There are days when the magnitude and far reaching responsibility of my role as the board’s Languages Learning Supervisor suddenly hits me.  My job is to lead and work alongside of our Learning Coordinators, Coaches and Teachers on Special Assignment to ensure that all of our students become literate.   Yet, we know that we are far from reaching that goal.  Many of our students continue to struggle to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively.  Many of our students continue to avoid reading because they have not yet gained the confidence to read independently.  Many of our educators continue to look for new and innovative ways to engage students in literacy, as they still feel that they are not meeting the needs of all of their students.

So…. Where does one begin?

Earlier this week, on my drive into work, I stumbled upon a favourite CD ~ Garth Brooks’ Greatest Hits and as soon as I heard, “The Change” it immediately reminded me of something that was shared at my very first meeting as a new administrator.   Our Executive Superintendent, at the time, was doing his best to calm our nerves as we were about to embark on this journey and in doing so, he read the poem, The Starfish about a man who, seeing a shoreline full of starfish ~ destined to die ~ begins to throw them back, one at a time, knowing that he can’t save them all.   The final line of the poem is “It made a difference for that one”.  It reminds us that we can make a difference, one child at a time, one teacher at a time.

In searching for images to enhance this post, I found so many that I decided to compile them into a video and add the soundtrack from “The Change”.

Our job is to continue to move forward,  to embark on new journeys, to try new strategies, to continue to teach all of our students to read, write and communicate ~ one at a time.  And in making a difference for “one”,  we will ultimately make a difference for all.

Who did you make a difference for today?

Come write with me….