Betting on Barger
A week ago Friday, an incident at Barger Academy of Fine Arts in Brainerd had the potential not only to cause extensive fire damage but also to scar a young student for life. Thanks not only to the teamwork of all involved but to the understanding that, as principal Greg Bagby noted, “a good kid made a bad decision,” neither happened.
What it involved were a curious boy, a lighter that shouldn’t have been brought from home, and some paper towels that might have looked appealing hanging down from their dispenser. One thing led to another, and eventually smoke was coming from the bathroom. What happened next? Everything went according to plan. The fire alarm was sounded, teachers began the orderly evacuation of children from the school, and parents were called and allowed to pick up their children if they so desired. The school’s food services even worked to feed students who hadn’t eaten lunch, some getting a picnic on what was a picture-perfect day.
“One of the things I’m most grateful for,” Bagby said, “is that all the pieces worked together. You don’t want it to happen, but I’m very thankful it happened the way it did.”
It would have been easy for the principal to write off the perpetrator as a loser, perhaps insist he not return to the school. But the principal, whose daily mantra to students is “be great because you are great,” preferred to look at the incident as isolated and may have felt as one teacher did, “who broke down in tears because of who the student was.” Another educator, now in another job, recalled the student as “a sweet, sweet boy.” While some consequences are likely to occur over the incident, it seems clear they won’t be the catalyst to ruin his life.