Super Spartan Written and Photographed by Zia Absar
“I always knew I wanted to be teacher. I never really felt safe in school, never really felt valued in school, never felt like I belonged in school. I know one of the reasons why I do leadership on campus and do community building in my classes is because I was that shy kid that nobody talked to. I was that kid that was left out and I was the one picked last... It is now my mission, that those people feel included. Whenever we do activities, I watch to see who is not being included and I make sure that they are being included. It’s essential for me that everybody feels involved, and I know that not everybody wants to be involved or acts like they don’t, but ultimately we all appreciate people caring about us” (Blair). William Blair has messy curly hair, a growing beard (because he has no time to shave), and wears dark rimmed glasses. Whenever you see him around Mountain View High School, he will have a pen behind his ear, so he can take impromptu notes. Because of his compulsive need to take notes, Blair’s hand writing has become terrible, for he does not have
enough time for neat notes. Mr. Blair fosters the growth of leaders by creating an inclusive and accepting community at Mountain View High School. Through ASB (Associated Student Body) and Leadership, he has made MVHS a warmer and happier place. Most students’ first impression of Blair comes from freshman orientation. As freshman arrive at Mountain View High School, they all gather in the big gym, where they get their name tag and and sit in the bleachers. Once everyone is seated, Blair grabs the mic and welcomes everyone. He greets everyone with a big smile and an inspiring speech, giving advice for the years to come. “High School is like a hundred dollar bill. You can waste this time and tear up the hundred dollar bill. Or, you can take advantage of the opportunity you have been given and save the money,” explains Blair. Then he takes out a crisp hundred dollar bill, waves it in the air and asks the freshman if he should tear it? The majority of the freshman say no, but there are always some that say yes. Blair chuckles and says,
“Why would I waste my high school career?” After Blair puts his unripped crisp bill back in his pocket all the Freshman disperse to meet with their POD leaders. These POD leaders are upperclassmen who have been training with Blair for days, they lead team building games and share what high school has been like for them. The Team Building Directory states that “Team-building programmes provide realistic experiences that empower individuals to contribute to common goals. The success of most organizations depends on the ability of individuals to build effective teams.” Blair has planned freshman orientation perfectly. He makes sure that the POD leaders are ready to provide realistic experiences and build a team in their group of freshman. This process allows freshmen to make new friends in their class, learn how to problem
solve, and understand high school better. With a father in the military, Blair moved around a lot as a kid and had a hard time making friends, even though he really wanted to. He wanted to make friends so much that he bought books on how to make friends, but he still had no luck. Blair recalls “one school that I transfered into midway through the year, and I was the new kid. And the new kid, everybody was like oh its the new kid, and I was popular because I was new. When people realized they didn’t really like me, it became like a ‘lets play with the new kid.’ So they did things like send me fake valentine’s day things and laugh at me. I went to one middle school party and I was standing all by myself the whole time. I saw they were pointing at me and laughing, and then, this one girl asked, ‘hey do you wanna dance?’ And I was like sure, so I went to
go dance with her. And then they all ran up and popped party poppers all around me and laughed. The girls was laughing because she knew what was going on and things like that happened more often than I liked... because those things happened, now I support and create a safe place for kids” (Blair). According to Ambassadors 4 Kids Club “1 out of every 4 kids is bullied. 4 out of 10 children will drop out of high school this year because they are being bullied at school. 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically.” Bullying has become very common in school. This should be taken very seriously since there are many long lasting effects of bullying. Kids who have been bullied have a higher risk of depression and anxiety. Bullying can also lead to low self-esteem, hopelessness, and isolation (Staffordshire Learning Net). Victims of bullying also have increased
thoughts about suicide that may carry on into adulthood: “In one study, adults who recalled being bullied in youth were 3 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or inclinations” (Ambassadors 4 Kids Club). Through his childhood experiences, Blair has devoted his career as a teacher to stop bullying. He says, “If I’m the adult in the room and someone’s being picked on, it’s my moral obligation to step in, so I do. There cannot be people feeling belittled, or made fun of, or bullied, because it’s my fault.” As a high school student, Blair inclusion. For example, the first never thought he would become the time ever at MVHS, we did a wave ASB advisor. He said that at his high at a rally, showing more school school, “I didn’t feel like I belonged in spirit and togetherness. I think the ASB group, and I didn’t like that everything we have done those last group. They were very unaware of four years, we are taking a step up people that were suffering. And they each stair each year. And I think were very unaware of what vibe they we are getting closer to a sense of created.” Now, Blair wants to create inclusion and a sense of celebraASB and Leadership with a “more tion, validation, and support. But open and inclusive vibe. But are we we are definitely not there” (Blair). there? No way, I think we are still Blair wants to keep getting miles away. We have made a lot steps closer to the sense of inclusion in into the positive direction, towards the future. He explains, “I nev-
er wanna stop being a teacher, I always wanna be in the classroom. But, I think over the course of the last couple of years, I started to have this thought. That when I teach in the classroom, I can have an affect on those 35 people in the room, and then they will have an affect on their friends and families. I see that there is an opportunity to foster the goodness in the world in that way. I’m thinking more in the future, that there is ways to teach teachers how to create that
in their classrooms. If I can take a classroom of 35 teachers and teach them how to have goodness and love and empathy and leadership skills, and then they bring that to 35 different classrooms, there is potential for more goodness,
exponentially. I am intrigued by the idea of being not a principal, but an assistant principal. “ Through his strive for inclusion and acceptance of everyone, Blair has become a super Spartan at MVHS. Because of his involve-
ment in every school activity, he has helped many more students feel accepted and welcomed at MVHS. Blair exclaims, “If there is even one student that doesn’t feel involved, doesn’t feel included, we have failed.”
“If there is even one student that doesn’t feel involved, doesn’t feel included, we have failed.” -Blair