Three Big Things

"Great people are those who can make others feel that they, too, can become great."

-Mark Twain

As I sit here on Friday afternoon reflecting on the past week, there are three big things that stand out in my mind. The first is the most obvious. In the wake of another tragic act of violence at a school in Florida, we had concerns of our own addressed here in our school community. Fortunately, our concerns were comparatively minor and easily addressed, but it does lead me to think of the second big thing that stands out from this week.

Yesterday, Mark Waelde (hat tip) sent the video I've included below to our administrative team with the comment that he only sees the second half of the video here in our schools and commended our staff for making this a great place for kids. I echo his sentiment. I commented back to him that the first part of the video seemed really awkward and foreign to me, which I guess is a pretty good sign that I don't see that behavior here at SMS... ever. The point of the video is pretty powerful. The way we interact with our kids has a monumental impact on their outlook on themselves and education as a whole. Please take the time to watch it.

This brings me to big thing number three. I recieved the results from the Illinois Youth Survey that was completed by 66 of our 8th grade students earlier this month. The results were very surprising in a good way. Without going into all of the details, our students report very little in the way of drug and alcohol use, which is fantastic, but the thing I really want to share with all of you is that when asked about their teachers, 89% reported that a teacher really cares about them and notices when they are not at school, 92% report that their teachers listen to what they have to say, 89% report that their teachers always want them to do their best, and 90% report that their teachers believe they will be a success. Our kids know you care about them. They see it, and they recognize it.

I see all of this as connected. One of the most effective things we can do to prevent tragedies like the one in Florida is to make sure we have strong, meaningful relationships with our students. We need to be aware of changes in their behavior. We need to make sure we have open lines of communication with them. We need to continue to be among the adults in their life that they know really care about them. More than any other solution being proposed for stopping these kinds of things from happening, I truly believe that making sure our students feel loved and supported can be what keeps them safe. You all are doing it right, so keep it up.