In his popular book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey writes about “sharpening the saw.” The phrase comes from a story about a man who is exhausted from trying to cut down a tree with a dull saw and has become convinced he is so far behind that he doesn’t have time to stop and sharpen it. Those of us in education are not immune to this phenomenon, as our focus on meeting the never-ending demands placed on us—not only by students, but by the many actors to whom we are accountable— keeps us in constant motion.
In addition to the routine challenges of our roles, changes in funding, reporting requirements, academic standards, education laws and regulations, personnel, facilities, and policies all require our attention and energy.
Summer provides a window of time without the immediacy of student issues, but this does not mean the work ends. While the psychological pull may be to “put our feet up,” if we fail to address the ongoing issues facing us, September will find us right back in the same struggles that have left us so exhausted this June. And this is not an issue just for teachers and school administrators. Each of us could benefit from taking a step back and seeing how we might improve our involvement in the public education system.
Certainly, this is a great time for teachers to pursue ongoing education. Many options now exist to help educators stay current with strategies for improving student learning and deal with the changes in technology, curriculum, and requirements that affect their classrooms. These efforts to be better prepared help ensure better outcomes from their work with students, and most teachers engage in some amount of professional development each summer.
It is also about the only time when significant facility changes can be made, whether for correcting existing problems or providing new capabilities. It may seem inconsequential by some measures, but we need to be thankful for all the ways our facilities provide safe, cost-effective, and functional environments for learning. It’s often the things we don’t notice that make everything else go smoother.
But these aren’t the only areas where work can be done. Summer is also a good time for just about everyone to think a little bit more about how they might improve our communities by changing the way they’ve been sawing at the education tree.
Parents could reflect on their involvement with their children’s learning, think about what they’d like to see their children accomplish during their school years, and look for ways to provide better support. Perhaps it’s a commitment to attend parent/teacher conferences or increase the amount of time spent reading with their children. Perhaps it’s a dedicated time to talk about their schoolwork or about what they’d like to do after graduation and what they need to get there. In any case, making what is happening at school a bigger part of what is happening at home will lead to improved student success.
Community members without children can take some time to consider what they want public schools to be accomplishing, too. After all, we are all members of the society that public education is designed to serve. Is it serving us well? How might we commit to making it better? We can engage with the school board and other political leaders, we can volunteer in classrooms or on committees, and we can rally the support of our friends and neighbors to make high-quality education a cornerstone of our communities. It is vital yet often unattended work.
Take the time this summer to sharpen your personal saw: organize your workspace, spend some time exercising, re-connect with friends and family, or kick a bad habit. But please take the time to help sharpen the saws of our education system as well. Schools will never reach their potential— nor will our children—if we don’t.
Each month a representative of our local schools will offer thoughts in Issues in Education. This month’s s contributor is Peter James, Director at Great Expectations School.
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