Posted: April 13, 2020
Staff,
I hope you’ve gotten a bit of downtime and were able to enjoy some sunshine this weekend. I want to keep filling your inbox with inspiration to start your week. I also want to acknowledge that even while looking for bright spots, this really isn’t how we wanted the rest of this year to go. I go through these patterns of being really frustrated and then reminding myself to focus on what I do have some influence over.
I really appreciate so many of you sending ideas and hope. I wanted to share one with you on this beautiful Sunday that came to me from Odyssey Middle School and one of Megan Runyan’s students, Isabel. Isabel was asked to respond to the prompt, What am I grateful for? What expectations of “normal” am I letting go of today? Her response is below.
In this time of struggle I have come to realize how grateful I am for the support the human race tends to show one another in times of need. It has become extremely evident in the last few weeks that so many people are trying to do everything they can to provide support and encouragement to those around them, and especially to those who need it most. I’ve noticed on almost every TV channel you can find people offering kind and supportive messages. My neighbors decorated their outward facing windows with construction paper in the shapes of hearts and smiley faces, and my family is going to do the same in our own windows as well, and it makes me extremely proud to be a part of a place that is so supportive.
Today I will no longer limit myself to believing that school is a place, and I will further broaden my beliefs into trying to comprehend that school is more so a concept of a group of people with a passion/want/need for education. I think that if I apply this new idea into my life it will make the new learning adjustments come easier, and be much more “normal.”
I love the idea that school is our community coming together in our shared focus on learning. Thank you Isabel for sharing your wisdom with us and thanks Ms. Runyon for the great questions!
Have a great week everyone and keep up the great work!
Jeff
