CONNECTIONS
• A Kents Hill Life
A Kents Hill Life
• CO N NECT I O N S
We began to write a piece about the incomparable Jeff DeHaven for this issue of Kents Hill Today, but true to form, he bested us! He went “all-in” and wrote his own! We honestly think he did a wonderful job (which is not surprising as he is frequently called “favorite teacher” by many alumni), so without further adieu, we introduce you to a man who to most, needs no introduction... the myth, the teacher, the coach, the legend—“DeHave.” Words by Jeff DeHaven
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A Kents Hill Life 40
KE NTS HIL L TO DAY
hen Eric Eisele ‘99 was in his senior spring, I repeatedly gave him a hard time about being out of dress code. One day, I’d had just about enough, so I kind of went off on him. “Eric!” I said. “I’m not gonna tell you again, you HAVE TO BE IN DRESS CODE!!!” Eric replied, “Why you gotta be like that?!! I just got back from tutoring kids at the Fayette School and we don’t have to be in dress code there!” I felt really foolish, but I learned a valuable lesson. From that day forward, I tried to lead with a question rather than a value judgement. So, my “go-to” became, “how come you’re not in dress code?” instead of “you have to be in dress code!” Or “why didn’t you make it to class today?” instead of “you missed another class!” Or “why are you late?” instead of “If you’re late again, you’re gonna get a cut!” Or “why didn’t you get your homework done,” or “why didn’t you do well on the test?” As a teacher and coach at Kents Hill, I was always learning from students and as an administrator and faculty member, I got to share those lessons with other teachers. I always felt that as a Kents Hill teacher, I was a little different from teachers at other schools. Whether I was 34 or 64, I grew older each year,
but my students always stayed the same age. However, I learned that all good teachers, as the years go by, change for the better. For example, as a young teacher, I was positive that I had to strive for consistency, but as I gained experience I concluded that “consistency” means different things to different people. Benjamin Disraeli said that “the secret to success is consistency,” but Aldous Huxley said, “the only truly consistent people are dead.” Joseph Conrad said that “consistency is the very soul of discipline,” but Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.” Francis Bacon said “consistency is the foundation of all virtue,” but Oscar Wilde said that “consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” For my part, I’m not sure that it’s the “foundation of all virtue,” but when I was consistent, I knew I wasn’t dead, and I didn’t think that I was “completely unimaginative.” There was undoubtedly some middle ground, and as a teacher at Kents Hill, it was my job to try to find it. Kids, teenagers, in particular, have an acute sense of justice, so they demanded that I be consistent. However, there were often extenuating circumstances that I had to take into consideration that
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