Redding School District

As we slip into the warm days of summer and bid farewell to our young proteges, we start to look back at the enormous effort it took to get to today.  My reflection process has had a gentle push these last two weeks as I went to six different and unique graduations from our many eighth-grade celebrations.  These fine young persons wowed me this year with the speeches that were given.  As I sat and listened to the literary writings of thirteen and fourteen-year-olds and pondered the connections that they were making in terms of their futures, I was taken back by their ability to capture the gravity of the moment.  I was in awe of what you all have done. 

Martin Luther King Jr said in two different quotes that "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.  Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."

This quote came from an article that 18-year-old Martin Luther King wrote while at Morehouse College in 1947.  It was written seven years before the US Supreme Court deemed segregation unconstitutional in the decision of Brown v. Board of Education.  His point is that knowledge is important but knowing how to think about that knowledge and then adding that with the cultural and moral imperatives of our society is also needed for a democracy to thrive.  

The wide variety of speakers from our eighth-grade passing celebrations spoke of the family that they were leaving and how scary and exciting it was.  They are speaking of you all.  They know and loved the time that you have put into them and it scares them a bit to think that you will not be there next year but excited because you have taught them to want more for themselves.  I heard them mention custodians, office staff, instructional assistants, teachers, administrators, after-school assistants, and bus drivers for the daily support and love that you showed them.  

Earlier I spoke of the reflective nature that comes over me this time of year and how this year it gave me an intense sense of awe.  As I listened to the speakers talk about their experiences throughout their school careers from Kindergarten to eighth grade, it occurred to me that our work carries forward exponentially.  Every one of those graduates has a piece of you within them.  They take all the interactions that they have had with you and load them in their hearts and minds.  It gives them new chapters for the stories that they are writing of their lives.   Those students spoke of their experiences with adults at the campus from long past as if it was yesterday.  They speak of caring support, loving nudges to do better, times of laughter, and times of trouble.  In all cased you, as the school adult, are wrapped tightly within those memories.  You are the ones that made the difference in that experience.

Please know that I truly love who we are as a district and all the people who support our youth within our district.  Congratulations to the multitude of Redding, Shasta, and Igo Ono employees who graduated eighth graders this week and last.  All of you will live on in the hearts and minds of those eighth-graders and of the eighth graders coming each and every year.  Your impact is felt.

Greg Anderson, author, cancer survivor, and founder of the Cancer Recovery Foundation International said, "The single overriding objective in wellness is creating constant personal renewal where we recognize and act on the truth that each day is a miraculous gift."