WOW! It seems like yesterday we were counting down the last days of school, and here we are preparing for the first day of school. This has been a busy yet productive summer. I have choreographed and help produce one of my favorite musicals (Once on This Island) as well as produce my inaugural Writers Retreat in the Bay Area. As I prepare my lesson plans and other materials for the classes I am teaching this semester I am reminded about excellence. This year I want my students to develop a spirits of greatness. Often times we tend to just let things be what they are or go with what we have, but that leads to a spirit of mediocrity. I have learned that mediocrity is a form of child abuse and as educators we have to go beyond the call of duty. It does take a village to raise a child and today we MUST adopt the village mentality.

I remember growing up and the influential teachers I had. They were more than teachers; they were an extension of my family. Due to the constant rules from TEA many teachers have forgotten the village scenario. Back in the day, teachers cared more about the student than making a paycheck. I have heard teachers say, “this is just a job that I have to pay my bills,” and with that mentality the heart for teaching goes out of the window. I do understand that teachers are the low man on the totem pole when it comes to pay, but when you take the charge to teach you must remember the good that comes with the bad. We are here to pay it forward. We were encouraged to be productive members of society, and live life with a purpose and to follow our goals. Have we lost that in the art of teaching. We cannot forget those powerful lesson that were taught by our grad school teachers. Teaching is interactive, and it has to come from a place of love.

As we prepare to decorate our classrooms and get ready for the leaders of tomorrow, think about those that paved the way for you, as well as those that pushed you to do your best. As I type this I think about when I was in the first grade and my struggle with math. I asked my teacher Mrs. Porter, ” do you think I will ever get it,” and she looked me in the eyes and said, “Bryan Wilson, you can do whatever you put your mind to,” and I truly believed what she said. Children can do whatever they put their minds to but we have to be that bridge! One of my favorite quotes is from an influential Greek writer and philosopher of the 20th century Nikos Kazantzakis, and it reads, “Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.”

So parents and fellow educators I ask that you go into this school year with not just a sense excitement, but with a spirit of excellence. We are the bridge builders and the village leaders that can be a catalyst for change today for a brighter tomorrow. I have a little saying that goes; if we strive for perfection we will catch greatness. So let’s keep striving!