RC Superintendent Tidbits
By: Mark Otten
Friday, October 29 brought one of the more enjoyable experiences I have had in a long time within the education realm. I worked out details with Christi Leonard to provide grilled burgers for our seniors for lunch. She was gracious enough to patty up the burgers which I took to my pellet grill that morning and managed to not mess them up too much. Grilling the burgers was not the enjoyable part of the day though. We set up all of the food and the seniors came through and filled their trays. They seemed very appreciative of the grilled burgers for lunch that day, however, this was still not the most enjoyable part of the day. The students finished their lunch, helped get everything cleaned up, and still had some time prior to their next classes.
This is when the most enjoyable part of the day came to be. I got to hang out with the seniors, in their element, and enjoy whatever it was they wanted to discuss or take part in. Never did I imagine that I would spend a half hour that day working on a flower pot puzzle with six to eight of the senior boys. They were not discussing anything else; they were not focused on anything else; they were all focused on getting this puzzle completed by the end of the period. The teamwork and collaboration that was occurring was a site to see. If they would put these same principles to work in other aspects of their lives, their possibilities are endless.
Working together for the common good of the group is something we do often but it is also something that gets forgotten. In the school setting, we have people stepping up and helping in so many areas they were not hired to help in but they do it because it is what is best for the kids and the district. Sometimes, this means we have to be a little more patient and forgiving if something is not done just right. I believe this is truer now than it has ever been, and not just in the education setting. We all need to keep in mind that people make mistakes but we are all doing the best we can.