9-24-2020

 

Mary’s Minute“Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.”

                                                                                  ~ Robert Ludlum

I recently listened to an interview with an NYC teacher talking about schools reopening.  The word that kept coming up over and over was anxiety.  I think teachers, and in fact nearly everyone going through this pandemic, can relate to feeling anxious through this uncertain time. 

I see the remedy for the anxiety we are feeling as hope.  Hope allows us to trust that things will be okay, that there will be answers for unanswered questions, and that we will regain many of the things in life that we feel we have lost.  The truth is that plans are really only our preferences, and this pandemic has shown us just that.  The pandemic has made planning difficult, but when we think hopefully, planning is possible.

We need to remember that hope is stronger than fear.  The fear that people have experienced and are experiencing is very real, but hope is stronger.– English proverb

                                                           With hope,

Mary

9-18-2020

Mary’s Minute

"The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying."

                                                                  - Roy T. Bennett

We all have times when we don’t feel like we are on top of our game – well, I guess I shouldn’t speak for all of you, but I sure do.  What if when we fall we didn’t see it as failure, but as a win because we tried? 

I am trying not to dwell on the funk that the pandemic has created, but the truth is that it continues to be a challenging time. For me the surest way to see the positive within the negative, is to remember that in trying and getting back up, we become stronger.  The fact that life gives us challenges and opportunities to fail is something to celebrate because we have chances to learn and grow through our mishaps.   

In this way we can celebrate 2020 because it has given us plenty of opportunities to grow!  And so, we should celebrate falling because in falling we can get back up!

                                                                            Have a great week!

                                                                                               Mary

9-11-2020

Mary’s Minute

“Flexibility is the key to stability.”

~ John Wooden

This quote reminds me of the paradoxical idea that the only real constant is change.  John Wooden was likely talking about basketball, but he could have been talking about a pandemic.  The only way that we can maintain any sense of stability in our work or personal lives during this crazy is to be flexible. 

For instance, the guidance that we receive from the health department literally changes weekly.  If we are not flexible, our plans would quickly fall apart.

The same is true in our personal lives.  The pandemic has changed the way we do things.  For some people, it has created major challenges, and for some of us it has just knocked us out of our routines and filled us with anxiety because of the uncertainty of the future.  When will we be able to travel regularly?  Will we be able to continue school in person?  How long will we be wearing masks?  Will someone in our family become ill?  The only way that we can feel at all grounded in this period of uncertainty is to embrace flexibility, remembering that the path to stability is flexibility. 

I wish you well!

                                                                                                Mary

9-4-2020

 

Mary’s Minute

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”

                                                ~ Heraclitus

 

We all have unique backgrounds and experiences, so when are exposed to something we each see it through our own unique lens.  Scientists work hard to create experiments that are neutral, so that outcomes can be controlled, but in real life, there is no neutrality. 

For instance, we did a survey for staff because it is important to know how people are feeling and to gain insight about how we can improve.  People in the same buildings, who theoretically had the exact same experience and access to information, saw things drastically differently.  Fortunately, more people viewed them in positive way than negative, but the negative responses are equally important.  All insight is important because ultimately reality for an individual is their personal perception. 

The same is true for teaching.  A teacher can present material (“teach”), but the ultimate experience that each student receives (the “learning”), can be very different among students. 

I want to constantly be aware that I cannot assume that everyone sees the world the same way I do or has the same experiences that I do.  To be a better communicator, I need to remember that the river and the person stepping into it are never the same.

                                                Have a great long weekend!

                                                                             Mary