News Detail
The Worthiness of Service to Others
"The world needs you," reasons Head of School, Mr. Barnett, as he speaks with St. Edmund's students on the potential of their impact.
The Worthiness of Service to Others
“The world needs you.” I explained to an Upper School student earlier this month. He gazed back with soft eyes and weary awareness. He showed no interest in a lengthy explanation, but I had him for a moment. I told him he was needed educated—resilient, gritty, compassionate, articulate, and strong. I asked, “How can you get there?”
What a question. I suppose I hoped he would acknowledge his responsibility to turn in his work on time and to the best of his ability, to be responsive to his teachers. With sincerity, he expressed those basic aspirations. But as I watched him turn away, I felt a much broader responsibility.
I wanted him to believe in himself, to view his current setbacks as temporary and specific rather than permanent and pervasive. The world needs this young man’s talent. Returning to my office I thought about his emerging passions and the perseverance that will be required of him to turn those interests into skills and those skills into ever-expanding achievements.
The broader responsibility I felt—and that I feel for all children at our school—was to see with piercing clarity how we can help this boy develop his talents and use them well in the world.
This general question has interested me for as long as I can remember. Regardless of the setting—from my middle school science classroom to the basketball court—I took a greater interest in how I was learning something than the actual thing I was learning. I must have been very annoying—always wanting to know why some fundamental skill mattered, how it connected to a bigger purpose. Think of it as the relentless pursuit of why.
Like most 5th through 8th graders, my Upper School student doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up, or what problem’s potential solution drives his deepest ambitions. But if he develops his mind and character, he will make a difference in the world. It’s our obligation and sacred trust to prepare him for that moment when he does know.
For this reason, St. Edmund’s Academy’s Core Value “The worthiness of service to others” functions as the “why” for all other values. Think about it with me: We respect the needs of others so that we may understand how best to lift them up. We understand the differences among people so that we may see them clearly. We take responsibility for our conduct so that we may live reliably for those who need us. We operate with honesty to deepen confidence in our words and actions. We set high standards to prepare our character and intellect to serve others well.
In a very real sense, all roads worth taking lead to the worthiness of service to others.
I think about this Core Value more than all the others because the driving purpose of my life is to shape the direct influences—people and processes—that help children develop passion and perseverance so that they may serve others meaningfully.
This means cultivating in children the interests and habits necessary to do something extraordinary. To save lives through medical research and practice, to negotiate complex business contracts across international boundaries, to invent modes of energy production and distribution that power our world, to design livable cities that foster community, to boldly pursue a pioneering business venture, to protect vulnerable citizens who need a helping hand, these pursuits happen through deliberate and disciplined training. I believe they begin with grit and I want to share with you the story of a young woman whose life illustrates the point.
Olayemi’s Story—How Grit Leads to Success and the Capacity to Serve Others Meaningfully
My first headship at an independent school came after twelve years as a classroom teacher (10th grade American Literature), coach (soccer and basketball), and dorm parent (both boys and girls dorms), Director of Admissions, and Director of Financial Aid. I did all of this work at the same school and knew the children and families very well.
From my vantage point as a Headmaster who had served in all those other positions, I knew firsthand whose performance outpaced their measured cognitive ability. I was aware through the admissions process of family dynamics that might impact motivation and achievement. I also had insight into how the students worked in and out of the classroom since I had literally lived with many of them. Here’s what became staggeringly clear—our potential is one thing, what we do with it is quite another.
Within this context, I came to know Olayemi Olurin. A native of the Bahamas, Olayemi asked to complete her admissions process by phone. Applying for her junior year, Olayemi’s application raised several questions—Could she make the academic adjustment to a course load including multiple AP classes? Could she socially and culturally survive boarding school in Wheeling, WV? Could she discover opportunities to build her self-worth by contributing to our community in such a short period of time?
Five minutes into the call, my questions were blown away by a benevolent Bahamian hurricane who rolled through every potential barrier with laughter as forceful as the wind and purpose as certain as the rain.
