Lessons to Learn

We held our Veterans Day breakfast and assembly on Friday, Nov. 8. We began holding a breakfast for veterans last year and it went so well we just kept it because, well, it seemed like the right thing to do. We invited the veterans of our students, and this year we were able to have some gentlemen from the Tilton Veterans Home come as well.

With any event, one is busy with logistics, but as I was able to talk with some of these men and women who have served their country, certain traits and dispositions became very clear to me. Many whom I talked with saw combat, some did not, but all had a sense that they were part of a bigger picture. They had a mission and a job to do to the best of their abilities. The veterans saw themselves as competent in their job because their comrades depended on them. Whether it was flying a bomber, working on a ship, being in the infantry, or loading the guns in an armored vehicle, they had to be competent in what they were doing. For some, it was the difference between living and dying.

All the veterans had a sense of pride in what they did and the branch of service they served in. I believe the army was giving the navy a hard time at one point (all in good fun). Their sense of humor, their humility, perseverance, their gratefulness, and their willingness to serve others was so evident. Here they were telling me how thankful they were for the morning and I was asking myself if I could have done what these men and women had done? One gentleman stayed to help put chairs away as we had to get ready for lunch. We told him he was our guest, that he didn’t have to do that, but he stayed and helped anyway. Many of the vets said their time in the service was the best job they ever had. How telling is that?

So how does this connect with an article on education? Well, I think the veterans demonstrated the connection. In Laconia, and across the nation, schools try to work with families to help their child become “competent” and try to find the child’s “mission” in life. Academic skills are needed to become competent in whatever track a child chooses to take. My father, also a veteran, told me when I was young that you need to be able to read, write, and do some math if you want to make it in the world. True enough. Maybe the child is college bound, or maybe is going to a trade school, or is going straight into the work force, or is perhaps going into the military. Whatever the path, the child needs to have some skills and understand that he/she has a role and is part of the greater society of the United States.

The Portrait of a Graduate initiative in the Laconia School District is meant to promote the skills that our community values and is looking for in its graduates. Skills like the ability to problem-solve, persevere through tough situations, communicate, and being able to work with others are some of those skills we are looking to develop by the time a child graduates from Laconia. These are not academic skills, but they are skills needed to be employable and, more importantly, to get through life.

What skills and personal dispositions are most important to be successful in life? I don’t know. I have my opinion just like everyone else. Maybe we should ask a veteran.

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Eric Johnson, Principal

Woodland Heights Elementary School