If you know me, you know I love words and quotes and books and anything that inspires or makes me think. I especially love to listen to coaches of sports teams talk about how they motivate and inspire their players.
A few weeks ago we attended Rocco and Gino’s end of the season football banquet. I loved listening to the coaches talk about the players and witnessing how truly connected they were to the kids they had spent so much time with for the past few years. At the end of the banquet l, the head coach said something that got my attention. Of course, I had to take out my phone and save the quote in my notes. And, if you know me, you know I’ve been thinking about his words and recognizing the message in my daily life ever since. What he said has been playing over and over in my head, “Don’t work to get done, work to get better!” That’s a good one isn’t it? How often do you just work to get done and then move on to the next thing. I’ve noticed myself doing this time and time again over the last few weeks. But, when I’ve given myself a chance to take a breath and ask myself if I’m working to get done or if I’m working to get better, I’ve noticed that the quality of my work and my personal satisfaction with it has greatly improved. I’m trying to incorporate this mantra into all parts of my life. It’s definitely not easy, but I’m astonished by how often I find myself simply “working to get done”. So, as we are all anxious to get started with lie much deserved winter break, I ask is all to think about how we finish these last few days of school for 2022. Are we working to get finished or are we working to get better?
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Today I was brought to tears, not once but twice.
I hope you all know how much I LOVE YOU and THIS PLACE. I know the work you do is the GOOD work, the RIGHT work and the work that EVERY CHILD DESERVES. You also know how strongly I feel about culture and the energy that we bring to this place. This morning we were in an ETR with a family of a student who, about a year ago, quite honestly did not want their child to come to this school. They had "heard" things about this school and they had intentionally moved to an area in our district that has "the best school". So after they learned that he needed to attended JW Reason to get his IEP services they were less than thrilled. Well, I love a challenge, and I knew that with time this family would soon learn that they were very wrong about JW Reason. Today at the end of our ETR the student's mom thanked the team over and over again and then she said, "I just feel like this school is kind of like church!" She went on to say, "you know how you walk into church and everyone is so kind and welcoming? That's what this school is like. And, our daughter is going to kindergarten next year and she really wants to be a 'DOLLY DOLPHIN'!" Well, that did it and I started crying. My tears were those "proud mom" tears. The ones that start flowing when someone else recognizes your child for something and you know fully the hard work and determination it took to get to that place. The tears were also because a 5 year old wants to be a "Dolly Dolphin". I know that may sound silly, but to me, it means that we are a brand, Dolly is special and kids want to be part of the school with Dolly! Later today, I had another meeting. This time, through an interpreter, a parent said "God bless all of you for helping my child." It's been a good day. Maybe I didn't realize how much I needed to hear those words from parents. And, I'm assuming if I needed to hear this, that you all need to. So, take a moment and remember that we are making a difference in the live of kids and families. I also want to remind you that the impact of an educator is measured by generations. It may be years down the road that some families realize how impactful their time here was. Whether it's now or later, it's because of you. |
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