Dear Boundless Families:
Your kids built a bridge (see photo). Over a swamp. In the middle of a forest. Which is situated in a chilly and bugless heaven.
They dubbed it the “Bridge that Never Ends.” They claimed it took forever.
In early October, Kevin, their taskmaster that masquerades as a guidance counsellor, launched the gang on this ambitious enterprise with the full expectation, to quote the kids, “that Kevin would then want us to build handrails, a canopy and remove every molecule of dirt with chopsticks.”
Kevin can be this way. He runs a neat and tidy school.
Many of your lovelies had no clue how to use tools. Except J., of course. He was born for this and still pinches himself to think he’s earning a credit for hammering and nailing things in a forest.
I have had a chance to hang out with your impressive and kind children the past week, and have seen them in many venues. Over a ping pong table. A chess board. We shared a few meals. I taught a class where they didn’t nod off to sleep.
Actually, this class was part of Math – the fun stuff about investing. I logged onto Boundless’ investment portfolio. I spoke about our charity’s dreams to a rapt audience, and then, basically, spent two hours trying to convince them NOT to invest, unless they had a 6-month emergency fund, money they didn’t need for ten years, and have manageable levels of debt.
Plus, no interest in travelling or having any fun whatsoever.
I take every opportunity I can to encourage your kids to not succumb to the illusion that there is only one essential treadmill – high school, job, maybe more school, money – where one is always reaching for the next rung in life and unable to live in the present. To forsake one’s youth when you’re young.
I am all about young people exploring the world and learning about who they are before they get boring like us grownups. And maybe manipulating small snippets of reality to align with their talents, instead of them trying to climb a ladder that ascends to depression and anxiety. To not walk a prescribed path if it’s not what they really want.
I think of Lily, a Boundless graduate of last year, who cast off the yolk of fast food burger flipping to go manage forests with the MNR. She then draws landscapes of these forests. She’s on her way.
I know, I know, I’m a hippy. But I prefer never-ending bridges over ladders.
Your kids are amazing and all of us hippies and children of hippies who call ourselves teachers adore them. Thanks for entrusting them to us.
Warmly,
Steven
