Change Is Happening: And It Is Good!
Originally Published March 2019
Over Spring Break, we officially turned the page from winter to spring! For those cold weather, snow lovers, it may have been bittersweet. But for folks like me who crave warm temperatures and sunshine, the end of winter never comes soon enough.
While we haven’t completely reached the balmy temperatures that I love, signs of spring are all around. Forsythia are starting to bloom, and as I drive into the office, I see the beginnings of tulips pushing through the ground. Change is happening right before our eyes!
Sometimes changes are dramatic and easy to see, and sometimes they take place so slowly that we barely notice until one day a significant transformation is right before our eyes. I thought of this as my husband and I visited our daughter in Cincinnati over the weekend. She is one year out of college and into her professional life. The changes that have taken place in her 22 years of life have not always been noticed in the day-to-day, but as we visited and talked about her life, it hit me - she is all grown up! Wow! I am not always certain how it happened, but I am so glad that she has had a life of growth.
As I reflect upon the changes in my life and in the lives of my children, I can’t help but be thankful that change does happen. The seasons change, the calendar pages turn, and our children grow. That is what we want for our children.
And that is why our schools must grow, change, and evolve as well. We cannot parent our 17-year olds the way we did our 17-month olds. And we have to educate our students differently than we did yesterday if we are to engage, equip, and empower them for life.
The world is different than it was yesterday, and we have to stay focused on what it means to develop students and graduates who are engaged, equipped, and empowered. I am so thankful that we have educators in our schools who are always growing and developing in order to improve the learning experiences of our students.
The tulips are popping through the ground. The temperatures are inching up. And the days are getting longer. Change is happening, and it is good!
