SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 7 ~ September 25th, 2023

Super Monday Message

This is a story I tell in my Financial Literacy class and it is a true story. In the late 1700’s there was a French philosopher named Denis Diderot. Mr. Diderot was a poor man most of his life. His most famous achievement was assisting in the creation of the world’s first encyclopedia. His fame for that achievement led him to a special business deal that made him a favorable sum. A couple years salary perhaps. Shortly after this good fortune he purchased a new scarlet robe. 

This fancy new robe caused Denis Diderot significant sorrow. As he admired his new robe he noticed how plain and common many of his other possessions were. He lamented, “now all is discord. The overall effect is lost….there’s no longer any unity or beauty.” He quickly replaced his old rug with a nicer imported rug. He was then not satisfied anymore with his straw chair and replaced it with a leather chair. He then had to replace the mirror and the table. Mr. Diderot was soon caught in a spiral of consumption that was not improving his happiness. 

At last Mr. Diderot realized he was actually happier with his old gown. With his old gown he was not afraid to wipe the dust off of his books or sit with his old possessions. He wrote, “I was absolute master of my old dressing gown, but I have become a slave to my new one.” He had believed that the new robe would make him feel free and wealthy, but the robe had done the opposite.

Almost 200 years later, world economists started calling the pressure to make additional purchases after one purchase as the Diderot Effect. The experts working in marketing immediately jumped on the idea and began escalating the marketing of products with a series of other products. If you have a iPhone, you might feel some pressure to get an Apple Watch rather than a cheaper smart watch. If you buy a bed frame online from Wayfair they will immediately suggest you also purchase the dresser, the nightstand, and the other furniture pieces that are part of the set. 

Professional marketers have become extremely good at making us build images in our minds of what our life will be like with a series of products. They convince us that if we are still unhappy it’s because there is still a missing piece of our set. Juliet Schor says in her book Overspent America: Why We Want What We Don’t Need that we buy things because of the “symbolic fantasy” attached to them.

The Didoret Effect is not a story to say that everyone should be ultra frugal or that everyone should never buy anything not essential to sustaining life. The story merely illustrates that many purchases do not live up to their promises and that we might be happier with what we have than we thought we were. What we have in Piute County may seem like nothing in some comparisons, but we know that what we have here is pretty special. Have a great week 7.

Super High Fives

Just a couple of the awesome recent accomplishments that need a big thank you. 

• Super high five to the newly inaugurated President of Snow College. Stacee McIff was officially inducted as the 18th President of Snow College last week. President McIff went to 1A high school and understands rural education. We’re excited to get to work with her.
• Super high five to Mr. Clint Randall. He took an awesome job offer and will be leaving his maintenance position with the high school on October 1st. We are grateful he’ll still be living in Piute County. We are also very grateful he’ll still be able to serve as a wrestling coach. First draft of the winter sports schedule here.

Other Super Information

• The November ballot will have a question about a bond for a consolidated elementary school in Junction. A public hearing will be held on October 24th at 6:00 PM at Piute High School. Everyone is invited to the meeting. This link is to a community information folder regarding the proposal.

Super Weekly Schedule