I got some feedback last week about this newsletter.
A reader wrote. She was kind. Except she used the words, “tone deaf.”
There is so much happening in the world, she said. We are caught in a gigantic, global, political mess. It feels strange, she said, that your newsletter wouldn’t give educators tips on how to navigate political conversations, government shutdowns, false truths, and the millions of people who are hurting.
I don’t disagree.
I assure you all that I am very attuned to the mess. I see it, I feel it, and I am affected by it. I am doing everything I can do to help, in quiet ways I hope make an actual difference.
But this newsletter was never intended to be a political place. In fact, I want it to be a place free of politics.
I want it to align with my goal right now— about work and home and life in general— which means I want it to provide ideas for slow, steady, daily progress.
About twenty years ago, I worked with a man who led my district’s curriculum department. He was maddeningly professional, which is to say he never let us know what he thought—politically, certainly, but also emotionally and socially.
I’ve never seen someone navigate high-pressure conversations like he did.
He had the ability to listen carefully to all perspectives, then come to a decision for the group— without anyone knowing he was doing so. We all felt it was us doing the deciding, together.
He was a masterful leader.
At his retirement party, his daughter had hung pictures of him throughout the rented restaurant. The photos captured him at work, at home, and everywhere in between. I scanned them and was shocked to see several photos of him at marches— in D.C., New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Columbus, and Atlanta. Dressed in a suit. Holding signs.
The photographs revealed someone who cared deeply about the issues at hand. Who got in his car, drove to a place, and joined in with a conversation about change.
I’d had no idea he had been “that” kind of guy. An activist.
I told him so.
“Thank you,” he said. His smile told me I’d complimented him.
“How did you hide your opinions from all of us?”
“I wasn’t hiding my opinions, exactly. But that wasn’t the place. At work, my job was to make room for everyone’s ideas, opinions, beliefs, and perspectives.”
That’s what I want this newsletter to be. I want it to be about education, leadership, schools, and students. About fixing problems.
There are many other vital forums dedicated to that discourse. I plan to keep this newsletter focused on the things we can do, daily, to support teachers, students, and our schools.
I want this newsletter to be your partner. I want it— and me— to help you solve problems and make your schools better.
That’s it.
Let’s stay curious—
Jen
P.S. No AI is used in creating this newsletter.
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