You & Your Students Matter

After reading the article shown above (during my lunch hour), I find it readily apparent that the issues affecting education are much broader and far-reaching than the current situation we are facing in Oklahoma. (I'm sure this is not a surprise to anyone). This article does an excellent job to highlight the myriad issues facing educators today. Even when we have an educator (Arne Duncan) running the show from the Top, it seems that the situation continues to get worse.

So what are educators and education advocates to do? How do we change the system? What recourse do classroom teachers have? How can administrators encourage teachers to stay and keep up the good fight?

I certainly don't have the answers, but I want to send a note of encouragement to my educator friends:

• Keep working to build deep relationships with your students. That matters. That's counts. 
• You may be the only stable person in your students' lives. 
• Your classroom may be the only safe place students have right now.
• Your students are people. They are more than a number. More than a score. More than a statistic. 
• You are more than a formula
• You matter. 
• You have influence. 
• You can make a difference, even on the days when you feel like you aren't.

Often attributed to Albert Einstein, others credit noted psychologist William Bruce Cameron with the following quote:

Not everything that can be counted counts.Not everything that counts can be counted.

The love you show toward your students is literally immeasurable.

John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…”