Admissions season for the upcoming school year has begun. I’m hearing from a few proactive, on-top-of-it people who are already looking at options for their children.

They’re asking questions about The Little Middle School, and it’s an interesting mix of past and future.

“Do you still have the same teachers you had two years ago when we first visited? Which teachers will you have next year?”

“What kind of diversity will you have?”

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I learned how to file papers from David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

It might have been better if I had simply become more effective at throwing things away. Then, I wouldn’t have found myself combing through a box filled with ten-year-old notes and supporting information, all meticulously organized.

On the one hand, it was interesting to see a time capsule of where I was in my work a decade ago — how I saw things and what I was hoping for. But whatever had once seemed precious and memorable and worth saving was gone.

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The other night, I dreamed that I was aboard a sinking ship.

Yeah, my subconscious comes up with reaaaaal subtle metaphors.

Actually, in the dream, it was sort of like we were on a sinking ship and then were supposed to sit down and watch a movie about people who were on a sinking ship, which is exactly what it feels like to experience life right now. The scale and scope of everything that is happening, from fires to the global pandemic to hurricanes to racial injustice, is impossible to take in. We just get our tiny corner of it to try to make sense of, and then we’re watching everyone else from at least six feet away.

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If you have watched the Hamilton movie on Disney Plus — or were lucky enough to see it in person before the world shut down — you might appreciate seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s performance of an early version of the musical’s opener, “Alexander Hamilton,” at the White House back in 2009.

Already a seasoned performer, the twenty-nine-year-old Miranda channels his nervous energy into his rapping and singing, creating that magical feedback loop between soloist, accompanist, and audience, elevating the moment and getting everyone on board with something entirely new. At the same time, you can see that the concept is not fully formed, and the piece is definitely not polished. It’s a high-wire act, with all the danger that implies, and Miranda, with the support of Alex Lacamoire, just barely managed to make it to the other side.

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In our online meetings with students and parents of The Little Middle School, one question keeps coming up: “How long do you think we’re going to be doing this?”

We’re all craving certainty right now, and though the correct answer is, “Nobody knows,” I offer a different one: “We’re preparing to do online school for the rest of the term.”

The reason is simple: If things suddenly went back to normal, we would be relieved to leap into our former routines and even the commutes we once complained about. We know how to execute that plan.

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