WHY CARING MATTERS TO TODD BLAND ’82
Last spring, Todd Bland, CSB Alumnus, and Milton Academy Head of School, graciously sat down to be interviewed via Skype by CSB’s Deb Rockwood, Alumni Program Coordinator, and Tara Boland, High School Counselor. During the conversation, Todd discussed his fondest memories of CSB; his career path in education; his work on the landmark paper, “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions” for Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project; and his advice on selecting a high school.
CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS: What do you remember most about your time at Cathedral School for Boys? Todd Bland: I love Cathedral and the impact it had on my life. I came from a very traditional public school in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and I did not think I was going to like CSB at all. Recess on a roof? Grey flannel pants? Black shoes? I was used to running down the street to get to school and wide, open recess spaces. I arrived at Cathedral halfway through my sixth-grade year and remained for two and a half years. Those years were as formative to who I am as any others in my life. It must have been that combination of great teachers, a productive environment, and good friends. Some of the friends I have made at Cathedral are some of my very best friends today: Jad Dunning, Trevor Traina, Erik Fogelberg, and Paco Keville. At Cathedral, I learned a lot from my teachers and classmates about the value of good behavior and being committed to things beyond oneself. The school culture incentivized caring for others. The wholesomeness of that experience has stayed with me. CSB: Your stepfather, Dick Downes, was the Headmaster at CSB from 1979–1983. Did he influence your decision to go into education? TB: Absolutely. My father, mother, and stepfather were all in education, and each influenced me positively. They sent me down the path. I wanted to give back in similar ways that they did—by being committed to education and to the healthy development of young people. I have so many fond memories of my teachers at Cathedral. As a young teacher, I tried to model myself after Mr. Korn: I thought he was such an inspirational teacher. Mr. Tacke taught me how to write well and to appreciate Shakespeare. Mark Hollingsworth, the school’s chaplain, who is now the Bishop of Ohio, was the coolest religious person I’d ever met. He was young, he was a priest, but he was also my baseball coach. As a CSB student, I remember feeling that one day I would like to have a similar impact on kids as these men did on me. Beyond my stepfather, Cathedral gave me many examples of people I wanted to emulate. Each of their legacies allowed me to contemplate what it
means to live a good life. I’m sad to say that I had to swim upstream to become a teacher and stay in the profession for my career, in part because financial success is so valued in our world. When I graduated from college and was looking for a job in education, I remember feeling like I was getting into the family business. Sure, I could have gone in a different direction professionally, but seeing first-hand the positive impact that one can have within a school community was hard to resist. I always had excellent educators who I could look at and think: “How could I possibly do better than that?” CSB: In addition to your seven years as Head of School at Milton Academy, you have been part of the coalition that wrote the groundbreaking report, “Turning the Tide,” released by the Making Caring Common Project. Can you tell us more about this? TB: My role in this was being part of the discussions that led to the creation of Turning the Tide . The Making Caring Common Project is extensive, and the title is a good descriptor of what the project is. Their focus is on education and ways in which we can focus on issues of caring and giving to one’s community. One of their central projects was releasing Turning the Tide . This work—to better value community engagement, caring and social justice—is an area of growth and development in education. The potential trickle down, from colleges and universities to K–12 schools, is exciting. Schools have the opportunity to focus on the real work of why we are in education, which is not just to get students into the most selective colleges. Obviously, we want our students to have great options, but we’re not in the business of education for that prize. Much of this work will allow us to incentivize the skills and experiences that are in the best interest of students’ development. MAKING CARING COMMON PROJECT (MCC) is a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education that helps educators, parents, and communities raise children who are caring, responsible to their communities, and committed to justice. MakingCaringCommon.org
Todd Bland, Head of School at Milton Academy since 2009
Continued on page 18
16 | CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
FALL 2016 • RED & GOLD | 17
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker