Groucho Marx once said he didn't “care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.” I can relate to that.
Take country clubs, for example. I've golfed with me. A lot. And if I were able to clone myself, I, too, would avoid golfing with me at all costs. Granted, there are many local country clubs that have membership drives and quotas to fill. I should know – I've tried many times to join some of them, usually using my own name. I'm usually given myriad excuses why my application was rejected. The reasons given include:
“No, Mr. Trottier, none of our greens have the windmills or loop-de-loops of which you are accustomed.”
“I'm sorry, sir, but a shotgun start is not the same thing as a shotgun wedding. We really try to discourage the discharging of firearms, especially when we have members playing the course. It's bad public relations.”
“No, sir, you may not use your IQ as your handicap.”
“Yes, we do have best ball tournaments, and no, you cannot pick-up the best ball you can find and claim it as your own.”
Yet I continued in my persistence to find a place that allows people like me to golf without detracting from other golfers' links experience or doing harm to any living thing. Golf is my addiction and I jones without it.
Thankfully, I have found a place that not only tolerates me, but welcomes me as a member! I'm grateful for a couple of teachers from Merrimack Valley Middle School, who unwittingly introduced me to both the game of golf and Shaker Road School.
Over the past seven years or so, I have become a fixture at the Shaker Road School golf course. It's a small par-3 course located behind the Shaker Road School, 93 Shaker Road. It's more than a diamond in the rough. It's a testament to the altruism of owners Doug and Patty Hicks – and every member of the school.
To fully understand the school's golf course, it is necessary to appreciate the school's philosophy of inclusion of all.
This philosophy was incorporated in SRS's mission statement when it was founded in 1979. It still rings true today, albeit with more emphasis on experiential learning, utilizing the traditional classroom settings in combination with the 63 acres of campus to create a holistic educational environment. Shaker serves approximately 350 students from pre-school to middle school age and has a summer day program focusing on the recreational and social needs of approximately 450 kids.
The golf course is used by students, staff and local neighbors (and an occasional leech/mooch like me), however, Shaker Road is first and foremost a school, and the students' needs take precedence.
More important is that Shaker Road School is a caring community that embraces the philosophy that learning by doing and community involvement make citizens good and good citizens better, a credo that each member of Shaker Road adheres to and practices on a daily basis. They must. They not only tolerate my presence, they actually welcome it!
Staff members of Shaker Road commit themselves to the educational philosophy that defines Shaker Road School, and display their dedication and devotion to this establishment with long-term commitment to employment. Most of Shaker Road's staff have been there for at least 10 years. That speaks volumes. Indeed, semi-retired maintenance director/jack-of-all trades Ralph Wilson has been a fixture at the various incarnations of Shaker Road for 60 years!
