Watching the morning news on T.V., we learn that American youth are--at best--hedonistic and thrill-seeking. Left to their own devices, we're led to believe, they would waste time on immediately gratifying behaviors that are unmentionable. Personally, I'm not so sure anything has really changed since I was in high school (on this topic.) With a little structure and plenty of opportunities--the kind of structure and opportunities found at a good school, I see kids working hard for something that will pay back weeks, months and years from today. This wood, cut just a few feet away at the Peabody House construction site, will heat Eco-dorm next winter.
Athletics is another venue for the practice of delayed gratification. Perhaps residential schools such as Proctor simply involve a much higher percentage of their students (like, maybe, 100 percent) in healthy pursuits of this kind.
The entire culture of the community buys in to preparations for future dividends.
Three weeks from now, on the evenings of May 23 and 24, everyone involved with Proctor drama will experience the reward of producing the musical Cabaret. It will be fantastic. Not just because of the work done on those two nights, but because of the work done day after day, over nine weeks, by an extended team of students.
The fact that the thrill of those evenings is three weeks away has nothing to do with the quality of work invested by everyone involved.
The pace of work in (and around!) the theater is deliberate, focused and steady. People are working hard, and-therefore--having fun.
The stage and tech crews will not be taking bows on May 23 and 24, but that doesn't mean a thing to kids who have been entrusted with meaningful responsibilities, and given the freedom to execute those responsibilities. Sam is prepping the center post of a spiral staircase that will--itself--be a work of art.
Seniors know the challenge of delayed gratification! In a benign prank, they shower today's assembly with paper scraps reading, "Bow to the great '08."
We will.....on May 31. Just wait, again.
