It’s almost here.
Tonight is our meeting with our parents where we’re going to share what this year’s curriculum will look like and some of our processes that will look differently.
Don’t worry, there’s a fun theme to it, it revolves around our students, and since we’ve already met and begun forming relationships, it will not look like your typical back to school night.
That doesn’t mean however that our parents AND our students are not entitled to seeing an overview of the year, getting information, asking questions, communicating openly, or having an opportunity to get pumped about what lies ahead.
Wednesday is also our student’s first day and as our ‘founding class’ prepares to walk through our doors and have a year of a lifetime, many people have been sharing congratulatory remarks with me.
“Congratulations on starting your own school!”
“Way to follow your dreams!”
“I’m so impressed with what you’re doing!”
As I’ve shared before, I reflect a lot. My almost bewildered responses to the above similar statements made me have another realization.
I never intended to start my own school.
(Indi-ED families, don’t get worried here-I’m more IN and more capable of achieving my dreams than ever before but it’s true.)
My dreams were always to positively impact kids’ lives. I desired to empower kids to get in touch with the capable humans that they are and transition into equally capable adults. I wanted to help kids feel supported and loved and to realize that the world was their oyster and they really could do anything that they put their minds to. I wanted to push them to achieve greatness like no one ever pushed me.
My mission statements or vision boards or 5 year plans never had anything to do with starting a business, running a non-profit, and it certainly didn’t have anything to do with starting my own school. Heck, every time I was asked if I wanted to continue my path in school administration I always said absolutely not. I was in it for the kids, nothing else.
What this made me realize is that the reason that Indi-ED is here is simply because what’s best for kids isn’t happening elsewhere.
So instead of putting my head down like so many others for the next 30 years of my life, I decided to make changes and now it’s here.
You can read the motivational books, you can listen to the podcasts, and you can read the articles about best practices in whatever field you’re in. But what I feel like I should be congratulated on if anything, is just doing it. Taking action.
It’s easy to identify problems and to point fingers. What’s hard is coming up with solutions and actually making them happen.
This is the beginning of Indi-ED but is another step in the direction of what has always been my focus and my life’s purpose, doing what’s best for kids.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the positive remarks and I hope that they will continue for many years to come as Indi-ED grows. But what I hope others realize is that I’m appreciative and understand that there were a ton of working parts that had to come together and years of hard work to get here.
I hope it’s also understood that I’m not even close to being done yet.
Not planned, but certainly ready!