#OneTribe

"I realized if you can change a classroom, you can change a community, and if you change enough communities you can change the world."

-Erin Gruwell

For anyone who attended last night's varsity girls Sectional Championship game, I hope you felt the same sense of pride and community when our (significantly larger) crowd erupted when our girls took the court to begin their warmups and then over and over again throughout the game, especially in that very exciting first half. For about 90 minutes, any differences some individuals in attendance may have with one another, we were united in a common purpose-- to support our Lady Redskins up until the final buzzer sounded, at which point they earned a well deserved standing ovation for giving us all something to get excited about this week. I love moments like that.

Championship runs are a prime example of the sense of community that can be built when a group of people all share a common goal or sense of purpose, when they all want the same thing. Our challenge as educators is to cultivate that atmosphere when their isn't a trophy or accolades on the line. How do we get students to see the value of working toward common goals and feeling a sense of community within their school. That sense of togetherness allows us to look past differences because we are focused on our commonalities. 

I think the #OneTribe mantra is a great start because it serves as the item of focus for our common purpose, but I would like to start thinking of ways to better define what that means for our students. What does it mean to truly be #OneTribe? Please leave comments below of how we can bring that concept into focus for our students. I have opened it up to anonymous commenters, so you don't have to hassle with signing in to comment.