“Far
better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though
checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither
enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not
victory nor defeat.”
Theodore
Roosevelt
By
Tommie Saylor
Kennedy
High School
It
is another year “in the books” and what a year it was. Back in September I
wrote:
“The
2015 – 2016 school year is now upon us, and we have three large hills to climb,
the first trimester, the second trimester, and the third trimester. Once
again, I feel your eyes upon my back, some pushing and others pulling. Yet
together we will stand upon the crest of the final hill in triumph, together we
will make this school year the best one yet. But keep in mind that upon your
back are the eyes of your students. How and where will you lead them?”
Now
as we stand upon “the final hill” looking back over the school year in raged
triumph, battered and bruised, we must ask ourselves, did we win or did we
lose? Was this school year epically awesome to stand as the model for all other
school years yet to come, or was this school year a devastating loss wrought
with disappointment, frustration and disillusion?
In
truth, I would say someplace between the two extremes. As I review this school
year, I can recall many victories, some simple and small, many others huge and
life changing. We suffered losses as well, losses that have left us
scarred. Personally, I like to believe that our victories outweigh our
losses, both in number and impact. In our business it is hard to quantify. Each
victory and each loss is independently graduated within the heart and mind of
each individual.
As
we brush this year’s dust off of our shoulders we see on the horizon the
2016-2017 school year looming over us. Three more hills, three more
trimesters, students that need us more than we will ever know. Have a great
summer.
How
and where will you lead them. Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence
by design.
