Dexter Mahaffey: The age of infinite interruptibility

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Dexter Mahaffey, of Charlotte, who is head of school at Vermont Commons School in South Burlington.
In his essay “A Good Scythe,” Wendell Berry writes about his preference for using the old-world tool over the now ubiquitous weed-eater. While Berry objects to the combustion engine tool’s effect on our environment, his focus here is on pace. A scythe, he argues, limits one’s work naturally: There’s only so long you can keep