Hitting the "Big Time"

Early one morning recently, I had the opportunity to be rereading a collection of E.B. White's letters. While E.B. White was perhaps best known for bringing us such classics as Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, he also was an avid sailor and lover of boats. It his love of things boating that had me reading his letters.

Pursuit of the 'big time" is a concept that seems to have become too attached to becoming successful in pro sports, Hollywood or music. However, in a letter written in 1983, White seemed to have a much more appropriate take on 'big time' when responding to a friend. The friend was complimenting White's son, who had become a well known naval architect at that time:

"It has been a great satisfaction to me to have watched Joel work his way into the big time-which is excellence, no matter what the product is, or the craft, or the profession."

There is wonderful clarity in that for me ... Big time = excellence ... "no matter what the product is, or the craft, or the profession".

All week this has hung with me as I have observed many of our teachers and some of our students achieving the "big time". This is the big time that counts.

Thank you E.B. White for your wisdom and to his daughter Martha White for sharing his letters.