"Locked Down Generation"?

  • Head's Note
"Locked Down Generation"?
Tobin Bechtel

This year has certainly hammered home the importance of education. More importantly, it has shown us that not all schools or programs are created equal. We have been fortunate at Sage Ridge to have a faculty and community that have worked closely together to ensure our children are continuing to engage in an education that has meaning, challenge, and fun. While I know students and the rest of us are looking forward to winter break, I also know that we will be looking forward to starting again in the new year and hopefully be able to be increasingly on campus throughout 2021.

Yet, I am concerned about the toll the pandemic is taking on youth in general. A member of my book club recently observed that it could have an impact similar to the “Lost Generation” after World War 1 and coined the term “Locked Down Generation.” So much of life has been interrupted, put on hold and even permanently altered on a significant level. My hope is that at Sage Ridge we are balancing the path of safety and opportunity to continue as best as possible. I know from reports around the country that we have been able to offer more engagement, more stability, more challenge than the vast majority of schools. Public education is especially being tested as funding, access, and staffing are all being continually reduced. In the end I concur with Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University, who quipped, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” 

Our students are being prepared to take on the leadership challenges that will impact our future. In the parent video clip we have posted this week, Julia Abts made the observation that “this small school has given us a big world.” Our size continues to be a strength as our students are known well and supportively stretched as a whole person. We are far from Locked Down. While 2020 has been a challenge, we have taken the challenge head on and strived to thrive.

Best wishes for a safe and happy Winter Break as we welcome in the New Year.

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