SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 8 ~ October 2nd, 2023

Super Monday Message

My summer audiobooks list this year included a few classics that I have read before. I really enjoyed listening to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It’s a classic that I have been able to enjoy more than a couple times, but there is a wealth of simple wisdom in the story that I find captivating.

One of my favorite parts is when young boy Tom Sawyer is assigned to whitewash the fence in the front yard. He didn’t have hope of getting out of the chore and really wanted to be doing something else. He wallowed in knowing that the other boys would see him working and tempt him with their idle time.

Tom’s fears of a miserable day seemed confirmed when his friend Jim came by and Tom couldn’t pay Jim to do the work for him. Even a fancy white alley marble and a peak under the bandage of Tom’s toe wouldn’t buy Tom’s freedom. Tom tried to think of all the possessions he had and what they were worth. He didn’t think he had anything that would convince someone to paint the fence for him. Then he had an inspiration that all of us could learn from.

When another young boy named Ben Rogers comes by, Tom tries a different strategy. This time he paints the fence with vigor and pretends to not even notice Ben. When Ben tries to tease Tom about working Tom suggests that he enjoys the job. Ben is confused and Tom explains that it’s not every day a boy gets to paint the fence. Ben decides to test Tom by asking to try painting, but Tom refuses. Ben’s interest in painting escalates by the refusal and he offers Tom his apple core and then his whole apple for a chance to paint. 

Eventually Tom lets Ben Rodgers paint the fence at a price. As the story progresses more boys arrive and Tom feigns reluctance to allow them to paint the fence, but for trinket payments allows each of them a turn to paint. The story says that if Tom hadn’t run out of whitewash he would have bankrupted every boy in the village.

This part of the story ends with this, “He [Tom] had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

We can probably see this principle in ourselves everyday. Hiking a fence line to repair breaks is work, hiking a mountain on a hunt is a hobby. Getting up early to pour cement is work, getting up early to workout is a habit. Sitting at a desk is work, sitting on a small fishing boat in the cold is pure pleasure. We get to decide what we see as work and what we see as leisure. The only person I know that explains it better than Tom Sawyer is Mary Poppins, “With every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun and SNAP, the job’s a game.”

I challenge you to find the fun in your work this week. Make it something you enjoy so much that others watching you would pay for a chance to do it. I love being at our schools and I hope you do as well. Have a great week 8.

Super High Fives

Just a couple of the awesome recent accomplishments that need a big thank you. 

• Super high five to our school food service workers. Roxie, Avigail, Brandi, Sherry, and Amy do a great job and we appreciate their work.
• A super high five to the CUES office in Richfield. They have been running a little school workers appreciation drawing this year and last week they brought a nice gift basket for Miss Glenda Reitz. We appreciate their support of our schools.

Other Super Information

• The November ballot will have a question about a bond for a consolidated elementary school in Junction. A public hearing will be held on October 24th at 6:00 PM at Piute High School. Everyone is invited to the meeting. This link is to a community information folder regarding the proposal.
• The regular monthly school board meeting on October 10th has been changed to 6:30 PM instead of the usual 3:30 PM.
• 2nd Draft Winter Sports Schedule

Super Weekly Schedule