06/11/2026
Gorilla Gathering message for the week:
This is one of those messages that may be uncomfortable. And if you find this message a bit uncomfortable, it may be because the message is MEANT for you. I know it is meant for me personally!
Raise. The. Bar.
This is the theme for the summer. Students, coworkers, friends, and my own family have heard me say (probably too many times) that I expect MORE of all of us, because I know we are CAPABLE of more. I have high standards for us as a school, community, town, and as humans.
And high standards are a GOOD thing. It's better to aim high and miss the mark, than to aim low and HIT the mark.
Jordan B. Peterson says, "You're not everything you can be, and you know it." We ALL can do better. Myself included. And so, this summer, let's raise the bar.
This last weekend was great! Our track team was at the state meet breaking school records and pursuing excellence. We had baseball and softball games. We watched a piece of history come down in the old elevator. Then we had a car show and cruise night which was an amazing event. Everywhere I looked, I saw volunteers. Coaches, firefighters, EMS, community organizations raising money. I saw kids and adults picking up trash that wasn't theirs just because they take pride in our facilities.
If you are an adult, I want you to honestly ask yourself a question: How many community organizations are you a member of? If your answer is 0, maybe it's time to raise the bar. Join one of them. Volunteer your time.
Our youth learn by watching the examples we set. So set a good one. Let them see you:
Volunteer
Read a book
Show kindness
Go workout
Pick up trash
Respond to situations in a healthy way
I was going to list all of the groups that could use more volunteers, but the list is way too long. If you need help finding a place to start, please reach out. There is an option for everyone!
The other part of this is having high expectations for our youth. There is nothing wrong with expecting more from them. Kids are capable of way more than they are given credit for, and it's a disservice to them to set the bar so low. Do we EXPECT big things from our kids? Do we EXPECT them to:
Be in activities?
Use appropriate language when adults aren't around?
Read during the summer?
Strive for excellence and not mediocrity?
Show respect to adults and those in authority?
Take care of their spaces, like ball fields, classrooms, gyms, and parks?
Treat other children kindly?
Lift each other up with praise?
Clean their rooms?
Take ownership by giving them chores?
Show good sportsmanship?
None of these things are unreasonable and almost every child is capable of every single thing on the list. We SHOULD expect those things of our youth. And we SHOULD set the example of those things so they know what doing-it-well looks like.
So this summer, raise the bar. Raise the bar for ourselves. Raise the bar for our youth. We live in one of the greatest places on Earth. But we can do even better! Go set that bar high! I know we can do it!
Challenge for the week: Raise. The. Bar.
Every day is a great day to be a Gorilla!
Have a splendid week!
