The Gift of an Oral Legacy
by Todd B. Bland The Camp — built by my great-grandfather, Hiram Bingham, as a retreat for his wife and seven sons — has been a family gathering place for more than five generations. So many of my childhood “firsts” happened during annual visits to the Camp; so many meaningful memories took root there. There, I learned through stories about my family’s intriguing adventures. My mother and father, aunts, uncles, great-uncles and great-aunts told stories, but my grandmother’s and grandfather’s were the most powerful. In the telling, the two of them were surrounded by walls...
Read MoreAttracting Teaching Stars
As educators, Nancy and I were treated like rock stars by Milton families and friends in Korea, China and Hong Kong last spring. Every educator deserves to feel like a rock star. Every teacher deserves to be celebrated for having chosen to teach. How do educators in the United States feel about their careers? In America, baby boomers answered the call to educate at rates ahead of any generation since. Today, 40 talented faculty members who have each been dedicated to Milton for more than 25 years are a source of our strength. How will we fill their shoes when they retire? It’s impossible to...
Read MoreMilton’s Culture Is Rooted in the Faculty
One thing I love about Milton, a characteristic that drew me here and connects me deeply, is the sense of accountability that alumni, students, faculty and staff feel for their own lives, and the life of the School. Daring to be true seems to be a standard we require of ourselves. How has this come to be? How does Milton nurture a culture centered on this value? I believe that for generations our faculty have modeled and fostered this value, and I am proud to preserve their legacy. Role models in my life were the people who cultivated in me a sense of responsibility for myself and for others....
Read MoreOn Purposeful Percolating
An article by Carolyn Johnson in the Boston Globe titled “The Joy of Boredom” made its way to my file because of how it highlighted two insightful thinkers. Richard Ralley and Ned Hallowell have written extensively about the danger of modern society’s fear of boredom. They argue that our desire to be stimulated, constantly, threatens our potential for creativity. Mr. Ralley, a lecturer at Edge Hill University in England, notes that, “The most creative people are known to have the greatest toleration for long periods of uncertainty and boredom.” Dr. Hallowell, psychiatrist and author...
Read MoreDare to Be True, the Version with Love
I don’t naturally fall into reflective rhythms during the year, and I relish the opportunity summer brings to slow down and reflect. Marlborough, New Hampshire, where my wife Nancy and I have been going since we were 18 years old, is one of those places that actually feels lost in time. Recently, I had the opportunity to hear some particularly apt reflections from the Right Reverend Mark Beckwith, Bishop of Newark, New Jersey. Bishop Beckwith talked about the fundamental balance between truth and love. Love and truth cannot separately fulfill their potential, he said. They reach full...
Read MoreDaring to be honest
Todd, did you realize that your collar is flying free, like a wing?” my friend asked. I had missed a collar button. We laughed. How many people had noticed my weird look that morning but didn’t want to embarrass me, or embarrass themselves? True friends will clue you in on a missed button, a piece of parsley in your teeth, the occasional need for a Tic Tac or—heaven forbid!—the advice to adjust your zipper altitude. Even these simple comments are not easy to offer or, sometimes, to receive. Respectful, honest friendships, however, help protect us from “blind spots,” small and...
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