Matt Burgy, Head of School
May 10, 2024
Dear Oakridge Family,
We have fully entered the “1000 days of May” at Oakridge, and it is hard to believe we will end school in 2 short weeks. Our flurry of activities continues, and next week, we will graduate the Class of 2024!
This week was also National Teacher Appreciation Week. Like many of you, I remember the many teachers that impacted my life. My High School Geometry teacher, Dr. Mudley, was relentless in his teaching of love of the subject. I still hear him, “Mr. Burgy, what is the Pythagorean Theorem?” I would answer, “A squared plus B squared equals C squared, Dr. Mudley.” He would say, “Again, Mr. Burgy, again!” He would have him repeat, over and over, the Pythagorean Theorem (or the Angle-Side-Angle Theorem, or the Angle-Angle-Side Theorem, or any number of theorems and postulates) until I got it right, and he knew that I knew what it was.
I can still, to this day, remember every theorem and postulate in Geometry that I could ever need. But, it wasn’t the memorization aspect of those particular principles that I remember the most. It was the engagement that I felt with Dr. Mudley and how he helped me gain a love of mathematics in general, to the point that I later began to teach it. His love of Geometry was passed on to me, and I have modeled that passion as the years have passed when I have taught that same subject (or any other subject I have taught). The importance of the teacher-student relationship is two-fold. We are here to teach content and to help our students achieve academic success and prosperity. At the end of the day, we teach children how to live life and understand the world around them. It is less about Geometry (Physics, Literature, or World History) and more about the greater calling of our love of learning. Teachers have 3 of those loves- they have a love of learning, they have a love of learners, and they have a love of connecting learners to learning. It’s a gift and a treasure that very few people have in this world, and our gratitude for them should be shouted from the rooftops.
Teaching is a highly noble profession, and it is also a difficult one. If you have ever made a presentation to an audience, you know the preparation it takes to communicate a message in a way that they each can understand. Imagine doing so for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 30+ weeks a year, to a group of people whose brains are not fully developed and may or may not be paying attention to you. You have likely heard that there is a “teacher shortage.” And it is absolutely true, and likely will not be improving soon. There are now 30% fewer teachers in teacher preparation programs nationwide. There is also a tidal wave of experienced educators who have retired or left the profession. Over and over again, it is said and heard that our collective continual devaluation of our current teachers is the cause of this. We have to do more to value these wonderful people who sacrifice hours of their time in an effort to have our children inherit a better world.
We are richly blessed with some of the finest educators you could have at our school. If you haven’t had a chance to do it this week, please take the time to thank one of them. Send them an email, write a card to them, or give them a call. Those are the things that keep fueling our fire.
With Gratitude,
Matt Burgy
Head of School
