“Sometimes the strongest people are the ones who love
beyond all faults, cry behind closed doors and fight battles that nobody knows
about.”
-- Author Unknown
By Tommie Saylor
Kennedy High School Principal
During the darkest days of World War I, when the trenches
were filled with solders facing horrific conditions, where old tactics met
modern weapons, the dead and wounded piled up faster than could be managed.
Within these dark days where life was void of hope, the
French, who were taking a tremendous beating, developed a method of separating
their wounded into three categories when they arrived at the aid station. This
method known as Triage caught on quickly and is now used by every modern military
force, and by first responders during times when mass casualties are expected.
The categories the wounded are separated into are: 1
– those who will most likely live and can wait for care; 2 – those who will
most likely die regardless of the amount of care given; and 3 – those who have
a chance to live if care is given immediately.
Though this may seem harsh, especially for those who are
determined to be in category 2, but it is a fact of armed conflict and mass
disasters.
The reason for the history lesson is that often I feel as
if I am doing the same thing – educational triage. I am confronted with a
hundred different wants, 50 different needs, and the ability to satisfy 10.
So, I conduct educational triage and set aside those issues that can
wait, address those issues that need immediate attention, and ignore those issues
that cannot be fixed.
Yet the most frustrating part of all this is not making
the tough decisions, it is being placed in a position where I must make such
decisions. Call me crazy, but I believe that people should at least have
the most basic tools necessary to do their jobs, and that they should be placed
in environments most conducive to the completion of their tasks.
When resources are diminished and/or regulated to the
point where this is not possible, my temper flares. We would not send a police
officer out into the streets without proper arms and we would not send a
firefighter into a burning building without a mask/respirator. Yet we are
comfortable sending teachers into classrooms without books, working technology
and climate controls.
I do not blame the Taylor School District. It is the same boat,
only on a much larger scale. It has a lack of resources, personnel and the funds.
I blame our society, where properly funding schools is simply not a priority.
As the snow thaws in the wake of the coming spring and
potholes develop in our roads, people complain, the media reports, and
lawmaker’s jump into action talking about new taxes to fix the problem. Yet
schools can go months and even years without properly functioning technology, updated
books or with buildings that are barely held together, all without even as much
as a murmur from the public.
We who hold the future of our society in our hands, who
prepare tomorrow’s leaders, who administer to our nation’s most precious
resource, are relegated to do so in the cheapest way possible.
People talk about the importance of education, and
lawmakers make speeches regarding the need for a well-educated society, but
when it comes to “placing the money where their mouth is,” suddenly everyone
falls mute. If you want to know where a priority really lies, follow the money.
Nobody likes a whiner, so we will do as we have always
done: Silently carry on with our educational triage the best way we know how.
Being an educator is not for the faint of heart.
Remember, their future is in our hands. Making Kennedy the choice.
Excellence by design.
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