Friday Reflections

It’s Secretary Week!  I thought of getting Superhero capes for Kathy and Pat - Wonder Woman for Kathy and Captain Marvel for Pat.  But I didn’t pull it off – maybe because our two Super Heroes are always the ones that do such favors for me!   Our Superhero secretaries have a half century of working together at Irving.  Two women working side by side - sharing so much - they must be able to finish one another’s thoughts. All of us know that the fact that they have pulled off such a close working relationship is no small feat - bet their working relationship  could play in some Seinfeld episodes! There probably isn’t anyone in school who has more daily interaction with the biggest cross-section of those served than Kathy and Pat. There is not a thing that happens at Irving that they do not have their fingerprints on. They see and hear it all - from kids, parents, volunteers, janitors, teachers, district bigwigs, administrators, police officers, crossing guar...

Jim Collins in his book Good to Great puts forth the “stuff” of greatness in any profession – he coins the adjective humble-boldness: “A burning, passionate, obsessed ambition for the cause , for the work – not for themselves – and utterly stoic will to make good on that ambition”. I’m calling out Trish Stevens - she’s passionate about her students. Isn’t that the “stuff” of a great teacher?  – teachers who are passionate about helping the neediest of students. We all know a student who is a “handful” - Trish has taken a very “challenging” student and found ways to affirm this student, unlock the key to this student’s behavior and gradually put the jumbled puzzle of what makes this student tick and what will help this student grow and make valuable contributions to her class. Let’s circle back – “burning, passionate, obsessed – for the cause” –the case for Trish is for the respect and success of each of her students and most definitely one of the most challenging students she h...