Be the Change

I’ve had all kinds of thoughts about posts for this week. Posts inspired by learning from a conference. A post inspired by colleagues. And yet, I keep coming back to one of my greatest teachers. My cat, Bumper. You read that right. Some of you may have stopped reading. I get it. But bear with me. This isn’t a cat post.

All four of our cats are rescues. My husband doesn’t like to think about their lives before us. He finds it too painful, and I get that. It’s hard to think about whether they were outside and struggling. When it comes to our two cats with three legs, it’s really hard to imagine what caused their injuries.

But I want to take a moment to thank whomever loved Bumper before us. Because there is no way he wasn’t someone’s special guy. I know it by the way he loves me and shows up for me on a daily basis. Someone taught him how to love deeply. I know this because he wanted to sit in my lap since the day we brought him home. I know this because on the day we found him, he sank into my arms with full trust that he was safe and cared for. Someone taught him that people can be good, good to you, and good for you. I don’t know what happened before he was ours. I don’t know what traumatic moment pulled him from his family or what caused him to lose his leg or whether those two events are connected in anyway, but I know he was loved before me. I know because I can feel it. And that love has made our love possible.

The same is true for people. When I think about the kindness people have shown me in my new role and school district this school year. Any person who has come into my adult life, someone before me loved them and taught them how to be sincere, kind, and generous toward others.

Unfortunately, I’ve encountered the opposite as well. I’m sure many of us have. People who use sarcasm, belittle me, and continue to dehumanize me this school year. Being in leadership roles comes with challenges. That’s to be expected. We know that people will not always agree with decisions. It’s important that we’ve created a culture where people can disagree and challenge. But it’s important to remember that every person, even those holding leadership titles, is a human being.

As I say in Legacy of Learning, my expectations for learning are high. My expectations for how we treat each other are even higher.

I choose to stay encouraged by the people who can balance healthy conflict and meaningful relationship. I choose to stay encouraged by the people who manage to keep their hearts soft while persevering through significant challenges.

To the people who loved others through the process of growing and evolving before I had the privilege of knowing them, thank you. To those who continue to love others, including myself, as we do hard work together, thank you.

Mr. Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Here’s to the helpers. The people who understand that most of us are doing the best we know how to do. The people who engage in dialogue from a place of genuine care and curiosity and desire to find a path forward together that supports all learners, adults and students alike.

I will not allow others to harden my heart or shrink my spirit. I will not allow others to gaslight me or make myself and others feel small.

I will be generous to others, so they can be pre-loved for their next professional chapters and spread the good we need to see in our schools and subsequently this world.

I encourage us all to be the change we wish to see in our schools. One conversation at a time. One day at a time. One brave step at a time.

We are all responsible for the culture. The good parts of it. The hard parts of it. And the future that is yet to exist but can be created if we work together. All of us.

Together.