Behind the Scenes

Over the past few weeks I have been pretty busy. There have been several end of year ceremonies, performances and awards that I've attended. At each of these events I've been paying attention to something other than the main event. I've been watching the people behind the scenes.

Those that work behind the scenes work exceptionally hard to go unnoticed. If they do their work well, your focus stays on the performer(s), the action or the stage. All you notice is that everything ran smoothly for you to see what you were intended to see. They work hard to make someone else shine.  Between the students that run lights, sound and props at the Ramblers show, assistants that organized and ordered plaques, and staff that mail home notifications to family, there are many things that get done that we often overlook. I saw that especially this week as we prepared for the Senior Signing as SGA officers worked with school staff to organize the event and as our staff worked hard to be certain that every student walked away with something to represent their school. All we saw was a large group of happy students that proudly signed their name for everyone to see.

Teaching is the same way. We have been working hard to prepare students for an exam that will lead to credit for a course, and ultimately, graduation. If we do our work well, students show up, do well in an exam and everyone congratulates them on their achievement. The work behind the scenes is what got them ready for that day. So as we prepare for the end of the year, much like the end of a performance, I want to thank the crew. Thanks for all of the work behind the scenes that has given our students the opportunity to shine. Their achievement comes from your work and while you may not be in the spotlight, your work hasn't gone unnoticed.

You Get What You Need

The Rolling Stones formed in 1962 and emerged in America as a part of the British rock invasion that swept the country. Unlike all other bands of that era, they are still around today. While they may have started out with lyrics like, "I can't get no satisfaction," they grew up to learn that, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you'll get what you need." There is a lot of maturity in that change and I think we go through the same changes in schools. When we see problems that are difficult to fix, we feel very unsatisfied, but when we put our own effort into it and roll up our sleeves, we often can get what we need to make it work.

Yesterday our student leaders met with the Board of Education. I try to never script what student say at this meeting and let students have a real voice for what matters to them. They discussed wanting some changes to Overtime, increased prep for college applications and scholarships and some general upgrades to school facilities. We try to work through these big requests and find a place where we can get what we need. That same philosophy holds true for me as well. This week and next I will be working with the counselors and data managers to build our schedule for next year. Right now I (and you) want a lot of things, hopefully, with some effort, we will get what we need.

Things that we want changed take effort and while we may not always get what we want, when we put forth that strong effort, we do usually come out just fine. Thanks in advance for all of the last minute effort that so many of you are putting forth, I'm certain that our students will get what they need.

Passion

Three bricklayers are hard at work. A man passes by and asks, "What are you doing?" 
The first bricklayer says, "I am laying bricks."
The second says, "I am building a church."
And the third says, "I am building the house of God."

The first bricklayer has a job. The second has a career. The third has a calling. 

                                                                                                                                                                   

On Wednesday when Marlanna Evans spoke to our senior class about her career and what inspired her, she talked about passion. She explained that she has put 10,000 hours over 10 years into what she calls her job before she has started to receive recognition. That passion for who she is and what she wanted to do has paid off. She asked that our seniors take the same approach in choosing what their next step in life will be. I hope that they listened.

Teaching is something that you have to be passionate about to appreciate. Much like the story of the bricklayers, the emphasis of our job changes depending on how we see ourselves, not how others see us. I think that if we applied this parable to education, the first person would be teaching students, the second would be growing young minds and the third would be building tomorrow's citizens. The passion that one has for their job and their goal can greatly impact how they perform. It is usually easy to spot someone that is passionate about their job. These are the people that are always enjoying what they do. They put extra time and effort into it and they genuinely care about the outcome. I have no doubt that any school has all three "bricklayers" on their staff and honestly, that's ok. It takes time to determine what you are passionate about. Inspiration does not come overnight. I do encourage you to find what you are passionate about in this job and seek to grow that into a career and if you're lucky, a calling.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week and thanks to all of the "bricklayers" that are building tomorrow's citizens.