience in numerous ways, but ultimately it wasn't that bad. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had heard some kids saying, it's just like a giant slumber party. The rain was also bad. It could have ruined our trip, but it only lasted a brief time, and we all dried off. I told the kids that it is these types of things that make trips more memorable. They are the bonding moments that hold our memories together as we move into the future. Early on our trip, we drove past the exit for Newtown, Connecticut. I posted a picture from the highway. One our return trip, at one particularly exhausting moment, I happened to check Google Maps on my phone. We were, once again, on the outskirts of Newtown. This time it was too dark for the kids to notice, but I stopped thinking about how terrible the ride had been and I started focusing on the laughter of the kids sitting behind me.
In an instant, I had changed my attitude. I remembered coming home from Ireland after learning about Boston and after losing Nan. I was in a true funk. The trip had been excellent and all of the kids had a life changing experience, but I was exhausted...and frustrated with the politics of work. It was at that moment that I opened my email and found out that our little "Thank a Teacher" experiment with Saugus, California had had an impact. My attitude changed instantly. While my life has been way crazier since opening the email from a reporter in South Carolina, I wouldn't change it for anything. Paying it forward in January came back to help me when I needed it in late April.
This past week, while we were in DC, family members from the shootings at Sandy Hook were also in DC. They were asking Congress to consider stricter gun laws and other laws that might prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. Regardless of your political opinions, it is important to stop and listen to people who have lost so much. It makes me think of Abraham Lincoln's Letter to Mrs. Bixby. His letter is an example of a great man remembering what greatness truly is. It is humility. It is compassion. It is taking some time to think about others and acting accordingly.
At some point yesterday, I don't remember exactly when, I ran into a Starbucks to buy an iced coffee. I couldn't find a Dunkin Donuts and needed some caffeine. I took off without the kids noticing, but when we were all on the bus, they saw me and got jealous...more on this later.
Yesterday, we woke in Springfield, Virginia. We entered Washington for a final time and visited the Newseum. I had low expectations for this stop because I had heard they were opening an exhibit to Ron Burgondy. I even secretly hoped it would be canceled for an earlier return time to Saugus. I was wrong. This museum was wonderful. A journalist and an historian are not much different. Even with writing this Blog for the past few months, I had lost sight of that. They had a really cool 4-D video that explains their mission statement. It highlighted three different reporters from three different eras. It used innovative technology to tell kids about the past and it made connections to our present. It was only 20 minutes but I would have happily sat there and watched many more tales of journalists from our past making a difference.
The Newseum had a ton of really cool exhibits. As our group was gathering, I noticed an older man in a shirt and tie standing in the atrium watching a giant screen. I asked him if he worked there, and when hearing that he did, I thanked him for his work. I told him how much I, and the kids, enjoyed his museum. We spoke for a few minutes about favorite exhibits and what his role was at the museum. Two of the most poignant pieces of their collection are the Antenna from the World Trade Center and the largest segment of the Berlin Wall inside the United States. I didn't realize it at the time, but the gentleman I was speaking with was Frank Bond. He is the official video blogger of the Newseum and runs their podcasts. I only found this out by researching their Berlin Wall section tonight and seeing his picture...small world = cool stuff.
This year has been a tumultuous one for me with all that has happened in Saugus. My travels have provided a respite from the craziness, but have also caused additional stresses. In all of these experiences, the kids of Saugus have been there. From the first week of school, many of them expressed their wish that I would return to the classroom. As things got crazy, I could always count on kids to bring me back to some normalcy. Whether in a haunted hotel in Wales, standing in front of 10,000 people in Saugus, California, or checking our shoes for gum across from the Federal Reserve Building, I have been fortunate enough to share these experiences with some great people.
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned how travel changes people; how it makes them appreciate their home more by experiencing other places. I've realized that my home town is a great place. We've got problems, but who doesn't? We live in a place with a great tradition and a really cool story of its own. Today, I was at a graduation party for one of my favorite students. Her house is located near our historic town cemetery. Inside that cemetery rests two families with incredible stories. One is Parson Joseph Roby and the other is the resting place for many in the Newhall family. Roby lends his name to our School Administration building. During the revolutionary period, Roby was the religious leader of our town. He led parishioners in their devotions and he taught their children the message of God. He serves symbolically as our first teacher. The Newhall family still lives in Saugus, but they've reached across this country. It was one of their descendants that went west and founded a small municipality in Santa Clarita Valley, California. These two family fought for our country's freedom after the fighting in Lexington and Concord. They both met George Washington, during the Revolution, as he traveled through our town and rested at Newhall Tavern.
As I stood there, in her yard, reminiscing about the past four years with some of her closest friends, many of whom had traveled with me in my first trip this Spring, I noticed one of my fellow travelers from Bus 2. The younger sister of a former student, she saw me and smiled. She quickly came over to say hello and to remind me of the promise I made to her and three of her friends. She informed me that she has a great memory and that she doesn't forget...you see, just 24 hours before, after buying an iced coffee, I had promised that I would buy her and three of her friends some Starbucks, but that they would have to wait until they graduated. So, four years from now, I will hopefully still be writing this blog and hopefully I will be writing about the circle of my life and the spring to remember. I hope to be writing about a visit to Starbucks with four graduated seniors about to begin the rest of their lives. Kids who will be leaving Saugus, but will hopefully find a new appreciation of their hometown with wherever they may go. As I said my goodbyes to class of 2013 and walked to my truck, I realized that trip to Washington DC was not the final trip of this Spring, but the beginning of new memories, journeys, and adventures that have yet to come...and with many new blog posts to follow.
BRUINS WIN!!!
At some point yesterday evening the 10,000th viewing of "Where in the World is Mr. Lavoie?" occurred. I don't know who it was...if it was their first time visiting...or their 30th, but it means an awful lot to me. I am humbled every time I see a new post from a thankful parent or receive an email with a similar message. I didn't think it would be as popular as it has become, but I am glad that some folks have found some enjoyment in these posts. I've heard from a few Belmonte parents that had asked for links to a couple of things mentioned in this blog. Below is a link to the Picasa Website that has an album of over 150 pictures that I took.
Picasa Web Album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110904699331592678217/albums/5888418450086269137
Some had also asked about my next European Adventure...#Eurotrip14: The Holocaust in Europe.
Here is a link to that website once again: http://www.eftours.com/preview-tour.aspx?pt=1419174VZ&utm_source=RecCenter&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=SharedLink
I'll be hosting a meeting at 6:30pm on June 25th at the high school's library. All are welcome.
Thanks for reading...I'll be back in a month with a family trip to Ireland.
Mr. Lavoie, currently in Saugus, Mass. Psyched that the Bruins won and wondering if this means I need to blog throughout the remaining games in this series.
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