Innovation and Evolution

A couple of years ago, we attended the graduation of our son, Austin, from Ranger School at Fort Benning in Georgia. I hadn’t been to Benning since 1992, when I was in the Army. As we were walking around after the graduation ceremony, I saw a bayonet course in the distance and asked Austin how he liked bayonet training. He said they never stepped foot on the course. An hour or so later, I saw one of the Ranger School instructors and asked why they no longer trained on the bayonet course. He said the Army stopped that years ago. It turns out there hasn’t been a bayonet charge since 1951 during the Korean War. The army realized that warfare had changed, and the Army adapted.

Did you know that 88% of Fortune 500 companies that existed in 1955 are no longer around? Remember Blockbuster? At its peak in 2004, the company employed over 84,000 people and had over 9,000 stores. They failed to adapt to a changing market. Blockbuster had the opportunity to purchase Netflix in 200 for $50 million (today, Netflix is worth $259 billion).

Innovation and evolution are not something we should fear. We will always look for better ways to teach and learn at Saint Edward’s. We will also hold onto traditional methods of educating that have worked and continue to work. In many respects, I am still “old school,” but I am a believer that some new methods might be worthy of exploring.

I wish you all a fantastic spring break! Enjoy time with family and recharge the batteries for the final push to the end. Speaking of “exploring,” I will be exploring afternoon naps!

I look forward to seeing you on campus when we return on March 18!