Sunday, September 27, 2015

TOMMIE SAYLOR: Don't ever quit trying


“If you’re goin’ through hell keep on going, don’t slow down if you’re scared don’t show it, you might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.”
Rodney Atkins

By Tommie Saylor
Kennedy High School Principal

There are some days, even weeks, where it seems that you get nothing but beaten down.  No matter how much good you try to do, things backfire and spiral out of control.  While your trudging through those days, those weeks, you can’t help but to wonder, why am I doing this? 

You begin thinking to yourself, just stay down, give up, just keep your head down and plow through the day with minimum effort, minimum risk and minimum notice.

I’ve been there. At times my frustration level has been off the charts.  On more than one occasion I toyed with the thought of just handing in my keys and walking away. But then something comes along and reminds me of why I do what I do. Something that gives my life purpose. Something that gives my efforts meaning. 

So I pick myself up, dust myself off, and once again begin “tilting at windmills”.

You never know how far your efforts will reach.  You never know when your voice will be heard, when they finally listen or recognize a lesson that you taught them. It often comes years after they have already left school. 

You don’t know how many generations your message, your efforts will reach and/or touch.  You just don’t know how far your influence will stretch and how many people will be made better by your efforts either by direct or indirect action. 

You just don’t know.

Never give up, never give in and keep fighting for your students. They need your efforts more than you will ever know.

How and where will you lead them … Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence by design.

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