Whenever I'm invited to write an ENews column, I usually like to write about intentional practices in our school, educational values that we hold high, or topics related to the mission of our school.  This column is no exception. 

There is a word that has been tossed around a lot this year in our faculty meetings, in advisory class with students and in casual hallway conversations.  The word is persistence.  Persistence, we believe, is perhaps the most important quality an adolescent must develop and become skilled at in order to be successful in high school and beyond.  While I'm sure we would all agree about the merits of being skilled at persistence, we would also probably agree that the fast paced technologically steeped lives our students are part of today can be in direct opposition to the quality of persistence.  Teenagers have very powerful technology at their fingertips 24/7 which leads them to become accustomed to instant feedback when they have a question, want to find a piece of information or are curious about what their friends are up to. 

We understand as educators that it is our job to continually instill the value of slowing down, taking your time and persisting through a challenging problem or concept where an immediate solution just isn't present. 

I believe students need a variety of opportunities in their life to learn the habit of persistence; it shouldn't just happen in school.  In fact I'm sure there are many occasions outside of the classroom when you as parents can take a moment to point out how persistence led to a job well done or to motivation to improve upon something.

I had the privilege of witnessing just such an event last week at a KWoods Cross Country meet.

If you ask a runner why they enter races they know they will not win you're likely to get an answer that has something to do with wanting to run faster than their last race.  There are two letters that can motivate a runner to achieve goals beyond what they thought was possible.  P R, or personal record.  There is really nothing quite like the feeling of hitting a P.R. because in order to achieve a P.R. you must leave everything out on the course.  Anyone who has experienced this, through running or some other activity, knows there is just is no feeling in the world that can match putting forth your absolute best effort and then having a measure to prove that you gave it your all.   

So when I was spectating at a KWoods Cross Country meet recently on the very challenging Kensington Park course, I didn't know from hearing their times as they crossed the finish line that a couple of our students had set a PR for that course.  It wasn't until I saw the look on their face when they heard their times that I knew it must have been a PR because there is no mistaking that look.  After what feels like an all-out sprint for three miles over hills, tight corners, narrow passing lanes and uneven ground, the look is a cross between excruciating pain and exhilaration.  A joyful agony.  Recognizing the look, I simply said to one of these students, "There isn't a better feeling is there?"  He replied, gasping for breath, "No, no there really isn't."  He was stoked.  And then the educator in me kicked in and I wondered how this student's persistence in running would translate into the classroom when he must solve a complicated problem where the path to the solution is not immediately present?

Jim Perry