10-23-2015

Mary’s Minute

“Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.”

              ~Pauline R. Kezer 

“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.”

               ~Harrison Ford

 

Fall is perhaps the greatest time of the year to live in Perry County.  The weather seems perfect this week, and the fall color is breath-taking.  Although change can be a frightening endeavor, nature’s way of bringing in change reminds us that change is beautiful.  Fall color is a great reminder that we should not fear change, but rather see it as an opportunity for growth and a second chance.  is in a beautiful way that helps us see that change is not simply necessarily, but that it is helpful, providing a chance for new growth and second changes.  The Kezer quote makes me think of the important interplay between continuity and change.  The frame of our deciduous trees provide the foundation of continuity that Kezer describes, while the falling leaves represent the branches for growth.  When we are confronted with change and fear, let us try to remember that change can be as beautiful as autumn in Perry County!

                                                                                    Have a great break!

                                                                                         Mary

10-15-2015

Mary’s Minute

"What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased." ~Author Unknown

 

Teachers make a difference - we say this over and over, and I cannot thank Perry Central teachers enough for the difference they make.  I had a powerful conversation that made me think about this phenomena.  Connie Holm and her mother spent a lot of their summer with her ill father in the hospital. During this time health professionals constantly were reminding Connie of the difference she made in their lives. Connie's mom asked, "Did you teach every doctor and nurse in this hospital?"  Connie shared that the experience was humbling and also provided an opportunity for reflection. Connie wondered/worried what memories past students held that might not be positive. I assured Connie that she should not worry, but her insight really made me think.  Our interactions with people matter; we leave an impression.  What we say to people, what we do for people, the way we make people feel - leaves a lasting impression. Each time we interact with others, we hold a metaphorical piece of chalk.  We hope that we leave people with positive memories, but we also have to take responsibility for the potential negative impacts we may have.  Personally, it is pretty scary!  What memories are we writing?  Thank you to Connie for sharing her insight, and especially to Connie and others for making a positive difference in our students' lives.

 

                                                                     Have a great week!

                                                                       Mary

10-9-2015

Mary’s Minute

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.”

                                                                                                                                                              ~ Steve Jobs

Everyone agrees that the past several years have been difficult financial times in education.  In my thirteen years as superintendent funding has been cut more years than there have been even modest increases.  Through the tough times Perry Central has stayed strong and continued to build new programs.  One reason is our relentless vision to do what is right for our students, but to do that under difficult conditions something more is necessary.  We must think creatively, and we are fortunate at Perry Central that we have board leadership and a team that is always willing to look at situations from multiple perspectives to save money and/or make things better.  We don’t say things can’t be done; we always know there is a way.  We really don’t feel like what we do is anything special.  We just make things work, and somehow things do always work out when we live in the world of possibilities.

Have a great week!

Mary

10-2-2015

Mary’s Minute

“Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself.”

                                                                                      ~Oprah Winfrey

In our personal and professional lives we are constantly confronted with opportunities to change and grow.  Every single day we are forced to make decisions.  As educators we pride ourselves in continuous improvement and decision making based on theory and research.  At the same time we also need to trust our instincts.  We cannot use our reliance on our gut feelings as an excuse to ignore important information and opportunities to learn and grow.  We need to gather information by trusting the process of continual growth, examining it through our basic instincts because in many ways instincts can be defined as an impromptu manifestation of our core values.  We must stay true to our basic beliefs, and positive change occurs when we interrogate new ideas or practices against our beliefs.  In the moment, the best way to check the congruence is to trust our intuition!  We may make mistakes, but usually instincts are not random but a reflection of what we know to be true and right.

                                                                                Have a great week!

                                                                                Mary