In a system that reduces our goals for students to numbers and makes decisions without regard to impact on human beings, we need to keep humanity in our hearts even when so much of our system has been reduced to data and consequences that don’t take human hearts into account.
There is a tension among educators in many districts that one mistake in the wrong setting and they will be eventually be gone. There is a harshness about impact on human beings, on communities.
Sometimes my past and potential for mistakes worries me so much I dread going into a new day. That was me yesterday though on the outside I had determined to buck up and go forward without worry. First thing in the morning, friend who works as support staff at a school brought me a little bamboo plant that symbolizes all kinds of good things as well as supposed to bring you good things in your life. I know it has become trite to talk about random acts of kindness or pay it forward. Maybe it was a sweetness of that little plant, or the heart with which she gave it to me. Maybe it was coming from her with her depth of caring and knowing me from working together over the years.
Maybe it was knowing how bamboo grows so fast–can take over quickly if given a chance.
My view on the day shifted. I felt support to take chances because not doing it right all the time may be a part of real life even when it feels like we may not get second chances these days. There is always another chance for good fortune through our connections and sharing with other people.