Fear Transformed

From the desk of Alice…

On days like these, it is difficult to say things that have not already been said.  If you are over a certain age, there is no doubt you remember where you were 13 years ago on September 11th and you will relive it each and every year on this date.  The details are still vivid for me.  I distinctly remember the shade of blue in the sky and the crisp feel of fall in the air as I drove back to my school from a meeting and heard the first report on the radio saying there had been, “a plane crash.”

As the day unfolded, I was in disbelief.  I was a curriculum coordinator at that time and my thoughts quickly turned to protecting the students in my school as well as getting to my own daughter who was 2 years old at a preschool across town.  No matter how hard I fought it, fear began to creep into my mind.

In the days that followed, the fear I felt and our nation felt began to turn into courage.  It became determination.  It evolved into tenacity.  In the months and years since, our lives have been permanently changed, but the fear has waned.

As you reflect on this date and on our role as educators, consider the way you take fear and make it into something productive for your yourself, your students and/or colleagues each day.  When fear creeps in how do you meet it?  If there is anything I have learned from the tragedy of September 11th, it is to take every chance.

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”~ Jack Canfield

Source of picture: Porter-Gaud School Student Mural