Mary’s Minute
“Promise
me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head
above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved
to swim.”
—Tyler Knott Gregson
In life we are either truly living or we are
just getting by. When the sea of life hands us stormy waves, we are
likely to just tread water. In those moments we can forget the true joy
of living – how much we love to swim!
In education we talk about remembering our
why. We are challenged to think about what motivated us to enter this
profession in the beginning and what drives us to go on when times are tough.
Life can be challenging, and the life of an educator today can be very
tumultuous. Most teachers can conjure a
positive image of helping children that propelled them into this
profession. Yet, when faced with the demands of mandates and students
with challenges, that original why can be swept away and replaced with the need
to simply get by. It is in these times
most of all that we need to remember how much we love to swim. The joy of
helping children -- the knowledge that you are making a difference -- needs to
be more powerful than the urge to tread water.
I know that sometimes we
feel like all we can do is keep our head above water, but please, please,
please never forget how much you love to swim!
Have
a great week!
Mary
