Newfound Freedom

Welcome to another Worthwhile Wednesday!

This season of Thanksgiving is often when we intentionally set aside time to reflect on the blessings we have and to express our gratitude. As we contemplate what we are thankful for, we may find ourselves grappling with the question of, “What is truly important to me?”. Our theme of Less. But Better has been challenging us to ask that question and to act on the answer by focusing on those things in our lives that are essential and giving less attention to those that are not. Easier said than done.

Today our Community Life Director, Mike Godsey, gives us a glimpse into his essentialism journey. Read on to hear more about a few of the things he regards as worthwhile. 

I remember a high school class I taught a few years ago in Morro Bay, in which we discussed “Winter Dreams,” a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Among other things, it included a terrific Socratic discussion on the topic of dreams: literal dreams, the “American Dream,” and personal aspirations. The students were all engaged and passionate about the conversation, but this isn’t the reason that the class sticks in my mind. I remember the class because it was so unfortunately rare. 

In my mind, learning how to discuss classic literature in personal, articulate ways like this was the point of English class, and discussions like these are the primary reason why I became a teacher in the first place. But I distinctly remember one student asking, “Why don’t we do this more often?” and it made me a little sad. 

We didn’t “do this more often” because we had other things to do. We had just finished a week of standardized state testing. The week before that we had been prepping for that standardized test. The following week, we were going to be preparing for a job fair (the students were in 10th grade); the week after that, we’d be going to the job fair. And throughout all these units, students often missed class for athletics or student-leadership events. 

Although some people have justifiable reasons for disliking standardized tests, MBHS wasn’t generally asking anybody to do bad or even wasteful activities. In fact, I think many people in the public schools are kind, aspirational people who want everything for everybody, and as a result, create a very non-essentialist environment. We were engaged, as Greg McKeown put it, in “the undisciplined pursuit of more.” As we studied in class, we could hear the construction of a very expensive swimming pool, for example, which is obviously very nice in itself. But we weren’t asking ourselves the essentialist questions like, “Is this the best use of our time (and money)?” and “What is our one priority?”.

Amidst the noise and distraction, I dreamt—like an F. Scott Fitzgerald character—of contributing to a place like SLOCA, where I could focus on discussing great books and forging character (including my own). And personally, I felt my life was torn in two when I would drive by my daughter’s class in SLOCA so that I could go teach in Morro Bay. 

We’re not perfect essentialists at SLOCA, but we come pretty close and we keep trying to do better. At the “Essentialism book clubs,” we confess about the times we feel scattered and we celebrate when we’re “investing in the right activities.” But it feels so right to walk around campus and see similar timelines in each room, where each student is reading the same great books from the same time period, articulating their own personal perspective in a focused way. 

And on this “Worthwhile Wednesday,” it feels not just appropriate, but essential, to close my email for an hour, reflect on my non-essentialist past, and appreciate my newfound freedom to invest myself completely on educating for life. Thank you to all of you who have made this possible, and I hope that I can help the rest of the community feel the same way. 

And thank you, Mr. Godsey, for sharing with us today and for investing in our community!