from wikipedia.com |
Lately, I have been watching, reading and following
numerous conversations and discussions about the state of public education in
our country. There is sadly, a great deal of negativity and anger in these
discussions and interactions. I have to admit I have taken part in some of
these and vented my frustration and disappointment at some of the circumstances
public education has found itself in. Many of these discussions end with finger
pointing at the bad students, bad teachers or bad parents. Let’s be honest,
there is no shortage of things to complain about or things to point at.
However, with all that, I see hope in many places and I
fear too many of us are looking past them.
Yes, kids are hurting other kids and causing physical and
emotional harm. There appears to be little empathy and compassion left in our
schools. Yet, I sit in a classroom right now with a handful of 6th
grade boys who all shaved their heads. Why? They are showing support for a classmate
who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Is that not empathy and compassion? I also recently came across this short video
that fills me with hope for the future of our country and in humanity. Clearly
there are good students out there that want to make a positive difference in
their communities.
There are also a lot of negative feelings towards parents
of our nation’s kids and how they are parenting. I myself have sat and wondered
how some parents could do some of the things they have done to their children
or to kids in general. However, my good friend Jeremy Macdonald sent me the
video below that literally brought me to tears and filled me with hope. There
are incredibly selfless parents and teachers out there that inspire me and this
man is but one of them.
The amount of negativity in the world is almost
overwhelming at times. The Empire will not win and the Jedi will return! Or at
least, the good people in our world will continue to do good, inspire others
and bring us hope. What are you doing or seeing that fills you with hope for
our future in education and in humanity. Please share!