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Looking Back and Moving Forward

I had that awful moment this morning when a child says to you, "I thought you'd be home for bedtime."  A meeting went long, child didn't know and now I'm processing as mom, resident and School Committee Member. I'm not killing myself over this one but I am using it as a moment to reflect:

With that comes the question how will I spend my time wisely? 

I go back to my roots in Jesuit, Catholic theology and the reflective practices that I learned as a spiritual tool. I was taught to be curious and mindful, grateful and to act with urgency when it mattered. 

Questions like:  Where am I experiencing true joy - not the quick fix, adrenalin induced happy but sustained and confirmed contentment? What is getting in the way? Am I being consistent with my words and actions? What is life teaching me about where I need to grow and what I have to give?  Said more simply, reflective questions are how I get through life. The one question that I keep coming back to is:  WHAT IS MY ROLE?   

My role in our house has shifted and in turn shifted others'. I have teenagers who are stepping up in ways that make me so proud of them and maybe them a little resentful of me.  I have a remote learner who is now making herself oreo milkshakes at 10:00 a.m. because during snack time, mom was on a call and was writing a blog before the call and didn't leave anything out. She's very happy about that shift!  And, of course my husband's role has shifted - and did a year ago when we started Protect Natick's Future - I can't read what he wrote on the calendar for today - but the white board organizer is now under his domain and I am so grateful ;)

This question also extends to the elected position so many of you gave me.  

What is my role in the School Committee? How is that different than the role of a candidate in a campaign? What do the students need from me? What does my committee need?  What does the administration need and what do the voters and this community need?  

At a recent School Committee Retreat, we were asked what our goals were and what might be getting in the way.  I hope you can read the minutes sometime because what each member on the committee shared was beautiful and an articulation of a desire to serve our students.

I drank the kool-aid a long time ago that I am called to be a woman for others in this world. In everything I do and say, in every small way that I can do it, I am invited to bring love, justice and peace into every real relationship that I am lucky enough to have. With that as my center, I'll leave you with what I shared with my committee on our retreat: 

What are your personal goals for your School Committee service? 

  1. To serve as a member of a body that is accountable for the authentic student achievement for every child in this district.

Authentic:

Is each student making gains year over year? 

Does each student feel safe, valued, challenged and happy when they are in our schools?

Are we creating the opportunities for every student to be on a pathway to longitudinal success?  


  1. To clearly define the role of the School Committee and the role of the administration - where they differ and how we work cooperatively towards student achievement.  

Without a more clear definition of our respective roles, I think our committee will continue to feel adversarial. And that some will continue to misinterpret my questions as disruptive instead of driven by the role we were elected to serve.     


What might be getting in the way of achieving those goals?

  1. I sense a wariness of new and varied perspectives

  1. I know that we have a desire to hear from people, especially those who are under-represented, but in practice, I have found resistance to questions and engaging those with different perspectives.

  2. I’d like to understand where that wariness comes from: 

Are we nervous that we don’t have the time to wade through a community centered process? Are we nervous that having a variety of perspectives will undermine what has already been established?

  1. I know that community work takes time and is chaotic but that it also produces buy in and better outcomes.

  2. Falling back on “this is how we’ve always done things” or that “everything is always fine” does not show that we are honoring our responsibility as a committee. 


  1.  Possibly, philosophical difference around the Role of the Committee   

  1. I think that passion is this committee’s strength but that it may be blurring some of the lines that have been set up to protect our students and to provide for the accountability of the things desired for them.  

  2. I’d like to ensure that we are working with (not for) the schools so that we are all working FOR the students.  


  

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