Dear Boundless Families:
I have had the joy of living in BLIS the past week, and have a flood of observations to share:
- One student is struggling socially. It was suggested to the group that this young man needs some “older siblings” to keep an eye out on him and guide him along. “Any volunteers?” Twenty hands were raised
- The activity “Magic Cards” has infected the community. I don’t really know the scoop on this game, but it has broached every conceivable social boundary and has become the Pokeman of Palmer Rapids. The game’s magic has drawn everyone in to each other
- Biceps and abdominal muscles are busting through T shirts. A whole slew of kids are getting quite buff. Cheeks are rosy.
- The “mathletes” were blown away by the local supermarket owner who taught them how to buy food cost effectively. This man, in his youth, suffered a paralysing hockey injury. From his wheelchair, pontificating about the mixed blessings of processed food, this role model need not have uttered a word, for he taught the kids a whole lot more than food budgeting by just being who he is. It put the kids’ own obstacles in a clearer perspective
- The students chose to select two “gossip counsellors” among themselves. Realizing that gossip is inevitable in every community because it binds people to each other, they also acknowledged that it can be poison (their word). The gossip counsellors are keeping an eye on the situation, and serving as crusaders of “good gossip”
- Some of the kids are producing two videos, one to recruit staff, the other on the BLIS experience itself
- English students can be seen learning the art of knife throwing for English. No kidding. It’s part of the novel “The Princess Bride”. The world champion knife thrower lives one hour away (really), and I am working on getting him to pay us a visit. The students are so horribly bad at the art; but it matters not. The activity serves as an awesome elixir to the young and the restless
- Many of the students attend class in their pajamas. Hey, it works. They are never late, and highly engaged
When I visited math the other day, I saw the lead teacher Stranger kneel between two students, offering one-to-one support shifting from one shoulder to the other. And it was a thing of beauty to behold. Two other teachers were essentially doing the same with the seven other students. I don’t care how much these students have suffered through math in the past, they are getting what they need right now, and they are soaking up knowledge like the acne prone sponges they have become. Ditto for English.
Forgive my hubris, but I can’t help but feel that your kids in our boarding school are scaling the Mount Everest of education.
Thanks for sending your kids.
Steven Gottlieb
