December 19, 2007
Dear Colleagues,
As we approach these two weeks of student vacation, I am hoping that you have time to rejuvenate, to spend time with the people who matter most to you, and to prepare for the rest of the school year.
A friend of mine shared this poem with me several years ago. I am reminded of this as I think about the work that we do.
*To be of use
*by Marge Piercy
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
Our work is real. Students and families depend on us to do our jobs well so that the students we collectively educate can be fully prepared for the future while having meaningful, fun experiences in our schools. As both a parent and as a colleague, I am grateful for your service.
Happy Holidays to you and those you love. My best wishes for 2008.
Kevin Skelly , Ph.D.
Superintendent
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