All In
All In
![teddy roosevelt on 1910 safari]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1739989655/libertycommonorg/a7ittceulyckrgtnc17e/teddyroosevelton1910safari.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1739989655/libertycommonorg/a7ittceulyckrgtnc17e/teddyroosevelton1910safari.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1739989655/libertycommonorg/a7ittceulyckrgtnc17e/teddyroosevelton1910safari.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1739989655/libertycommonorg/a7ittceulyckrgtnc17e/teddyroosevelton1910safari.jpg","width":951}])
Steve Ronen, Fourth-Grade Instructor
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.– Theodore Roosevelt
I believe these words to be so profound in part because they are so easily understood. I share them with you now with a call to contemplation and action.
Roosevelt’s stirring words live in my room in poster form to maintain a constant reminder to myself and students. Recently, I have been fixated on them more than usual. I’ve contemplated them more as I believe we are in the midst of an epidemic. Likely, we have been for some time, and I haven’t been aware. Or the turmoil of the recent past has made me more contemplative. Anyway, the epidemic of apathy has been present in my mind and heavy on my heart. I believe wholeheartedly Theodore Roosevelt’s life, words, and deeds stand juxtaposed to an apathy I fear has invaded the souls of modern man. Or, maybe, apathy is part of the human condition. Either way, Roosevelt’s words inspire the necessary fight against it.
Roosevelt was famously a sickly child throughout his early years, yet, with insistence from his parents and an iron will of his own, he forced himself to overcome his various ailments. Teddy refused to be satisfied with any outcome but success in his endeavor to conquer his physical demons. Through exercise, determination, education, an indomitable spirit, and dedication he made himself into a physically healthy individual of accomplishment, vigor, insight, and boundless energy.
In his adult life, Roosevelt was a champion of the individual, knowing a Republic could only be strong and free through a citizenry fully engaged in self-actualization to the highest degree.
Many Americans don’t know Roosevelt completed an African safari in 1910 with his son Kermit. Afterward, Teddy traveled to western Europe for a tour of major cities where he met with heads of state and dignitaries. Along the way, he gave a rousing speech at the Sorbonne, a research university in Paris founded in 1257. In this speech to the elite of France, he strongly challenged them to make themselves better, extolling the virtues of action, industry, the individual, and dedication while demanding they be role models for their less-fortunate citizenry. The quote above is a famous excerpt from his message that day.
Roosevelt’s words as well as his deeds serve as a wonderful guide to a life well lived—a life of striving for a human’s best and highest purpose, of a life leaving it all on the field. Roosevelt’s life is even more inspiring knowing his personal situation could have led to a life of leisure and self-indulgence as his family was quite wealthy.
Our modern age allows access to comfort, distractions, leisure, and conveniences beyond imagining. And even the poorest American has a life quite luxurious compared with our ancestors of even 200 years ago. We often live lives devoid of existential challenges. And yet, we must fight against complacency and comfort and stagnation, fight the all-too-prevalent traits of cynicism and criticism.
Our school’s mission is to recognize the good, true, perfect, and beautiful. Our worthy mandate requires insight, industry, and tenacity. But recognizing the attributes of goodness, truth, beauty, and perfection, while well and good, is not alone enough. We aspire for more. We want all humans, especially students, to live in daily communion with the worthy pursuit of these attributes for themselves. We want them to be in the arena. Fighting, wrestling, and struggling with how to make themselves into their best selves. We beseech them to avoid cynicism as the easy way out, living as a timid soul on the sidelines of their lives.
Success is not guaranteed. A life lived in search of these attributes will fall short of them often. Yet failure is guaranteed if no attempt is ever made. Abstaining from the struggle and thus unconcerned with achievement, it becomes all the easier to fault others for their failures or the failures of society writ large. Easier to hang back, allowing others to risk hurt, vulnerability, failure, and derision while keeping their own timid and hollow egos protected and intact safe on the sidelines at an arm’s length from the struggle. Yet humans often recognize the safe and hollow life is bland, sallow, and unworthy of protection—a life hardly worth living at all.
I beg you to get in the arena. Your arrival in the arena is paramount to a fulfilled life. It will inspire those around you—especially your children. Reject the currently popular idea of “-ish.” Risk. Attempt gallantly. Let someone’s steel sharpen your steel. Know victory. Know defeat. Wade through the muck of your humanness. Be the hero of your own story. Insist your children be the heroes of their own lives. Be all in.