Superintendent - Principal's Message
Bob Chrisman,
Superintendent and Principal
Are we just riding or do we have a destination?
I learned a valuable lesson from an 8 year old the summer of 2010. The 8 year old was participating in a bike ride with the principal purchased at the annual Foundation Auction in the spring. Part way through the ride he queried, “Are we just riding or do we have a destination?” I’m not sure this lad knew all the wisdom in his words.
Adults often think of activities in terms of the time involved. As we plan an activity we might be thinking – 20 minutes to go get my bike, 10 minutes to the departure point, 10 minutes to unload, do a safety check, and suit-up, three hours for the ride, then a reverse of the departure routine. This chronology may not be too interesting to a child – I think they want to know where we are going and what will we do when we get there.
Life is like a bike ride, I am learning. There is both the journey and the destination. It seems there are many journeys and many destinations and/or it is one journey and one destination.
School is a destination, “We are going to school.” School is also a journey; school is also many journeys. Teachers of the caliber we enjoy at Lakeside give their students goals; they give them the reason behind why we are engaging in a certain activity. Our big goal is for students to be equipped to become competent, successful adults. Along the way we work towards preparing them for the next grade, for middle school, for Los Gatos High School, for Stanford University . . . .
My summer lesson was a reminder of the importance of goals. At the time of our dialogue, we were about to 90-minute mark of the three-hour ride. When the destination was revealed, the renewed energy on the part of the riders was palpable!
Want to keep your kids energized, give them goals!
Bob Chrisman
Superintendent/Principal
Lakeside Joint School District
Contact Bob Chrisman at bchrisman@lakesidelosgatos.org