Big lessons from little stories

My writing has been very sparse lately and to those who read this blog, I am sorry about that.  I believe we all go through what I call “seasons” in life when our hearts make our minds think we have little to share with others that is of much value.  I certainly do not believe that is true for myself or anyone else, but my heart of late has been far stronger than my mind and winning the “you need to write” battle.  This school district is packed with incredibly passionate and hard-working people who are no doubt being affected by the significant changes taking place, and to be transparent, I have struggled to find ways to express how that weighs on me in this new district level role.  I believe I was quite successful as a building principal at sharing in the emotional toil that was created by decisions that had to be made – but that directly impacted individuals we cared about in our school family.  Bottom line – they knew that I knew and that I cared about each of them.  They understood that I am human and feel pain just like everyone else.  Yes I was intentional about showing and speaking to matters of the heart, and yes, I believe that is what great leaders and great teachers do.  I have fallen very short of meeting this expectation as a district leader and have been reflecting a great deal on how to make it right.