from Hans D. Lassiter, Chief Executive Officer, Irvington Community School Corporation
The ABC’s of Education
from Hans D. Lassiter, Chief Executive Officer, Irvington Community School Corporation
Sing it with me: Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening! A beautiful sight, we are happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland! Come with me for a spell as I take this quick jaunt on my own “Memory Lane!” I hope that you can relate, or even relate and remember times such as those I will highlight below!
In our field of education, we are confronted by several “whirlwinds,” or those volatile and turbulent, yet temporary moments of discomfort that, contingent upon the approach that we select to address the issue can “make or break” our day, week, month, or even year! These whirlwinds do not discriminate and are not expressly reserved for “grown-ups!” Children, who we lovingly refer to as our progenies, our pride and joy, our legacy, and of course, the all-encompassing and most commonly used term of KIDS seem to ALWAYS be in the midst of a whirlwind, but just as you and I did in our younger years, we seemed to manage those whirlwinds with expert efficiency with sustainable results! Yes, sustainable, long-standing improvements in behavior, all things good manners, and ALL things doing the stuff our parents had to assume a Drill Instructor role for us to do! And I am willing to bet a king’s ransom that you all remember why we acted like the angelic little boys and girls whose cheeks were perfect for those public displays of affection-violating cheek pinching from those nice ladies from the church or who your mom kept running into every time you went grocery shopping — WE WANTED CREDIT FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR!
There IS something special in the air that permeates & conquers all other stagnant weather and emotional patterns that arrives, without fail, on November 1 of each year, and bids its temporary farewell shortly after midnight on January 1 of that new year. It IS that extra shot of a “feel good breeze” that comes from turning the page on the calendar to November, and making those runs to the store to pick up “Pumpkin-Y” and “Not yet Christmas, but definitely Thanksgiving smelling stuff” to put us squarely in the Holiday Spirit! Candles, the scent of warm apple cider, the commercials about the newest Turkey fryer on the market, “Just in time for the holiday season!” and people just outright BEING PLAIN NICE!
From elaborate and intricate “Secret Santa” selections and 10 days of gifts from that guy in the office whom you thought didn’t like you, to that person you thought REALLY didn’t like you holding the door to the office open for you, as he saw that you had your hands full with Mr. Scrooge and Mr. Marley’s Quarterly Report, to the ladies YOU JUST KNEW WERE OVER THERE TALKING ABOUT YOU inviting you to the local Women’s Guild & Auxiliary White Cake & Tea Social on Christmas Eve as their special guest as a PROSPECTIVE MEMBER! How cool it is to see lives, cities, states, and an entire nation TRANSFORM based on the strength of our sweet & wholesome love of a mythical elf who knew everything, knew everybody, saw everything, even down to when we were asleep & when we were awake! The mere fear of this dude had grown-ups or, as I like to refer to them (and myself): A BIG KID, standing in line for hours at the Mall or the nearest Sears, J.C. Penny, Zayre, or K-Mart to sit on his lap and essentially lie about my misconduct during the year up until that very moment, with a hastily-scribbled apology letter to Santa promising to do better if he came through with that Huffy all-black BMX-inspired 5 speed sport bike with the all-terrain tires!
Maybe if more adults remembered how those fragrances, hearing children laugh, seeing the elders among us laugh & reminisce about the merriments of holiday seasons gone by, and practiced the very free art, gift, and skill of KINDNESS, maybe, just maybe, those warm and fuzzy feelings that always seem to blow in every November 1, but disappear with the sunrise on January 2 could permeate & conquer the land for just a little while longer! Just think about it . . . Borrowing from the last verse of “Winter Wonderland,” I would absolutely love to sit with my friends, family, and loved ones by a nice fire with some holiday tunes playing softly in the background bringing a sense of true purpose to: “Later on we’ll conspire as we dream by the fire to face unafraid the plans that we’ve made walking in a winter wonderland!”
It would be a very welcomed and perfectly timed change in basic assumptions, one that would most certainly please Ol’ Santa, because, & after all, it’s SOOO easy to be GOOD for GOODNESS SAKE! I mean, do you want your TOYS or a lump of COAL?
I’ll take the toys!
Season’s Greetings,
Hans D. Lassiter
Irvington Community School Corporation