The following letter is adapted from remarks delivered at the Lower School assembly this afternoon.
Good afternoon, Beasley Students! I am so happy to have been invited to spend time with you today. I also wanted you to know that I am very impressed with the way that you have begun the school year together. Whenever I see you on the playground, or at lunch, or in the pool, or in your classrooms—whatever it is that you may be doing during the school day—you make me very proud to know you and to be part of our MICDS community.
Today I would like to talk to you about self-control, and I thought it would be a good idea to begin by reading a book that I enjoy very much called Clark the Shark, written by Bruce Hale and illustrated by Guy Francis. I hope you will enjoy it, too.
Of all the fish at Roosterfish Elementary, the biggest and strongest was Clark the Shark. Clark loved his life at school, but he loved everything way too much. He was too loud. He was too wild. He was just too much shark for the other fish to handle. After a while, no one would play with Clark, or eat lunch with him, or sit with him at circle time.
One day, Clark asked his teacher, Mrs. Inkydink, “What’s wrong with everyone?” Mrs. Inkydink patted his fin. “Clark, sometimes you play too hard, you munch too hard, and—gosh—you even help too hard. There’s a time and a place for everything. And sometimes the rule is stay cool.” “Hey, that rhymes!” Clark said. “Maybe if I make a rhyme, I’ll remember every time!”
The next day, he put his plan to work. When lessons got exciting, Clark wanted to bounce up out of his seat, but he told himself, “When teacher’s talking, don’t go walking.” At lunch, everything smelled sooo yummy, but he told himself, “Only munch your own lunch.” At playtime, Clark told himself, “Easy does it, that’s the way. Then my friends will let me play.” Once more, Clark loved his life at school.
But then a shadow with tentacles galore fell across the playground. “It’s a new kid, and he looks scary!” cried Joey Mackerel. “Swim for your lives!” The squid squashed the slide and snapped off the swings. “Oops. My bad,” said the new kid. “Wait,” said Clark. “He just wants to play. Let’s find a way!” And he swam at the new kid with all his might and played harder than he ever had before. “Wow, that was fun,” said the new kid. “Hooray for Clark the Shark!” everyone cheered.
That night Clark’s mother asked, “What did you learn at school, dear?” “There’s a time and a place for everything,” Clark said. “Sometimes you stay cool. But sometimes a shark’s gotta do what a shark’s gotta do.”
So what does Clark the Shark have to teach us about self-control? Well, self-control requires us to be patient. As Mrs. Inkydink tells Clark, “There is a time and a place for everything.” Sometimes we have to be patient until the right time arrives to “do what a shark’s gotta do.” Self-control also requires us to manage our feelings and actions. Clark manages his own behavior with rhymes. “When teacher’s talking / don’t go walking,” he tells himself, and “only munch / your own lunch.” His longest reminder-rhyme about controlling his behavior helps him have more fun at recess: “Easy does it, that’s the way. / Then my friends will let me play.”
Finally, self-control requires us to think of others before ourselves. A French writer from the last century named Simone de Beauvoir explained this part of self-control very well when she said, “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others.” The word “attribute” means something like “give.” In other words, when you are kind to other people, you are kind to yourself. Self-control is also self-giving.
I wonder how Clark the Shark would turn Simone de Beauvoir’s words into a reminder-rhyme. Maybe he would say, “The best thing for me / is a good friend to be.” Good friends are patient, good friends manage their feelings and actions, and good friends think of others before themselves. Self-control is a very friendly habit, don’t you think? What wonderful work it is to be a good friend! Clark the Shark certainly thinks so, and he has inspired me to find just the right words to conclude our time together this afternoon: Stay cool, Beasley School!
Always reason, always compassion, always courage. My best wishes to you for a joyful weekend with your loved ones.
Jay Rainey
Head of School
This week’s addition to the “Refrains for Rams” playlist: That’s How Strong My Love Is by Otis Redding (Apple Music / Spotify).