Apparently, science teachers can use metaphors.
At faculty in-service last week, Mr. Greg Ferrell, who is a science teacher and Director of Admissions, took the stage in Paschall Theater and immediately went off script. The stage was already set for the upcoming play ("How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play"), and a support beam for the rigging cast a shadow onto the screen. Even though you might think he's merely a callous, data-driven scientist, Mr. Ferrell saw more than a dark bar of shadow cutting vertically through the presentation.
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| The Substance of the Shadow |
Stepping on stage just after presentations about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on students' education, Mr. Ferrell saw an opportunity. That bar of shadow on the screen was an information gap. Just as the shadow obscured information on the screen, the pandemic has created a gap in students' learning. He went beyond sharing this simple metaphor though.
In his next few minutes Mr. Ferrell enumerated many of the people who have helped our students, teachers, and families continue to bridge this pandemic gap. He acknowledged the heroic efforts of teachers like Mike Anderson, Dick Klausner, and Chris Chauvin who have been relentlessly committed to getting our new students up to speed. These teachers have been going beyond the call of duty to get the students where they need to be. Mr. Ferrell could hardly let efforts like these go unmentioned, but he wasn't finished.
As a science teacher, Mr. Ferrell would readily agree that these academic efforts are fruitless without a commitment to overall health and wellness. Because he lives just a few houses away from our school nurse Dr. Ardisson, he happened to witness cars lined up down the street as Dr. Ardisson offered Covid-19 testing from her home during winter break. Her continued efforts to shrink this pandemic gap go far beyond what anyone would expect.
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Even though he was supposed to be talking about the upcoming MBA admissions events, Mr. Ferrell did something far more important. Instead of promoting his own agenda, he couldn't help but to shine the spotlight on the good work of his colleagues. Just like so many on campus, including the teachers he mentioned, Mr. Ferrell is more than his job title(s). It's in his nature to promote and share the good that he sees around him, and he'll do that whether it's in his job description or not. He doesn't turn it off and on depending on who's around. He's the same guy everywhere he goes.
As Mr. Ferrell went off script, he had provided an example of integrity that was absolutely on point. Integrity means you don't show up to classes, lunch tables, practices, games, dinner tables, or faculty in-service meetings with different versions of yourself that depend on the setting. Expecting student Johnny, friend Johnny, and 2nd baseman Johnny to be separate versions of one kid leads to the disintegration of identity. Switching in and out of different personas also causes stress and anxiety.
What traits are integral to who you are? Find them. Hone them. Use them. Everywhere.
Men of integrity are what MBA aims to send into the world. The school's mission gets a lot easier when we can point to prime examples of integrity like Mr. Ferrell.