Stay the Course!

 

Education in today's world is a challenging environment, with the complexities of many competing demands brought on by political agendas, curriculum reforms, school strategic plans, budget restrictions, individual learning requirements, student wellbeing, programming, compliance and risk management. Reading this list, it could quite easily be seen as an overwhelming proposition if you were not able to see beyond the immediate.  

 

As an educational leader, I often spend time with teachers who lose sight of why they came into teaching and get caught focusing on items contained in this list. Being honest, there are times where I too have fallen into this trap. When our eyes are down, we focus on the problems, we may become filled with frustration and anxiety.  

 

If you are like me and many other educators, you came into education because you had a heart for making a difference and leaving an impact on the lives of students. Our students are the reason why we do what we do each day. When our gaze is lifted, we can see how the complex demands might be used to form the experiences, character and competencies of the students in our care. Ultimately, they don't remember the individual lessons or experiences we create for them on a daily basis; however, they do remember how we made them feel. They remember if they were known and seen. We have a gift handed to us that shapes the way society will be into the future. 

 

Loren Eiseley wrote a poem called "The Star Thrower". 

 

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which hundreds of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. 

 

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!” 

 

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, 

 

"Well, it made a difference to that one!" 

 

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. 

 

Sometimes, we can feel like that Old Man focusing on the issues rather than addressing what we can and taking action as the Little Girl did. We know the changes that need to happen to the system of education are not things that happen overnight, but we can take the steps to manage our own self-care and wellbeing, ensuring we turn up each day as our best self. It is important we see our contribution to shaping society as critical. 

Remember.  

 

You are valuable, you are worthy, you are able, you are skilled, you are respected, you are seen, you have what it takes, and you have a voice.  

 

I know we don't always feel like this but as individuals and as a collective in education we make a difference and have a lasting impact on the lives of so many.  

 

Stay the course! 

 

Reference: 

Eiseley L. (1968). The Star Thrower from THE UNEXPECTED UNIVERSE Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.