“Intelligence plus character —
that is the goal of
true education.” 
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Imagine spending a relaxing Wednesday afternoon at the ball park watching the San Francisco Giants play the New York Mets. Imagine, prior to the game, enjoying a delicious lunch with a loved one at Frankie’s Java House, just a short walk from Oracle Park. Then imagine strolling down the stadium concourse, at the start of the seventh inning, to get a Ghirardelli Chocolate Sundae, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Pretty nice day, right?

Now imagine that the game has ended and you’re boarding CalTrain for the ride back to the South Bay. You’re comfortably seated as others board the train after you. The passenger car fills up quickly. All the seats are taken, yet more riders are climbing aboard. Then imagine that, among those riders who are boarding, a fairly large group of middle school kids realize that their only options for their ride from San Francisco to Redwood City are standing in the middle aisle or sitting on the steps leading to the upper deck of the train car. Yeah, ugh, right?

Throughout my seventy years on this earth, I’ve learned that pleasant surprises can happen anywhere and any time. This was my experience yesterday. The students were sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students from Hoover Elementary School in Redwood City. They were quiet. They were polite. They were enjoying each other’s company. They were talking, and laughing, and making the best of what could have been a difficult experience. No one would have blamed them if they were irritable or annoying. They had spent the previous three hours in the fresh air at the ball park. I’m sure they were tired. I’m sure they would have preferred to have seats to sit on, rather than standing in the aisle. Yet these children, all of them, continued to enjoy their outing. These children were not disruptive or self-absorbed in any way. These children represented their school, their teachers, their administrators, and their parents in ways that would make them all proud. I could not have been more impressed.

Hoover Elementary School is approximately 95% Hispanic/Latino. It’s not an elite, private school at which students enjoy all the amenities of a high-end academic institution. Perhaps this is why they took CalTrain to The City for the game, rather than enjoying the comfort and privacy of a chartered bus.

I wrote a brief email to the principal last night, commending her students, and their adult chaperones, for their exemplary behavior on the train. All too often, principals hear from members of the community only when students have been misbehaving. I think it’s important that we recognize and acknowledge kids being good. Hopefully they will always remember that their good behavior was noticed… and appreciated.