Trust Me

A recent report published by the Pew Research Center examined the public perception of trust in people that hold various positions of power. (You can read the Washington Post article on it here) The report found that the public has lost trust in many traditional positions of power. Despite that, one position did surprisingly well in the survey. School principals rated consistently high or highest in all parts of the survey. That's interesting, but I don't think that the story should stop there. School principals are extensions of the school. Nothing that I say would matter, if the teachers and other adults in the building did not validate those words through actions. I can say that we want the best for your child, but it is usually others in the school that perform the tasks of teaching, caring, feeding, clothing and all of the many other aspects expected of educators today for students.

In a world that seems more divided and jaded than ever, the public seems to have a renewed trust in the adults that their children spend the most time with. This is exactly why we have to continue communicating with families, no matter how hard it is to fit that into our schedules. It is easy to be anxious or nervous about calling home, with thoughts of what may happen on the other end of the line. And while every experience may not be a great one, that shouldn't stop the important work of talking to families about their child's progress in school. This has been something that I've tried to push for a few years now, and since then, I've had numerous teachers who either did or did not receive information from their own child's school tell me how important they realized communication was as a parent.

People believe what I say, because of what you do. My words without your actions would lead to distrust. This survey simply validates the work that our school and so many others are doing to include families in the education of their children, rather than it being our responsibility alone. So trust me, your efforts matter.