I have sat quietly though many grade level assemblies over the years.
They are a necessary evil, I guess, or so I am told, but in truth they are nothing more than a missed opportunity. A missed opportunity to connect with students. A missed opportunity to imagine the possibilities, instead of mouthing and predicting inevitable consequences.
Spending close to an hour in a guided monologue by telling young people what will happen to them, if and when they misbehave, is like being mad at a dog for barking or a little baby soiling her diaper.
We should account and embrace our missed opportunities.
Instead of being able to say, ‘I told you so’ in the distant future, perhaps some compassionate words or a sprinkle of wisdom, today, at this present moment, and repeated over time, might inspire the future to be a little bit brighter. Unfortunately, there is no diagnostic, rubric, or standardized test for that.
Call me an unrealistic dreamer or call me whatever you would like, but the way behave, shows time and time again, that the educational system is broken.
More accurately perhaps, the normal school, as it was originally called, might have never been right in the first place.
I learned a great lesson at the assembly.
When we speak we have two choices.
We can either spend our energy catering to our critics and enemies, or we can spend our time engaging those who care about us.
Engaging is better.
I think that’s what teaching is all about.
Don’t make a list of reasons why you can’t. Why you’re too old. Why you’re a failure. Why you’re tired. Why you are so busy or overwhelmed. Overburdened. Underpaid. Undervalued.
Don’t look at the world with eyes filled with fear, anxiety, and worry.
When will you make time to not be afraid?
When will it be the time to imagine the possibilities. Possibilities of French kissing your dreams. Of a life well lived. A contemplative life worth living. A life of purpose and meaning meaning. An unrepeatable; kick ass life.
No holding back. No regrets. No ifs or waiting for tomorrow.
I think it is time to awaken to the real possibility of living. Maybe it is time for me to get the hell out of school, or I hide from the various legalistic minds, simpletons, pessimists, or any other passive aggressive member of the family.
When two or more people gather. When people form an assembly. It should be the mandate of every speaker to leave them better than they had found them.
It should be a time to inspire, to encourage, to love, appreciate, and imagine a life that is not yet realized.
Potential inevitably turns into our reality. Thoughts become things.
Be careful of your thoughts. Be careful of your words. Be careful where you gaze.
There is much at stake.
Form good thoughts. Utter good words. Always look up.
Remember that in the end, you reap what you sow.
Always speak of opportunity, hope, and art of possibility.
Focus your gaze on fulfillment, gratitude, abundance, and meaning.
Never miss an opportunity to be human.
