The Quiet Things

By Misty Beair, NASES President

“You may not feel like you can change the whole world, but you can change the world around you…and that’s a great place to start.” ~Jon

Gordon

Public education has become increasingly loud over the last few years. Louder in the public arena, louder in school board meetings, political agendas are louder, media reporting is louder, and there are louder parents and community members both in person and on social media. While not all of the loudness is bad, it can be tiring. As you enjoy your summer and recharge for the fall, I want you to also take time to reflect on the quiet things that happen in public education. Schools across Nebraska are filled with amazing quiet things. You know these things as they are the things that will stay in your heart years after you have retired.

In 26 years of education, it’s the quiet things that have always meant the most to me. Things like seeing a teacher deliver pizza to the home of a student whose mom is in the hospital. It’s learning that the Athletic Director comes to school at 6:00 AM every Monday to wash a load of laundry for the student who doesn’t have access to clean clothes. It’s seeing the Principal sit with a student after hours to make sure he passes math and graduates with his class.

You can see it in the counselor who listens to countless heartbreaking stories but never gives up. It’s the Superintendent standing by the door watching for the shy kid so he can say hi every day. It’s noticing the janitor who stops and helps the newly arrived students braid their hair before school. It’s the peace you feel in knowing that the lunch ladies know which students need a little bit of extra food. It’s there when the Special Education Director takes a cup of coffee to a mom on a Saturday morning because she just learned her child is dying, and sometimes coffee and tears is all there is to give.

The quiet things are found when the kindergartner brings you "the heaviest leaf in the world" because it didn’t blow away at recess time. It’s a card from a parent that says "thanks for all you do" sitting in your desk drawer. It’s that hug from a freshman who is leaving your school to be placed in a home where you both know she will be safe. It’s watching the librarian bring books to life right in front of 1st graders' eyes. It’s the special education teacher sitting on the floor with the child whose world seems too big and loud until they feel calm again. It’s knowing the biology teacher doesn’t just know his students, but the student’s parents, aunts, uncles, and all about the time cousin Roy tried to sneak a tattoo by his mom.

It’s the British Literature teacher who acts out the Canterbury Tales, focusing on the Summoner’s boils so fervently that it is re-enacted at every class reunion.

You see the quiet things happen when you realize the kindergarten teacher has been "accidentally" packing two lunches every day so she has one to share. It’s the school secretary secretly handing a couple dollars to a child going on a field trip. It’s the community member who comes in and wipes away lunch bills, just because. It’s the teacher who stays up late at night to make sure her new student’s desk and cubby are ready to go in the morning so it looks like he has always been a part of their class. It’s hosting the very loud Spring Sprints every single year, and then quietly handing a child their very first medal while their mother takes a picture.

As an adult I treasure all of the quiet things I’ve seen or been a part of over the years, I can only imagine what they have meant to kids. Schools are loud, schools are measured and rated, students are tested and pushed, they compete both with each other and against each other, all while memories are being made. Within all of the loudness that goes along with public education, I’d like to think the quiet things are what matter the most. It’s those quiet things that have the most impact on all of us as we grow into the person we are supposed to become.

I know I should spend some time talking about NCSA and NASES. I can share that it’s one of the quiet things I have been blessed to be a part of that will stay with me long after I’ve retired. Both NCSA and NASES help me keep my focus on what is truly important when it comes to being a leader. It’s the relationships you develop with those around you and the support you give and receive from those relationships that matters the most as you go through your career.

I hope that you each get plenty of summer sun and never forget to watch for the quiet things that happen every single day that make your school, and Nebraska, the best place to be. ■