Bee Present 2.0

In my almost 30 years of teaching, I’ve rarely seen such a rapid positive uptick in student culture as I witnessed last year with the launch of “Bee Present.”

At its onset, this was simply a way to help students focus by removing the distractions caused by cellphones at school.  But it morphed into something much more active: instead of self-isolation and silent doomscrolling during the day, students returned to working with peers during free bells, conversing in common spaces, participating in intramurals, and playing games outside.  

Just yesterday, I witnessed 40+ students playing basketball and volleyball, lifting weights, and hanging out in the gym during lunch. Others were in clubs, on the soccer field, enjoying the beautiful fall weather, or connecting in other very human ways. The rise of social networks, exacerbated by the pandemic, took its toll on humanity, and while we love how technology has made our lives easier in so many ways, including in education, it’s vital to remember the importance of humane balancing.

In order to build on this success, we launched an extension of the theme in August. “Bee Present 2.0” adds three proactive invitations: explore, engage, and evolve. Adolescence is a perfect time to explore, daring to try new things and develop unknown interests; engage, sharpening collaboration skills through being better together; and evolve, by making mistakes and failing forward through growth. These growth mindset oriented invitations can benefit adults in equally powerful ways.

This summer, several of us at the Upper School read a fascinating book that explores this timely topic. In “The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better,” authors Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop explore four modes of engagement commonly found in today’s youth: resister, passenger, achiever, and explorer. They explain that everyone has areas of their life in each of these modes, but that the highest ideal is to reach explorer mode — an area where curiosity, self-motivation, willingness to try (and fail) at new things, and learning are the driving forces that lead to greater fulfillment and success.

Sadly, the authors share that many young people today seem to be stuck in achiever mode with a seemingly endless list of check boxes, transactional learning, and unclear goals, often driven by external forces beyond their control. While they know how to get the basic job done (and earn the associated external rewards), they haven’t yet found the drive needed to sustain a lifelong journey of learning and growth.

The good news for us is that Seven Hills has the components to help students move from passenger or achiever mode to explorer mode: dedicated faculty, an engaged parent community, high standards, safety to try new things, and opportunities to learn and grow. As we work together as parents and educators, we can help ensure that our children and students can be prepared to thrive in an ever-changing world in the most beautifully human way possible.

I invite you all to check out the book, but more importantly, to embrace Bee Present 2.0 in your own lives. Let’s explore something new, engage in more meaningful ways, and continue to evolve into the best we can become.

It’s going to be a fantastic journey, and we look forward to meeting along the way!