Embarking on a New School Year: A Parent and Educator's Perspective

Welcome to a journey of unprecedented emotions as we embark on a fresh school year. This one holds a special place in my heart, as it is my daughter's first step into the educational sphere. With 19 years of experience as an educator, I'm no stranger to yearly beginnings. This time, however, the added dimension of parenthood bestows a whole new perspective. Join me as I navigate the ups and downs of this unique year, feeling the nerves, the excitement, and the reflective moments, connecting myself, my staff, and our students to the core of our mission - shaping the future of our children and humanity.

We also delve into the profound role of education and community, a realm that holds the power to mold the future of mankind. Listen in as I ponder over our responsibility as educators and community members, to ensure equal opportunities for all. This episode serves as an urgent call to action for all educators and parents. Let's be that spark that propels someone in the right direction. As we stand on the threshold of a new school year, let's embrace our mission to foster a nurturing environment for our children and make a difference in the world we pass on to them.

Chapters

• 0:00 First Day of School Reflections
• 9:26 The Importance of Education and Community

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

When they see me. They know that every day, when I'm breathing, it's for us to go farther. You know, every time I speak, I want the truth to come out. You know I'm saying every time I speak I want to shiver. You know I don't want them to be like. They know what I'm gonna say, cuz it's polite. They know what I'm gonna say and even if I get in trouble, you know I'm saying that ain't that what we're supposed to do? It's. I'm not saying I'm gonna rule the world or I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world. And that's our job. It's to spark somebody else watching us. We might not be the ones, but let's not be selfish. And because we're not gonna change the world, let's not talk about how we should change it. I don't know how to change it, but I know, if I keep talking about how dirty it is out here, somebody gonna clean it up. And now he's been promoted his job principal.

Speaker 2: 0:55

Good morning, good morning. Good morning. This is Uche in Chokun Voices. My voice is super respite this morning. It is about 5 39 am and I Should be at the gym right now, but, however, my phone wasn't charged. I didn't plug it in last night, so what I did is um, it's plugged in right now, so I have maybe about 10 15 minutes before I have enough of a charge to go to the gym. So I decided this morning to do a quick video and Probably should have Wormed up my voice a little bit, but I'm pretty sure you can hear me, so I'm gonna go ahead and continue with my voice the way it is. So what I want to talk to you about this morning is it's really reflection of yesterday Yesterday was the first day of my staff being back on campus and in preparation for the new school year starts tomorrow, so today is the sixth.

Speaker 2: 1:57

The fifth was my staff. I'll come in back. We have some professional development people set up, send up their classrooms, and today is day two of that and and um, tomorrow my students come back to school and I'm excited. You know this love always a lot of nervous energy around preparations and classrooms and all those things. It was the first thing I look like and it doesn't. It doesn't really pass until maybe a day or two, about two or three days into the school year and then you're like, okay, the machine is started, you know kids are coming to school, they're gonna class, they have a lunch, they do do it all, all these needs, do do a school day. Then we have to miss all and we just get into the, into the movement of the school year.

Speaker 2: 2:46

But this year is a little bit different than any other year, and I'll tell you why. All these years of first years of school has been about other people's children. Today, the sixth, is actually my daughter's first year of school, in kindergarten and, and I have to say, I am filled with mixed emotions because, um, you know, it's just weird knowing that now she's going through these same processes that I've been preparing other children for, or preparing spaces for other children for many years now, 19 years to be exact. It's been 19 years of first years of schools for me, and this is the one year that is different from any other year. So I'm excited, I'm nervous, I am in a very reflective mode.

Speaker 1: 3:47

I'm asking myself whether or not.

Speaker 2: 3:51

I've done enough in preparation for her to start school. I'm asking myself whether or not the school has done enough in preparation for my daughter to start school.

Speaker 2: 4:02

But nonetheless to have this whole entire process. I think about all the parents that I've met, everyone from pre-K all the way through 12th grade. I've been fortunate enough to have worked at elementary school as an assistant principal, so I've sat with parents who have had their concerns, their fears, their tripodations, and now I'm in that seat. I get it. I really do get it. But, however, the one thing that I'm definitely taking away from this year is that this is also the first year that I did things a little bit differently. I did this a lot differently In a sense that in the past there's been a cookie cutter method to open the school year. For me it's pretty based on the way I was trained and that has to do with, you know, the staff comes in, we go to the staff handbook, we go through all the minutias and the steps, the processes, all these things of the school year, at least for the beginning of the school year, and I have to tell you there's never really been a heart in it. It's been very just, methodical. And yesterday I got my staff into the. We have a little music room that's kind of like. You know, steve starts seating and I sat on the little mini stage in the music room and I sat there with my assistant principal and I started talking. I started talking about the history of my coming to the school, the history of the school, the things that have been negative and then positive about the school, the mission division, where we're going, what it is that we are intending to do this year, and I interwoven my journey as a student to being where I am right now as a school leader. I shared a piece of myself but also opened my staff to the truth of where they are and what the work needs to be. And I saw people in sitting there who shed tears and I was like, wow, what's going on here? As I'm speaking, I'm asking myself what's happening here. What am I seeing? And what I was seeing is the heart of what we do. This is a highly emotional space. Preparing a path for the future of our children is a highly emotional space because it's us saying the work that we do is about humanity and humanity's future. And community that I leave my school in is a community that for many years has been ignored or marginalized, much like the community I grew up in in California. But the great thing about it is to be in a space where you know what you're doing is for the greater good and to be able to sit there and really have a conversation coming to, come in of minds, coming of hearts, and to be able to say is there any questions? And not a single question, not a single deviation from the mission, the charge. I think that was such a powerful thing.

Speaker 2: 7:54

I didn't stop there. In the evening I had the last parent orientation. We had several orientations in the summertime, early in the summer, so this was the last one for those who were not able to make it to any of these other orientations and to sit there and have parents, a packed house. I've never had that many people come to just to any event at the school since I've been there In a graduation we had a packed house, but that's different, that's graduation, but just the general. Just hey, come here about what we're doing this year at the school we had a filled room.

Speaker 2: 8:33

I decided to do what I did in the morning tell the story, be honest about where the school has been, where the school is going, give people permission to share their concerns. It's funny because the school that I lead has struggled. I'm a turnaround principal and this is the work that I'm doing. It's moving in the right direction. So to have parents honestly say that they're concerned because of the history of the school, to have kids say, yeah, in the past is what we've dealt with at the school. It's very important. It was also important for me to tell them that we must honor that past history, that past experience. But, however, we must also, without a doubt, turn our faces to the future and fall forward.

Speaker 2: 9:26

And to have that conversation and then again see tears. There were parents there who were shedding tears. I said to myself again what's happening? We're getting to the heart of what the work is, what the need is. What is it that this community, these parents, are asking for? And the reality is the same thing. I'm asking for my child to be in a space of heart, understanding that educating my daughter is really preparing her for a future, and that future is the future of humanity.

Speaker 2: 10:08

I am grateful for the opportunity to be a school leader. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the people that I work with. I'm grateful for being blessed to open this school year at the same time as my daughter starting her journey in schools, because this holds me even much more accountable to the families that I serve, because so and else is also serving my family, hopefully mirroring what I'm trying to do with what I'm doing in my school community for every single child, for every single parent, for every single member of that community. Yeah, this is going to be a great day. All right, folks, I hope that my phone is better charged. Going to go to the gym, going to get a little workout, come back, shower, get dressed and drop off my daughter at the first day of school. With that being said, have an amazing day and be that spark, be that thing to get somebody thinking and move in the right direction. Be well.