We Are Capable of Much More

Kara Mieszanek

Article

We Are Capable of Much More

“You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.” - Josh Shipp

Hard to believe that as I am writing this, it was one year ago that would be the last week we would have experienced a “normal week”. I actually went back in my calendar and looked at my week from last year. It was kind of crazy, actually. There are things I thought, wow,

I miss that. However, there are also things I thought, I could totally do without that ever again because we have learned of better ways of doing things. This past year has taught me more than I ever could have imagined.

Here are just a few of the things I have taken from a pandemic experience:

...relationships can transcend any medium when they are authentic.

1. We are capable of much more than

we ever thought we were. Not only have we learned about our ability to be resilient, but we have also taught our students more about resiliency than any program or curriculum could have ever attempted. We often get in the way of ourselves because we think of all the things that could possibly go wrong instead of just putting ourselves out there and seeing what could happen.

2. Relationships are everything.

Build them. Value them. And know that relationships can transcend any medium when they are authentic.

3. There are many things we have done for far too long just because that is how we have always done it.

We must learn to embrace unlearning because it has shown us that is when the magic happens. I cannot help but think of some of the things we put into place this year that we had to do because of the situation that we are in and how those things are now going to be implemented from here on out. What if we had never been forced into this situation? Would we have been ok? In education, comfort can be our enemy.

4. There are things that are just not in our control, and we must choose how to respond to the control we do

have. We must accept our limitations. As educators, we feel we have to be held to superhero standards. And although we will never stop trying, we must know where our boundaries lie. At the end of the day, we have to recognize that we gave it our all and accept it as being enough, or we will never be able to bring our best selves day in and day out. Grace is not just something that you extend to others, you must be willing to provide it to yourself.

This year could have robbed us [as educators] of our why, but I think it reminded many of us [no matter how difficult it was] exactly WHY we do what we do. Why is this work is worth it? Why we must choose to embrace vulnerability in ways we never have? If you look closely, we are surrounded by silver linings. Choose to be better, not bitter.

Kara Mieszanek is the privileged principal of J.W. Riley Intermediate School in Berkeley SD 87. She has served in both assistant principal and principal roles there for the past seven years. Prior to that, she was an elementary physical education teacher. Most recently, she earned her Doctor of Education through National Louis University. When she isn’t busy challenging the status quo in education, she can be found either snowmobiling or laying poolside (always with a good book in hand), or spending time finding new adventures to go on with her family.