Lasting Impressions

September 21, 2018
I remember telling my father that I wanted to be a sculptor. He laughed and then directed me to do something that would keep me from living in his basement through my adulthood. I’ve actually been a potter and working with clay for over 30 years now, and although it is not my profession, it remains an active hobby. There’s something about working with clay — taking something in its raw form and changing it into something else — that is highly rewarding. Every time you handle clay, pick it up and work with it, an impression is made; it is altered. Some marks are hardly noticeable, some lead to major transformation.

 

The same is most certainly true of working with children also.

 

Adults need to make careful, calculated, impressions on children both in their home lives and at school. Everything we do, does indeed leave a mark. The hope is that these marks are all positive; that they lead to growth and positive change. At District 142, we pride ourselves on good decision-making which enables the district to make positive, long-lasting impressions on the children we work with. It is the compilation of these purposeful impressions — lessons taught over time— that leads to major changes in our students. As they grow and mature, turning into the adults they are meant to be, it’s imperative that the people around them are intentional.

 

We must be intentional in the manner in which we treat our students as people, purposeful in the lessons we teach, and careful in the assignments that are chosen. The work we are doing is powerful and is really life-changing. Think back to the people who left good marks in your life. It was about who they were as people that impacted us the most profoundly. Sometimes, they were even unaware of their impact on us; nonetheless, they made a difference in our lives so substantial, we remember it decades later. That is what we strive for in this district.

 

This all relates back to our staff theme for the year, that we relentlessly show everyone in our school community that we love what we do. When you love what you do, it’s evident in your behavior, expressions, and the way you do your work. When you love what you do, making a positive impression on the students we serve occurs on a daily basis happens naturally and with genuine intent.

 

We hold our children, parents, and school community in extraordinarily high regard. Hopefully you’ll notice too, that we love what we do!