Be A Grateful Leader

Be A Grateful Leader, Have A Grateful Day

I don’t know where to begin except to say that I am grateful. I am a middle school principal in New Jersey, and our school only closed for three days until the power was restored in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. We are located about ten minutes from our closest Jersey shore town, Ocean City. Our city, Linwood, is surrounded by back bays and estuaries but we survived this one. During the summer we were closed for four days during Hurricane Irene. Most families lost power for a week. Again, I am grateful.

All around us, schools are still closed as administrators and town officials try to sort this thing out. Ten miles away in Atlantic City the casinos remain closed for five days as most of the city was still without power. We have a lot of our families that depend on the Atlantic City economy for their livelihood. Many of our staffulty (faculty and staff) were affected directly at their homes or the homes of loved ones. Selflessly, they put the less fortunate ahead of themselves as we re-aim our service learning resources. Again, I am grateful.

In classes, we are shifting our service learning platform to raise money for the cleanup and restoration from the hurricane and to step up our food drive. Ironically, before the hurricane, our service learning platform consisted of raising money for soccer balls that double as generators for lamps and charging stations to distribute to those places that do not have power or play things.

Now we must put that on the backburner and focus on more immediate, local needs and accept a leadership role and pay forward any previous kindness that has been bestowed on us. We are trying to explain to the students what is going on as this is the second time in a few months a lot of them were without power or displaced. Try to imagine the enormous loss for people that totally lost their homes. Again, I am grateful.

As crazy as it sounds, these are opportunities and experiences we must now embrace. We must embrace them for the opportunity to serve and the opportunity to learn. We must embrace these opportunities for the chance to lead. With all of the directives, reform, and bureaucracy in education, these are leadership and teaching moments.

As we rearranged our school calendars and lessons and redirected our resources and initiatives, we are coming together to make a difference in ourselves and in our community.  At the end of last week, we were looking for direction as people were starting to get back to their shore homes and some sort of normalcy. Again, I am grateful.

I viewed pictures, videos, and visited some areas. It was devastating to look at and more emotional if it was yours. There was a plethora in the media about the American Red Cross and their need for monetary resources. I visited the closest Red Cross site to us to try and fill a void.

There were people there not as lucky as we were. There was a group looking for relocation that made any barrier I had pale in comparison. When it was my turn, the first thing the Red Cross lady said, “I am tired.”  I asked what she needed then she told me they were inundated with volunteers and couldn’t disperse them where they needed to be. She said the most effective contribution would be money. She also urged us to donate to local food banks. Again, I am grateful.

At the time of this writing, we have connected with a few schools that need assistance. People that have been affected by Hurricane Sandy are looking for direction just as the people looking for service. If you have done anything to help, you are a leader. If you haven’t, become a leader.

Leadership is not popularity or recognition but the most effective leadership begins with service. Our school is going to be that example, and I’m sure your organization will, too. I am positive that our students will change the world in a positive way. They lead by example. Individually, we can surely make a difference. Collectively, we can make a synergistic difference, and we will.

Peace.