If It's Not Scary, It's Not Worth Doing

The following is Mr. Dickson's speech at the final Middle School Morning Assembly.

By Elliot Dickson
Head of Middle School

In January of last year, I did one of the scariest things I’ve done in my adult life: I applied to be Middle School Head at Foote. 

It was scary because I was comfortable teaching. It was familiar. I had been doing it for over 20 years. It was still challenging, but I knew the challenges well – I could anticipate them. 

A therapist of mine once told me that if it’s not scary, it’s not worth doing – and I’ve always taken that as a challenge to myself, to question that discomfort and fear, and to investigate why it’s scary. 

There have been moments this year when I’ve questioned why I just didn’t stay in the comfort zone of my classroom — but I only did that when I was feeling incapable of doing my job — when I felt like I wasn’t doing my best. What was scary about the prospect of my new job wasn’t the actual job itself; I was afraid to grapple with feelings of inadequacy. I was afraid of not knowing what to do or not having the “right” answers. 

I was afraid that others might think, that despite my best efforts, I wasn’t doing a good job. And in these moments of self-doubt, I often thought of you [students].

At school and at home, your teachers and parents are constantly pushing you to try new things. In fact, we expect this of you every day. We push you to learn, work with people you don’t want to work with, engage in a project you aren’t excited about, ask you to make improvements on something you worked extra hard on, and the list goes on. 

So when I was feeling low, or I wanted to give up, I thought of what we ask you to do each day, and realized that what I was feeling was the discomfort of learning that comes with change and is necessary for growth. 

Each of you has experienced growth this year and will continue to do so in your journey both here at Foote, and beyond. Many of you are beginning new adventures this fall or are trying something new this summer. Please remember that if you are a little nervous, ask yourself why. 

What are you actually nervous about? 

Are you afraid no one will like you? 

Are you worried that you said you wanted whatever it was, but might change your mind? 

Are you worried that you will fall short of your own expectations? 

Are you simply uncertain of how you will feel in a new environment, which is simply unsettling? 

In these moments, be curious. The answer you discover is part of learning. 

And with that, I want to close our final assembly of the year to thank you for this lesson you didn’t know you taught me. And also, to thank you for your support in my first year in this role. Many of you stopped by my office throughout the year to check in on me and ask me about my new job. Each time you did, it really did make a difference. 

And now, there are a few people in attendance today to whom you all owe a deep debt of gratitude: your teachers. 

This school would not be what it is without your teachers. They work tirelessly to make sure you are challenged, engaged, and known. And just to let you know, no one chooses to teach if they don’t like kids. 

In fact, at the beginning of this year, I asked every faculty member what they love most about their job, and they all said that it was working with you. They deeply care about you, even when you think they don’t like you. They do. 

We are not going to thank them today by applauding them. Instead, I ask that you take a moment to think about how you would like to show your gratitude to them before you leave this year. Consider telling them, in person, how much you enjoyed their class, or a little thing they did that you remember fondly, or that was helpful to you. Consider writing them a note so they can hang on to it and read it when they are feeling a little down. 

Congratulations on an amazing year.