The Big MoveNCHS Superintendent’s Report – March 9, 2016

The Big Move

By Ernie Fowler – Nashville CHSD #99

efowler@nashville-k12.org

Many of our seniors will be planning on making a move to a college campus upon graduation. My advice to them is to plan for the move as early as possible.

Moving is stressful and back-breaking. I’ve been involved to some degree in various moves since last June. There are many words to describe such an experience. Fun is not one that comes to mind.

I have found that moving serves as a cure for those of us who are “pack rats”. My philosophy used to be not to throw anything away because “ya never know when ya might need it”.

My thoughts changed as I moved from Central Illinois to Nashville. This enlightenment came along around my 17th trip down my apartment stairs carrying box after box. I paused and asked myself, “Why am I saving all of this junk?” I took an immediate detour to the trash dumpster. It was at that moment, I decided to dedicate my life to being a minimalist. The less junk, the better!

We recently have moved the District Office from its original location. Basically we traded offices with the Guidance Department so that all of the high school business could be conducted on one side of the hallway while district business can be conducted on the other.

Eventually, this move will allow for the elimination of a position which will save the district some money. This, of course, meant our offices had to be packed and unpacked.

We carried desks, chairs, tables, file cabinets, computers, and printers from one place to another.

Our seniors will soon learn that the most exhausting part of a move isn’t the large stuff but is rather all of the small stuff that has to be packed.

I find it amazing how, though I have adopted the “less is best” philosophy, I still have a tendency to shove things in drawers or stack them in a corner.

I get several pieces of paper shoved across my desk daily. I am trying to learn how to either read the document then immediately toss it in the trash can or, if it truly is important, properly file it for future reference.

I am trying to avoid becoming the first Principal that I worked for back in 1993. He had a bulletin board behind his desk filled with papers that looked like they had been randomly hung. Some had yellowed with age. One particular paper had been posted in his office since 1977!

I thought about asking him how many times that paper was utilized over the past sixteen years. I didn’t however because, quite frankly, I was afraid of him. Though I was 30 years his junior, the man was an “old school” principal. He was gruff and had no time for small talk.

I had the feeling that such an inquiry might result in him ripping the paper down and forcibly filing it somewhere in one of my body cavities!

You know, thinking back to those days made me want to revisit the old yearbook. Too bad it found its way into the dumpster!