Olayemi enrolled that fall and she thrived. She leaned into every class—focused, engaged, committed. She contributed to sports teams—leading others not with refined skill, but with grit and optimism. She talked about big ideas over dinner—pushing back on lessons from class or challenging provincially-minded classmates to think bigger. She studied purposefully—more likely to crack a joke than complain, but always in the pursuit of something.
And she navigated the cultural confines of the only independent college preparatory school in the state of West Virginia. She faced more than her share of uninformed perceptions with incredible effectiveness. Olayemi never complained about big or small aggressions towards her. Instead, she would describe for me some foolishness that had come her way and before I offered to intervene she would say, “Don’t worry, Mr. B., I already took care of educating them for you.” Rather than seeking shelter from the world, Olayemi set out to correct it herself—one encounter at a time. From my perspective, the driving force of Olayemi’s life was to seek justice and fairness through her intellect, will, and sense of humor. She was not in the top percentile of standardized test takers, or best athlete, or most connected person. But while many of her peers with raw talent drifted out where the busses don’t run, Olayemi stayed the course with unique purpose.
Following her graduation in 2011, Olayemi attended Ohio University, Athens. During undergraduate school, she proved Angela Duckworth’s theory that effort counts twice. In her wonderful book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (2016), Duckworth explains, “when you consider individuals in identical circumstances, what each achieves depends on just two things, talent and effort. Talent—how fast we improve in skill—absolutely matters. But effort factors in the calculation twice, not once. Effort builds skill. At the very same time, effort makes skill productive.”
Olayemi unified her secondary school experience around a sense of purpose—she sought to optimistically pursue fairness and justice while mastering the rules of the game. In doing so, she turned her talents into skills. Through sustained effort in a new setting, but organized by the same purpose, she began turning those skills into achievements, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from OU in 2015. Today she attends St. John’s University’s School of Law on the Ron Brown Scholarship. To accept this opportunity, she turned down full or near-full tuition scholarships at DePaul, Howard, Temple, Michigan State, The University of Pittsburgh, Northeastern, American, and on it goes.
It’s not a stretch to say I joined the St. Edmund’s Academy community because the world needs more Olayemis and I believe completely that her success started in Preschool, not in high school or graduate school.
How can we ensure that when their moment comes, our students are prepared to be effectively and meaningfully at the service of others?
In reflecting on her own path, Olayemi explains, “As a Black woman and an immigrant, if I didn’t pursue something every time the odds were stacked against me or a community didn’t embrace me, I wound never accomplish anything. My Grammy always told me never to let anyone’s words become my reality, so I don’t. Everything in this world is so subjective. Some people are going to hate me and some people are going to love me, so I might as well side with the people that love me and wish me well and be my own biggest fan.” I saw this sensibility manifest almost daily during my two years with Olayemi.
While many of her classmates experienced setbacks as a personal and pervasive failure, she viewed them as an opportunity to grow. This optimistic voice in her head seemed to be much louder than the critics who doubted her. Most importantly, she allowed herself to experience frustration and disappointment with a growth mindset. I admire parents who resist the temptation to hover over their children or to run out ahead of them eliminating obstacles. In my experience, helicopter or snowplow parents in secondary school end up with “tea cup” freshmen in college. Olayemi’s capacity to persevere through adversity began with positive self-talk and became refined through practice. Opposing counsel take note—a benevolent hurricane is coming in your direction.
All of this positive self-talk fueled the patience necessary to pursue her life’s ultimate goal. Imagine the sense of purpose necessary for a sixteen year old girl to leave her native Bahamas—The Bahamas—to attend a college preparatory boarding school in Wheeling, West Virginia. There was nothing capricious or whimsical about the decision. The choice proved to be the means to a much larger end.
Olayemi explains, “I’m not really sure why I decided as a little kid to become a lawyer beyond just knowing I liked order and debating and felt like being heard! Linsly was a stepping stone in a long process for me. I wanted to be competitive getting into American law schools so I had to go to school in America earlier and standout because I knew the doors wouldn’t naturally open up for me. It wasn’t my country. I had no family there. I had no connections. So I had to work hard.” Did you hear that? “I liked order and I felt like being heard.” Broad enough for room to move, but narrow enough to give direction, Olayemi’s small pursuits fit within her purpose.
