School Matters Week of 12/13/2021

My wife and I recently watched a movie entitled, “Land.” The story was about a lady named, Edee who had lost her husband and child to a senseless shooting. She struggled with a number of mental issues and considered suicide as a viable option to relieve her suffering. Instead, she decided to leave Chicago and escape to a remote cabin deep in the Rocky Mountains. The cabin was an old, dilapidated structure in the wilderness and was located miles away from any other person. It was totally isolated and far away from any traveled road. She threw her cellphone away, stopped all communication with friends, and had the real estate agent drive her rental car back to town. Edee found herself completely alone and entirely disconnected from the world.

At first, the isolation was what Edee had longed for and she enjoyed being alone. Life was serene. The western sky was incredibly blue, the Rocky Mountains were breathtaking, the rivers flowed clear, and she immersed herself in nature. She enjoyed the summer and marveled at the color as fall approached. However, she failed to understand how brutal winter would be in the Rocky Mountains. She was completely unprepared for life in the wilderness. The serenity of her life began to fall apart quickly, and she found herself in a life/death situation.

She struggled to cut wood for the fireplace, was unable to successfully fish or hunt, could not grow a garden, and the cabin was not insulated for winter. She experienced her first mountain winter storm which brought extreme cold, frigid wind, and multiple feet of snow. She had little wood for the stove so it was constantly cold. The severity of the situation escalated when a bear broke into the cabin and ate all of her food supplies. At a culminating point, Edee woke late in the night when a fierce winter storm was beating against the cabin. She had not eaten anything for days, could not get the stove lit, and she was slowly dying. She collapsed to the floor and fell unconscious as snow blew underneath the door.

A day later, a lone hunter found her passed out in the cabin and patiently helped to bring her back to health. After she recovered, she asked him how he found her in the middle of nowhere. She also wanted to know why he had taken the time to help her without any hope of compensation. Miguel was a very quiet person and had few spoken lines in the movie. However, I thought he delivered the best line of the entire movie. When asked why he choose to help, he simply said, “You were in my path.” He chose to help not for monetary gain, not for an improvement in social status, or for the spotlight. He chose to help simply because she was in his path, and she was in need.

We cross many people along our path on a daily basis. We will probably encounter hundreds of people as we pass through each day. However, many of us fail to actually see those in our path because we are so focused on getting to the end of our own path. How much time do we take to truly “see” those we encounter. We often ask individuals, “How is your day going?” We seldom actually wait for a response and often we may not really care about their response. We simply assume they are going to say that things are going well. I have often wondered if we would even hear if they said that things were going horrible, and they needed help. Some of us would anticipate the customary response so much that we may fail to acknowledge the person had said they were struggling on that day.

I once heard a story about two men getting ready to take a long journey. The younger man asked the older man how long he thought it would take to reach their destination. The older man said that he was not sure because he did not know how many people would need their help along their journey. The younger man was thinking of the destination while the older man was thinking of those they would encounter on the path.

At times, the holidays can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Everyone is in a hurry to buy that last-minute gift, struggling with the family to get everyone in the car, and attempting to finish up all of the work before closing shop for the holidays. All of these factors continue to pile up and will have a significant impact on individuals. Often Christmas/New Year is one of the most stressful, painful, and depressing times of the year for those who are struggling. This can be a time for extreme anxiety and frustration for those alone, and those who are already struggling with some type of mental illness.

There is another old story about a young lady who had decided to take her own life because she was struggling with so much. Before taking that final step, she resolved to continue through one more day. She made the internal commitment to turn her life around if only one person would help her and see her struggle. She left her home with a renewed sense of purpose; but unfortunately, all of the people she encountered were oblivious to her situation. She was ignored by everyone along her path. By the end of the day, no one had talked to her, no one had offered any type of encouragement, and no one took the time to see if she needed help.

Dejected, he headed back home to end her life. She softly began to cry. Her shoulders slumped, her face lost all sense of hope, and she went back home in shambles to end the pain. As she turned the corner to her apartment, she bumps into one last person. That last person is you. If this situation were real, would you be able to see the pain? Would you recognize someone was devoid of all hope and was struggling with the very essence of being alive? Would you be so busy traveling along the path that we wouldn’t have the time to help out a fellow traveler?

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. Our COVID numbers have remained in the high 20’s for the last few weeks. As of Friday, we had 25 cases. Of those 25 cases, 20 were students and 5 were staff. However, many more of our students/staff have struggled with the flu this week. Please take the necessary precautions to keep you and your family safe.

2. We will have a HCBOE staff night-out on February 7 as our Celebrate Education program. We will provide free childcare to all Hamblen County Staff from the dismissal from school until 8:30 p.m. It is also our hope that local restaurants will provide a discount, or some other type of inventive, for all Hamblen County School Staff on that evening. For example, someone may offer a 10% discount, or a free dessert, for all Hamblen County School Staff on that evening. We chose February 7 because it is a Monday night and may be a slower night for most restaurants. Please let Mrs. Karlene Webb (webbk@hcboe.net) know if you are interested in participating. We will collect all offerings and push those incentives out to all staff members. It is our hope we can provide a short period of time for staff members to get out and enjoy a pre-Valentine’s date night. We sincerely appreciate all of those who are willing to help.

It is my sincere hope that you are able to enjoy time with family and friends over the holidays. Enjoy the many blessings this season can provide and find some time to relax and recharge. However, take some time to reach out to those whom you encounter on the path. We must spend more time taking care of others if we ever expect to live a full and meaningful time. Schools will be closed through January 3 and students will return on January 4. It is my genuine hope you remain safe and heathy. Take care, and we will see your children next year! Thanks for your attention to this article and remember, School Matters!