I try to carry that lesson with me into schools. No job is below me. No detail is too small. It’s about honoring the work and the people who do it. It’s about the culture we’re building—one choice at a time.
I worry about this so much that I wrote about it in Legacy of Learning, “You are giving others the strength to move forward, the strength to believe in themselves, the strength to try to make this world a better place. Knowing this makes being an educator so meaningful. But we don’t have to suffer while we make this kind of impact. In fact, the more we can live well and be well, the more our impact will grow.”
The Show Goes On
It dawned on me today that if I want this in our school district, the best way to get it is to see the little kid inside of others. When they are yelling, unreasonable, seemingly unfair, they are afraid of something or longing for something too. Picturing their little self allows me to approach them with more compassion. It’s not that I will “treat them like a kid” but I will love them in the ways I needed love then and need it now.
Stay Curious
There’s a fine line between being selfless and about others and about the work without being too small.
Why Leaders Need Novels
This may be the most obvious but underrated way we change our schools, our communities, and ultimately the world.
The Noticing Notebook
Noticing is a small thing that makes a big impact, and if you’ve read Legacy of Learning, you know I’m about mosquito moves. Big moves can intimidate me. Small moves executed consistently? That I can do.
When We Don’t Know
If we don’t figure this out, it will be difficult to endure, and we need healthy people in schools. As Zach Mercurio, author of The Power of Mattering says, “We can’t have healthy organizations with unhealthy people.”
The Hidden Superpower
If you want to grow the potential of others, start by nurturing the potential within yourself.
Healing our Community
Technology can bring us together. It can help us find each other in the wilderness, but it’s how we navigate the wilderness together that will determine our collective future.
Keep Walking
And you know why you’re growing? Because you keep walking. You keep walking through this hard, beautiful life and these days, that takes fortitude, guts, and sheer determination
MEGHAN LAWSON 