I believe that gloom, doom and a deep spiritual fatique are the most dangerous things facing education right now. With all of the challenges and the slaughtering of sacred cows left and right, I’m convinced that the only real sacred bovine is our ability to remain positive and look for solutions. I liken it to raft-mates facing seriously challenging rapids and my confidence in my colleagues is all I have to hold onto in uncertain waters. I want to say grab an oar my friends because at this point the rapids are no longer an optional adventure. We’ll get through this if we neither fall out of the boat nor push others out but EVERYONE must grab an oar. 

With leadership at the helm we will succeed. We may paddle with new devices that look nothing like oars. We may navigate with new and strange compasses. People may row who haven’t rowed in years and yet we must all do what is necessary to shoot the rapids and come out into calm waters. What we cannot forget is that we have kids in the raft and they are watching us to see how we will handle this situation. They are taking notes and either drawing confidence from our examples or losing it. I’m seeing people display an amazing willingness to embrace new thinking and new solutions like never before and I know that if we stick together and bring out the best in each other, we will triumph over the current adversity.

Lastly I’ll say that we must watch carefully the things we throw overboard in these times. Take the time to ascertain what is dead weight and what is essential for student success. Know the difference between what is impeding us and what may soon be crucial, so that when when the turbulence subsides, we will have what we need to continue the educational adventure.