Headmaster's Thoughts: February 2022

2/28/2022

Let me categorically say that we all need fun in our lives. COVID, unfortunately, has robbed us of our opportunities for silliness. I remember having a family Thanksgiving dinner party with friends and extended family, and providing them all with clown’s noses. The wearing of those red squeaky sponges added to the event. Now, we do not have those parties. I remember blowing up balloons on a plane and making animals (some of which popped), which I gave to other passengers, to the extreme embarrassment of my son. Now we do not take planes anymore. I remember…no, I will not bore you further. I think most of you know what I mean. Our whole way of life has been affected by the pandemic. And I know that I have been lucky. No one in my family has been hospitalized yet. Some have had COVID, but only mildly. I am still untouched but waiting.

So what are we to do? Primarily, as a person trying to be an educator, I urge us to be concerned for our children. They are more than the sum of their grades and their transcript; they are full of talents which have been stifled, particularly the talent to be sociable. When normally they might have been flirting or competing or joining classes in art, or performing on a stage, now they retreat to their computer games and binging an entire TV series in a weekend. They are discouraged from joining each other, and if they do, they wear masks that hide their expressions, take classes in cold classrooms because the windows are open, eat apart from each other, and generally are told to treat everyone else as a virus dispenser.

The solution evades me, but I do think that this is a time that gives families an opportunity, almost by necessity, to be closer. Family dinners were always important, but now they are the only places where eating together is a safe activity. Heaven bless the family dinner, the family walk, the family games. More people are working from home, and that should give a chance for more people to be with their children. My son, a veterinarian, has never been so busy as families buy dogs and cats (and gerbils and hamsters) for companionship for themselves and their children. Everyone taking care of the family pet is a great opportunity for appreciating the humanity in each of us. Families can play card games or those good old board games that we all have stored away. Families can watch the movies, together. If ever family was important, this is the time.

Learning as a fun activity is important. We try and make school a center of joy, but children can also learn cooking, sketching, conjuring or juggling from books and videos, and can keep themselves fit with simple home equipment and space. I remember getting a boxing bag at my home and punching away when I was about nine (and thereafter). This is for girls as well as boys. Paint a coronavirus cell on the bag and have them hit away. You might enjoy the experience too.

Telling jokes and laughing is healthy. If we are to stream movies, let us watch the ones we think are funny. I am not going to recommend any because every family seems to have a unique sense of humor. I discovered this when I once recommended my favorite humorous book, “Three Men in a Boat”, by Jerome K. Jerome, and found that I was a rarity in enjoying it. Maybe, in retrospect, too English. I do enjoy the poetry of the great American poet, Ogden Nash:

The Turtle lives twixt plated decks,

Which practically conceal its sex.

I think it clever of the Turtle,

In such a fix to be so fertile

This is his most well-known. The poems are both clever and silly. Just what we need. Absurdity has found its moment.

Finally, on a much more serious note, I am concerned that some children are depressed (understandably). To our parents of such students, if you feel the need, please avail yourself of the services of our wonderful wellness staff; Ms. Evelyn Rowe-Cosentino, Ms. Alison Kaslow, and Ms. Lizzy Aiello. For all my attempts to brighten the day, I know that this is a time when children are being robbed of their youth by a cruel disease. It has been an extraordinarily difficult two years. We will help in every way we can. Let us work together. And, as always, my advice is to hug your children.

Ronald P. Stewart

Headmaster

York Prep

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