Mary’s Minute
You perhaps have heard the story of the traveler
who met three stonecutters. When he
asked the first what he was doing the stonecutter said in a miserable tone that
he was chiseling heavy stones trying to eke out a living. The second stonecutter was doing the exact
same task, but replied that he was doing the very best job he could to cut
stone and be the best stonecutter he could be.
When the third stonecutter was asked what he was doing, he replied with
pride, “I am building a great cathedral.”
Each year at Perry Central we designate the first week of May as Appreciation Week, taking the opportunity to officially "appreciate" teachers, as well as all staff members. During this week, I was thinking about this parable and the different roles people have at a school. I was playing out in my mind how different employees would answer the question from the three stonecutters' perspectives. For instance, if you asked three bus drivers what they were doing, the first might reply, "I drive a big yellow bus from point A to point B hauling a bunch of kids." Taking on the second perspective, a bus driver might reply, "I take pride in safely transporting students to and from school each day." The third might reply beaming with pride, "I have the privilege of driving students safely to school each day, making a difference in their lives with my positive attitude." We may all have different jobs, and if we are
the first two stonecutters our responses to what we “do” might sound like, “I
drive a bus; I sweep floors; I mow grass; I push papers; etc.” I think it might be fun for each of us to
think of our tasks from the three perspectives, and the key is that I believe
Perry Central staff members, regardless of their job see the big picture and
realize that we are not doing miniscule work, but rather we are building the
future, which is even more exciting than building a great cathedral! What makes Perry Central great is that our
family of employees complete their work with the end in mind, focusing on
students and genuinely care for them.
Perry Central employees are an amazing group of people, and I hope they know that they are
appreciated!
Have
a great week!
Mary
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