While much work remains to be done, I suspect Olayemi will serve others well and establish a fantastic life in the process. Her story reminds me of those shared with me by several members of our very own St. Edmund’s Academy community.
Developing Passion and Perseverance at St. Edmund’s Academy
So how can we collaborate to help children develop passion and perseverance so that they may serve others meaningfully?
Parenting derives from the Latin and means “to bring forth.” In Grit (2015), Duckworth notes, “emerging research on teaching suggests uncanny parallels to parenting,” a claim that makes complete sense to me given my boarding school background. She draws on Harvard economist Rod Ferguson’s study with the Gates Foundation where his research concluded that, “teachers who are demanding—whose students say to them, ‘My teacher accepts nothing less than our best effort,’ and ‘Students in this class behave the way my teacher wants them to’—produce measurable year-to-year gains in the academic skills of their students.” Yet, the best effect occurs when these high demands are met with equally high support.
Ferguson’s conclusion continues, “teachers who are supportive and respectful—whose students say, ‘My teacher seems to know if something is bothering me,’ and ‘My teacher wants us to share our thoughts’—enhance students’ happiness, voluntary effort in class, and college aspirations.” In other words, high standards matter, but only when they are accompanied by the support and personal connection required to achieve them.
In short, we cultivate our children’s capacity to serve others by engaging them in ways that are supportive and demanding. This means that throughout their St. Edmund’s Academy education, we can begin by providing children with enriching and stimulating environments to play and grow. In his book, The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How (2009), Dan Coyle suggests that we fill children’s “windshield” with diverse and engaging opportunities then watch where they stare. I get the sense that Olayemi’s Grammy must have watched her negotiating arguments as a child and cultivated the interest.
As they develop, our students’ interests are fragile and vague. They require cultivation and care from an entire ecosystem of influences—parents and teachers most importantly. Through our support of their interests, we can provide children with the opportunity to pursue them in increasingly meaningful and complex ways. Along the way we can help navigate their setbacks with optimism and courage. We can help them maintain interest in a broad idea and varied ways to explore it. Most importantly, we can model the kind of positive self-talk that will become the inner voice narrating the ups and downs of their lives.
I love the thought of Olayemi as a little girl pursuing order and wanting to be heard. It’s clear to me that adults in her life cultivated this in her in the same way I hope all members of the St. Edmund’s community will watch closely where our children stare so that we can take their fragile interests and turn them into purposeful passions.
I am reminded of the parable of the three bricklayers. Three bricklayers are asked, “What are you doing?”
The first says, “I am laying bricks.”
The second says, “I am building a school.”
The third says, “I am shaping the future.”
As we develop and expand the signature academic experiences at each grade level of our school, as we continue to provide children with reasons for their learning, I am inspired by our opportunity to help our children see their work one day making a difference in the world. This unifying force will provide them with a powerful sense of direction in a rapidly changing social and economic climate. Most importantly, it will allow them to add their voice to that change for the better. By building their grit and resilience along the way, they will be ready to thrive.
Several days after my initial conversation with my Upper School student, I asked, “How is your paper coming along?” He explained that he was making progress. I looked directly into his eyes, still soft but not nearly as weary. “Why is it progressing?” He smiled and said, “Because the world needs me.” Now we will discover together the ways it will be so.
Chad Barnett
Head of School
Chad Barnett
Head of School
Chad Barnett serves as the Head of School at St. Edmund's Academy, as well as an Upper School teacher of Public Speaking. Chad is available by appointment.
chadbarnett@stedmunds.net
chadbarnett@stedmunds.net
412-521-1907 x115
St. Edmund's Academy
Guided by our Core Values and commitment to high standards, St. Edmund’s Academy provides a diverse, inclusive, and nurturing learning community where students are known, valued, and challenged to achieve their potential.
