Leadership and Development Trainer
It’s three in the afternoon. You didn’t have time for lunch, and you realize you’re hungry, so you weigh two options. You can either stop for a snack or, remembering that you’re going to dinner at one of your favorite restaurants, you’ll just wait and fully enjoy the dining experience.
Reflect, then thank your lucky stars and have empathy for the kids in your schools who leave for the weekend knowing that their next decent meal may be breakfast when they get to school on Monday.
Two thoughts come to mind. First, be grateful for educators like you and other leaders who have fought for funding to provide free meals for our students in need. In an earlier Leaders Forum article, I wrote about a superintendent who lobbied hard for funding to ensure that the summer school students in his district had a hot lunch before they went home for the day. I know that most administrators in Minnesota show that same determination to make sure our kids’ basic needs are met. Borrowing from the title of that article, “I know how much you care.”
The second thought is the realization that it may be time for some courageous but civil discourse about systemic change. Make sure we focus our conversation away from assigning blame for problems and on fixing them. Cutting SNAP benefits is absolutely devastating to our impoverished families, but name-calling and finger-pointing isn’t nearly as effective as working to restore benefits.
The well-known serenity prayer, originally penned by Reinhold Neiuhr, asks that we be granted the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Perhaps we can reframe that a little and ask that we be granted the courage to change the things we cannot accept.
With intelligent and civil leadership, we can narrow our political divide, but it will take courage (there’s that word “courage” again) tempered with levelheaded discourse. It is imperative that we approach everything we do with a sense of civility and respect for others’ opinions, but we do need to hold firm to principles and policies that will create a brighter future for the young people entrusted to us.
As we continue our quest to live up to the ideals that our founding fathers framed 250 years ago, I am reminded of two quotes that can inspire our grassroots efforts.
“Some people see the world as it is and ask ‘Why?’ I see the world as it could be and ask, ‘Why not?’” – Bobby Kennedy
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Meade
Have a great school year and let’s get ready to change the world.
Denny Smith is a former teacher and coach, a motivational speaker, and an author committed to making our schools and communities safe and welcoming for all people. Excerpts from his latest books, Emotional Intelligence 101, Coaches Make the Difference, and Always Be a Class Act ” can be previewed at http://www.dennysmith.com.
