To Be Involved or Not....

After church this morning, my husband and I attended a P.U.S.H Meeting. Our church has been having these meetings for the last few weeks. Like many businesses and organizations our church is struggling financially. We discussed many causes and solutions to cure our budget issues, but for me it all came down to one thing... People are more involved when they feel like a valued member of the group. It is all about relationships.

During this meeting, I started relating these problems to issues I see in education. I was fortunate to spend the last two years working at a great school in Alaska. It was a small school in a small and tight knit community. Concerts at schools were public events and the community was very involved in the school. Teachers were also very involved in the school outside of regular hours. With such a small staff, everyone was needed to help run after school programs and extra events. My experiences in Alaska reminded me that people put more time and energy into things when they feel valued and respected. Like I have said in other posts, I am a firm believer that life comes down to relationships.

As a first year teacher at my current district, I feel compelled to be involved in extra activities. I enjoy coaching and being involved in duties outside of teacher, but it is also a way to keep my job. I am not saying that every teacher needs to spend the majority of their life at school. I am a big believer in balance. I am suggesting that all teachers find something outside of their classroom to be involved in. Our schools should be focal points of the community. Schools would be reaching out to the community and the community should be helping at schools. Like the old saying says, "It takes a village to raise a child."

Are our schools welcoming places where teachers, staff, students and families feel valued? Are they places where people want to be? Are we all working together for a common goal or are we expecting others to do the work? Positive relationships build amazing things!