LEADING IN THE STORM
BY : LORI BROWN , Ed . D
Summer storms and the tail edge of a hurricane recently damaged my back yard . I live in the southern United States and our weather has been “ interesting ,” to say the least . The after-effects of heavy rainstorms and the hurricane have been frustrating . Consequently , my sister and I recently spent a Saturday morning picking up branches and sticks . We collected multiple loads in just an hour ’ s time , and while it was somewhat cathartic to clean up , it was also hot and heavy work that left me rather grumpy . I didn ’ t ask for these summer storms . I didn ’ t want my back yard messed up , and I didn ’ t enjoy cleaning up the mess in 90 degree weather .
But isn ’ t that how storms always blow into our lives , especially in our schools ? We don ’ t want them , we dread them , we often aren ’ t sure how to respond to them , and the aftereffects can unfortunately impact our quality of life for weeks or months to come , especially when we know that students we love and serve are caught in the middle of the storm , and may suffer as a result of our decisions .
Similarly , we don ’ t like seeing other stakeholders ( educators , coaches , parents ) suffer , nor do we particularly enjoy the suffering we personally feel when we face a crisis that appears to have no easy or painless response .
How many times have you lost sleep at night or felt physically ill to your stomach because you faced a hardship or storm in your professional setting and believed that any response would only serve to make things worse ? We don ’ t enjoy these experiences , and yet , the reality of living in the world is that life will always bring storms . We unfortunately can ’ t escape them for good . So , if we can ’ t escape them , we need to figure out how to walk through them without losing our sanity , patience , and sleep .
08 Term 2 Jan - Mar 2022
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