School Matters wk of 02/28/2022

I have been friends with an elderly man who turned 95 this year. I visited him last year, and we had a great conversation. He is an incredible person and has lived an amazing life embedded with family values, community service, and a servant heart. He had few regrets and was confident his faith would carry him to a better place once he died. Eventually, we concluded the normal conversation, and I asked him what the best years of his life were. Without hesitation, he said that the best years of his life were the past 20 years. I was not expecting that response because he had a number of medical issues over the last several years. I asked him why the last years were so important. He said that most people went through four stages during their lifetime and the last stage was the most rewarding. He gave the following summary.

The first stage of life is toward the end of high school when we start of college or enter the workplace. This stage of life is filled with enthusiasm, hope, energy, and a positive perspective. Individuals at this age profess to know everything and are eager to take over the world. They demonstrate an outward display of confidence and no challenge is too difficult. However, this persona of confidence and assurance is compromised by hidden feelings of doubt, uncertainty, chaos, and hesitation. Individuals at this age are not certain who they are or what they want to become. They are searching for their place in this world and subconsciously worry there is no place for them. It is a constant struggle to suppress that doubt and display this air of confidence. The battle is exhausting and leads to anxiety and fear.

The second stage is associated with work and survival. During this stage, we are often married, have a child, and are absorbed by making a living. We spend countless hours at work to ensure the bills are paid and to provide for our family. Unfortunately, as we provide for the needs of our family, we miss life with the family. The world for our children gets larger every day, and their life with us becomes smaller. By the time we realize the importance of spending time with our children, they have discovered the rest of the world and have little time for us. It is heartbreaking when we come to that realization that we have missed the best time to connect with our children. We were too busy to pay attention during their cycle of need, and by the time we had the time to share with them, they were exploring the world and had little time for us.

The third stage is associated with gathering stuff. Life is a little more stable, we are making a little more money, and we want to accumulate things. We are never satisfied during this time and always want more. We want a larger boat, better golf clubs, a more expensive car, a better home, etc. We are seldom satisfied, and our desires are insatiable. We are constantly looking for something better, and often, this results in poor decisions. We are selfish during this stage, and our vision is limited to what will benefit us the most. We seldom look for and rarely see the needs of others because that would require us to sacrifice our stuff. We fail to understand that we do not own things but those things own us. Some never progress from this stage.

The fourth stage of life is reflective because we have more time to think. In addition, we have vast experiences which have taught us extremely difficult lessons. During this stage, we begin to understand that life is about giving back to others and ensuring that we leave this world a better place than we found it. We begin to understand the best way to get something is to give something away. We find peace and contentment in providing joy to others. We understand that sacrifice does not have to hurt. Sacrifice does not diminish us. Instead, it fills places within our soul because we have reached out to others. We begin to understand that life is very short, and we develop a sense of urgency to do good. We place the needs of others before our own. We slow down a little bit and begin to see the beauty of this world which had been hidden from us because we were moving so fast. We learn to live well during this stage. Having this understanding is why this stage of life was so important to him.

Please review the following information and contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Also, please remember to email Mrs. Webb (webbk@hcboe.net) if you have other questions you would like us to address in future articles.

1. We continue to see a reduction in our COVID numbers this week. This week, we had approximately 5 active cases.

2. We have an early dismissal planned for March 16 at 1:00 p.m. Schools will be closed for spring break from March 28 – April 1.

3. We will conduct a teacher fair on March 22 at East High School from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. We are prepared to offer contracts to high quality candidates during this job fair. Please encourage friends and family members to attend this job fair if they will be licensed to teach by this August.

4. It is our plan to expand the Tomorrow’s Teachers program this budget cycle. In this program, a student would complete their first two years of general education classes. The student would then enrolled in the Western Governor’s University teacher preparation program which is conducted online. The first two years of college can be paid by state scholarships, and the school district will pay for the last two years. In addition, we will employ the teacher candidates to work part-time with us during their junior/senior year of college. We will also place them with a mentor teacher. We would hire them after graduation as a HCBOE teacher. Please talk with your guidance counselor if you are interested in becoming a teacher. Students in this program can graduate debt-free and be guaranteed a position if they successfully complete the project.

5. We will run our summer school program from June 6 to July 1. It is important to understand that summer school may be mandatory for specific students failing to master certain skills during the year. We still have sufficient time to improve academic skills, but now is the time for a sense of urgency.

6. We will participate in a local job fair on May 12 at Walters State Community College. Local industries will be searching for new employees and will provide opportunities for students to interview first from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Adults will be allowed to participate form 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. after students leave. We will transport seniors to this event.

7. The state is proposing a new state school funding program to replace the old Basic Education Program (BEP). The student-based funding formula, called the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA), starts with a base of $6,860 in funding for each student before adding weights for economic and achievement factors, or special needs, to arrive at the dollar amount each district would receive for a student. We are excited about the concept and possibilities associated with this new funding model. There are still a number of details unanswered, but this proposal has many beneficial elements.

My friend ended our conversation by explaining that most of us will miss life because we were so busy simply living. Most of our life would be on cruise-control with little conscious effort of what is happening. We ride with the rest of the traffic, assume the same speed as everyone else, are in a constant hurry to arrive somewhere, and are in an even bigger hurry to leave for someplace else. Life quickly escapes us as we march through the stages of life. He said that the majority of folks would carry a heavy heart because they have so few days left to enjoy a life they now understand. Perhaps we should all reflect on our life and attempt to enter that last stage as quickly as possible so we can leave a legacy of good works. Thanks for your attention to this article and remember, School Matters!