Hiccup is the protagonist in Dreamworks latest animation titled, How to Train Your Dragon. Hiccup’s physical features of a toothpick thin physique are contrasted with the burly Viking clan on the Island of Berk. The island is a mythical place with marauding dragons. The clan places a high value on dragon slaying skills, none of which are possessed by Hiccup.
You can imagine that a dragon slayer must be strong, agile, and able to use dragon slaying weapons. Hiccup does not attain any of aforementioned skills and is a bit of an outcast on the Island of Berk. Instead, Hiccup uses ingenuity and research to create a dragon slaying weapon in hopes of earning the favor of his clan by slaying the elusive night fury dragon. You’ll have to see the movie, I recommend the 3-D version, to see how the story unravels. However, there is a practical life lesson that became evident and worth pondering.
Have you ever asked why something is done a certain way only to hear, “Because that is how we have always done it!” Our last house had a wood burning stove. Obviously, wood needed to be split and most of it I split with a maul, sledge hammer, and a wedge. I split cords of wood using this technique until I borrowed a power splitter. Technology allowed me to place huge pieces of wood on the platform while a hydraulic wedge did the work for me. My output increased significantly and quickly stopped splitting wood the “way I had always done it.” I know some of you may choose to split wood for exercise, but that isn’t the point!
Internally, I sometimes struggle with allowing others the chance to tackle tasks within our school using their ideas and their methods, especially our students. While I sat next to my son in the theater listening to his whispers about what Hiccup should or should not do, my son is five, I began to think that his fresh insights are just that, fresh!
I’m quickly realizing that many of today’s challenges are not going to be solved by using yesterday’s solutions. Hiccup used his talents to full potential to gain favor within his clan. Isn’t that what we want from our students, just to do their best? Our future leaders are in school now and I am compelled to promote alternative thinkers like Hiccup and my son!
Who would have thought that a night at the cinema would turn into professional development!
Good application to bullying here too. The way it’s always been done is to punish the bullies and prepare the bullied. Clearly that didn’t work. What about getting the bystanders to stand up to it?
Hiccup’s village looked at the problem of sharing the island with dragons in the sense of how many dragons they could beat compared with how many sheep and houses they would lose. Percentages were evaluated and an arbitrary number was accepted as success. It wasn’t until Hiccup completely changed their way of looking at things that they saw the possibility of a different outcome.
What if lowering the bullying incidents at school to an acceptable number was replaced with zero bullying?
I find in most venues, schools, courtroom, even in personal relationships, I’m always hearing “because that’s how we’ve always done it,” or some variation. Yours is a simple story with a big conclusion. For some, it’s too hard to go against the grain, even if it’s the right thing to do. But it usually gets results. Thank you!
Good morning Adam,
Thanks for posting your article. I took my 7 year old daughter to the 3-D version of the movie and I have to admit, there’s a ton of life lessons in it… which is why I think my daughter and I enjoyed it so much.
With regards to your point, I too, feel there is often times a plateau that people hit… I’m content with my learning or I’m content with my role, or I’m content with my actions. Either way, being content, at least for me, is a “safe place” whereby I feel it is unnecessary to challenge the status quo.
Personally, I haven’t felt “content” about much lately. I’m feeling challenged in every facet of life. Sometimes that’s a good thing, other times it can feel like too much. Sometimes I crave my “safe place”.
Perhaps then, the goal is to have balance… recognizing our home/safe place that we can retreat to when life gets hectic, while also recognizing that we are all called to make a difference in the world, our communities, and in our relationships with others.
So, the question(s) for me is:
Where is my safe place, where is my mission field, and how can I learn to travel between the two while maintaining my joy, enthusiasm, and hope?