Relationships - Relationships - Relationships

"They maneuvered around one another with the absolute confidence of people who have spent huge amounts of time together, who trusted and loved one another and who knew how to show one another off to best advantage and how to curb each other's boring and annoying habits."--The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Never neglect the relationships you develop at work. So many disagreements and heartaches could be avoided if, as my superintendent once said in his opening year remarks, we always treated people like people, not objects. I'd go even further and say that we also have to step outside our own little boxes and look at a bigger picture than what we personally deal with day to day. There are many forces at work in our schools, and sometimes people's actions become very understandable when we look at all the angles. Here's what I'm thinking right this minute.

• We can disagree without being disagreeable.
• We can have different viewpoints and still like and respect each other.
• We can walk a mile in each other's shoes before we criticize.
• We can relinquish control over the things we don't know enough about or have the time for.
• We can find the time and places to really get to know the people we work with.
• We can always give the benefit of the doubt.
• We can let go of the past.
• We can buy into the fact that education and experience does qualify those we work with more highly than ourselves in their specific subjects.
• We can quit gossiping.
• We can change our minds when evidence supports a different conclusion.
• We can realize that we all work for the same team - our students, our schools, and our community.

As role models for each other and for our students, we need to work together and respect each other. Always.