This I Believe

This I Believe

  Who knew that recently attending a Zac Brown Band concert and listening to the words “My Old Man” would be the focal point for my “This I Believe Statement.”  Growing up the oldest of six siblings in a split level, two parent household, I got to experience when times were good being an upper-middle class family to the direct opposite of our family sleeping outside in the van to get some cool air in the summer when we couldn’t afford electricity. With all the triumphs and tribulations of our family, it was watching how my father handled all of the obstacles that helped shaped me to the educator, person I am today.  I will use the song lyrics from “My Old Man” to help explain how it helped shape my core values about in life and education.

“Looking back, he always had a plan” reminds me of the times where Ameren would come to shut off the electricity and my dad would immediately say, “Son, don’t worry, it won’t be off long, I will figure something out.”  He never seemed rattled or upset on the outside, but now that I am a father of three, I cannot imagine what he was feeling on the inside.  Through all of the challenges that he faced, he always put our family’s needs first, despite what it did to him physically and emotionally.  As a leader in education, I believe it is up to me to deflect or absorb as much as I can from my staff so they can teach and do what is best for our students.  This includes day-to-day operations, crisis situations, or just unpopular district decisions.  If my staff sees me rattled, there is a ripple effect that will trickle out to our students and families that causes a disruption in learning.

“He was a lion, we were our father’s pride.”  My father’s pride and joy was his family and I watched him work tirelessly to try to provide, protect, and make us feel safe and loved.  During the rough times, we did not have a lot of material items, but my dad made sure that our needs were met.  For the most part, we really did not know how bad things were.  He often used our family’s love of sports to not only teach us life lessons, but forget about the struggles at home.  I believe that being an effective leader is all about building/maintaining relationships with staff, students, and the school community.  I remember reading John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership and to move from level one, “Leadership by Title,” you must build trusting relationships with the people that you work with.  In order to truly make the changes needed at school, I need to have the trust and support of staff, students, and the community as sometimes the right decisions are not the most popular ones.  For all intensive-purposes, I along with my brothers and sisters never should have made it, but we did.  This was due to the relentless efforts of my father to keep us motivated and to never give up.  I believe that we need to show the same compassion and concern for the community that we serve.  This means taking care of our students not only academically, but emotionally.  This is especially important given the unrest that has been in our community this past weekend and over the past couple of years.

“He knew how to lift me up and when to let me fall.”  My father had this uncanny ability to know when he should come to the rescue and when letting me fail would be better for me in the long run.  He also seemed to know how long to hold off until I was ready to listen to that teachable moment.  I remember him saying that it’s easy to believe in yourself, your team when there is success, rather the ultimate test is to believe in yourself and those around you when times are not so good.  I always wondered how hard it was for him to believe his own words when times were so tough.  I believe there comes a time when we have to let our students and staff members learn from their mistakes.  One of the worst things I can do is to try and go in and fix every problem that arises.  The reality is, this is an impossible task, something that I am learning all too well as a new administrator.  I believe that it is up to me to be there to help our staff and students get back up when they fall, offer ways to improve, and be their biggest supporter.  I also believe that by identifying other leaders within the building, we can work to our mission which is working relentlessly so that each child achieves his/her maximum potential.

“I know one day we will meet again, I hope he is proud of who I am.”  My father has been gone now eleven years at the young age of 62.  During his time here on earth, he made the best of it for those he came in contact with, especially our family.  Now a bit older, I often ask myself   what footprints I want to leave behind.  Time never stops moving, so every moment is an opportunity to embed the core values and beliefs that will not only help make the people I come in contact with successful in the school setting, but more importantly, successful in life as “I try and fill the boots of my old man.”