My Word is Connect

One week ago today the calendar page turned not just on a new year, but a new decade. It is during these times that we all reflect on the year that has been and set goals for the year that is now in front of us. We are treated to magazines, newspaper articles, and television programs touting the 'biggest news stories of the year'; and commercials that advertise exercise machines and other products promising to improve our lives and help us meet our resolutions. You all know me well enough now to know that I'm not a big resolution guy, but instead like to focus on the 'One Word', so I'll get to that in a few minutes. To remind you, my word last year was 'Disconnect'. It was my desire to move away from electronic devices when not at work. Once I got home in the evening, I would put my stuff in my office and leave my phone on my desk. That is not to say I completely abandoned my gear when I got home, because that probably wouldn't be wise. A couple of times an evening I would  (and will) check my phone to see if there were any texts or email messages that needed to be addressed, but for the large part I left what I could to the next day. As the year wore on, I began physically shutting off my email for the weekend and when on vacation. While I couldn't say that I was completely disconnected, I believe it was a huge improvement compared to my previous practice and and for the most part it was quite liberating! Especially when on vacation somewhere and not feeling like I needed to sneak a look at my phone (while somewhere not here). I do intend to continue this practice.

This year though, I choose the work 'Connect'. Obviously I don't mean connecting to the devices I have tried so hard to disconnect from; because that would be, well a little silly and counterproductive. Instead, I believe I will try harder to connect with the people in my life. You see, what I have come to realize as this calendar page has turned to a new year, a new decade, is that time goes by very fast. If we aren't careful, before we know it another decade will have flown by and we will all be ten years older. I feel like I'm always in a hurry to get to the next place: a meeting in the high school, an appointment at the AEA, on my way to meet with colleagues about a new initiative. Because of this hurried pace, there is no doubt I miss out on quite a bit of what is going on around me. Have you ever felt like you were the last person to know something? Yeah, me too. 

Here's the thing that I hope all of us can think about, particularly those of us in education. Our jobs as educators rely on our ability to connect with our students. It is particularly important to understand that, at the end of the day not all our students go home to the same environments that we do; and that leads to a disconnect. Sure, it's frustrating when that young person doesn't turn in their homework on time, or just flat out doesn't do it. Sometimes though, it may help to connect with that student and build a relationship. We just may find out the reason they didn't get that homework done was because they had to spend the night taking care of younger siblings, feeding them, making them feel safe, and wondering when their parent might be home (if at all). While that understanding and relationship building may not erase the fact that something is amiss, at a minimum it can provide us with context. 

The same holds true for those of us in leadership. Part of my role as superintendent is not only overseeing the educational program, but leading the adults in our organization. There are approximately 135 folks who collect a paycheck from this school district. I'm sad to say that I don't know some of them all that well. What I do know is they all come to us with a different perspective and challenges in their lives. It would be naive to assume those experiences and challenges are the same as mine. Unfortunately we have some members of our team here who are going through some pretty rough times right now. Further, the employees in this organization are all in very different places in their lives, and some of the changes they are experiencing right now are of the stuff we experienced in our early 20s! Think about this: I have employees who one or two years ago were college students. Now they are married and expecting children, with a full time job and all the responsibilities that go along with that!

So this year I want to connect. When I meet people in the hallway on my hurried pace to where ever it is, when we greet each other with a 'How is it going?': to really mean it.