After a long break from writing for the Cook County News-Herald, it feels good to be back with a weekly column in the paper. Many of you may remember my weekly “Coach’s Corner,” but as my role at Cook County Schools transitions from teacher and coach to assistant principal and activities director, I feel my purpose for writing should evolve as well.
When I first began writing a column, my goal was to cover the dedicated and talented student-athletes of Cook County. Over time, my articles began to spin off into comments regarding beliefs and politics. Many times I would throw a little political jab in the middle of an article, whether I believed it or not, just to invoke a reaction. For some, this may have made for a good read and some debate. However, looking back on this time, many of my views were immature and driven by the amount of feedback I could create—good or bad. I had strayed from my original purpose: to highlight the student-athletes at Cook County.
My purpose now is simple: to dedicate my time and talents in creating the best possible learning environment for the students at Cook County Schools. While this mission takes on many forms throughout the day, the challenge is real and relentless.
In the weeks and months to follow, I hope to create a column you can come to for school news, upcoming events, student and teacher highlights, and features of the many programs and opportunities our young people in Cook County are participating in. I’m sure along the way we will talk about challenges, ways to improve, and how our school community can better serve the people of Cook County.
More than any of that, however, I hope we can create some authentic and positive communication where we can embrace our young people as they struggle, flounder, compete, and succeed in school. They all need support from the adults of this community, and I hope we can discuss ways to make that happen for our youth.
My thoughts each morning on the way to school are often on the remarkable young people from Grand Portage who get on a bus at 6:30 a.m. only to return each day after their sports practice at 7 p.m. My thoughts then think of the students who are taking three to four Advanced Placement classes in the same semester and still manage to participate in community service activities. I also think of the students who are struggling either academically, socially, or emotionally. I wonder how we can better help them at school. I then think of all the small times in a day where I see young people doing remarkable, yet unnoticed things.
How can I best serve all of these young people?
Won’t you join me? The Dorr is always open if you want to stop up at school and share your thoughts. If you can’t make it up to the school, consider emailing me at: mdorr@isd166.org. I look forward to your comments, thoughts, and feedback.
Leave a Reply