It is Monday morning. You walk the halls of your building. You peer into classrooms. You listen to teachers starting their day. You watch as students arrive to school.
Kids are hustling to begin the daily routine. Pencils are sharpened, devices in hand. Teachers are settling in. The smell of coffee consumes the first period classroom.
Smiles come from each corner of the room. Sharing of weekend adventures are spoken across the table, the halls. Laughter is felt, laughter is heard. Chairs shuffle, book bags open.
You are reminded of the great things that happen in your school. This is a space in which teachers can teach and students can learn. Parents are at ease because their children have entered an environment of trust and care. There is warmth. There is comfort.
You are unified. You are one. Pieces move seamlessly. Even though not always perfect, there is direction. There is focus. There is purpose. Your culture speaks loudly.
The day ends. You turn away from your school. Your lens shifts to the world outside of your four walls. Reality sets in. Hurt replaces joy. You sense division, frustration and pain.
Unity needs to prevail.
Even though there is an undeniable divide in the world around us, we need to model the power of coming together. We need to move as one.
I, like so many of you, chose unity. I chose to come together and be a part of the solution, to move forward, to learn and to grow. As leaders and learners we are reminded of the power of unity as we peer into our classrooms within our schools. Let that be the lens of the direction we are headed.
Let us be whole again.
