Where Does the Time Go?
April 7, 2019
It’s hard to believe how fast time flies by. Here we stand, in April, with a few months left of the 2018-2019 School Year. When I reflect back on the work done this year, I am left with a feeling of gratitude for our teaching staff, who has implemented additional technologies, new schedules, new ELA curriculum, and adjusted to a more human-centered classroom design, chiefly in grades K-5. When you see one of these wonderful people, caring so deeply about the children they serve, please extend a kind word and a gesture of gratitude for a job well done! In our efforts to ever remain relevant, several epiphanies occurred to me recently, as I took my oldest children on their first college visitations.
Again, where did the time go? How can these people (yes, I have triplet daughters), who I remember just yesterday being born, possibly be heading into their senior year of high school and about to turn 18? Walking around college campuses, I kept thinking that in a little over a year, these amazing people — my first three children — will no longer be in my home and under my careful watch. As they enter the world what lessons do I most hope that they take with them?
My hopes for my own children and all of the children of District 142:
- That they have a healthy love of learning. That they are not intimidated to ask questions, stay with problems long enough to have a viable solution, or two or three, and that they can work alone with diligence and with others cooperatively. That they must be flexible, nimble, and adaptable… so they can operate successfully in a world that waits for no one to become comfortable as it progresses and changes.
- That they leave our care with a moral code of ethics. They should know how to treat people with respect, even when they disagree. People around them, with less opportunity, or luck, or education need to be cared for, compassionately, and in a genuine sense. Our world needs more kindness and general regard for both people and the environment we live in.
- That they be strong and independent. They need to find a way to make it in a tough world and support themselves with work that they are passionate about doing. Whether that be an engineer, in an office, in the trades, in the military, or any other self-chosen path; they should find something to do that both supports themselves and brings them joy. Life is short, and there are so many opportunities to do something that can be fulfilling, and productive, and useful. My advice: find what fulfills and do it with everything you have.
As I summarize these lessons back to District 142, I am proud of how we cultivate an environment that promotes a love for learning, in an environment where people are respected and treated well, while pursuing topics that are of interest to us. This will serve us well as we prepare our children for adulthood and beyond.