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Find your people, and don’t eat the sugar

As I write this, there is ice on the something that had only been done twice ground, Punxsutawney Phil saw his before in the 97-year history of our shadow, and omicron is still rampaging district. I still attend monthly PTA meettwo years into the pandemic. But you ings and publish monthly highlights, and will read this in March, and it will be I remind the members of the words of spring, a time for rebirth. There will be Plato: “One of the penalties for refusing hope, longer days, shorter nights, and to participate in politics is that you end a collective sigh of relief that we have up being governed by your inferiors.” survived another COVID winter. I keep them informed to keep them

At home, when I pick up a publica- engaged, and they in turn support and tion, I must check and see whether it is a medical journal or an education magazine because many of the articles have by Tad Margolis ASBA President encourage me, and sometimes they are considerate enough just to let me vent. My challenge to you is this: Find the same feel. It seems the struggles in order to maintain autonomy against your people, keep them informed and run in tandem. In these challenging and insurance company intrusion into scope motivated, and remind them that their unpredictable times, physicians feel ex- of practice. Their slogan, “Together job didn’t end when you sat down at hausted and burned out. Educators feel we bargain, alone we beg,” has stuck the table. Encourage them to fill needed unappreciated, burned out and worried with me all these years and resonates positions of service to our children and about their students’ possible learning as relevant in so many areas of public communities. loss. Local school boards are struggling education. We as board members can’t There is an unverified story that is to maintain district autonomy. Com- navigate these uncertain times alone. attributed to Mahatma Gandhi that fits munities are polarized. Ever-changing We need to maintain contact with “our the message I want to share. According COVID guidelines result in boards and people,” those that had the confidence in to this story – again, it’s unverified, so administrators having to make school us to put us here, and remind them that it’s more of a fable – a woman brought policy revisions. Many districts must they can’t just vote and then sit back and her young son to speak to Gandhi and undergo first-time zoning or rezoning. say “Good job!” said, “My son won’t stop eating sugar. How do we survive in these tumultuous Our district is fortunate to have a Please tell him to stop.” Gandhi listened times? vibrant and active PTA, and I have been to her and then asked her to return in

In the 1990s, the American Medi- active in it for many years. Nine years two weeks. Two weeks later the woman cal Association sponsored a campaign ago I became the third female to serve and her child returned, and Gandhi to encourage physicians to cooperate on the school board, accomplishing looked at the boy and said, “Stop eating sugar.” The mother was perplexed and FRENCH asked him, “Why couldn’t you have told him this two weeks ago?” He replied, “Madam, two weeks ago I was still eating sugar.” This analogy can easily be applied to board members. We must be willing to stop eating the sugar, make the tough decisions, make our needs and interests ARCHITECTS secondary to those of the best interests of all the students, and lead courageously by example. Only then will others be willing to stay the course with us. ARCHITECTS I DESIGNERS I INTERIORS So as spring arrives and along with it 827 CENTRAl AvE ST. B I HOT SpRINGS I AR I 71901 the filing period for May elections, and the groundhog predicts six more weeks DAVID@FRENCHARCHITECTS.NET of winter, I predict omicron will recede and give us a break. FRENCHARCHITECTS I hope with the advent of the new season, you find some time to catch your breath and reach out to your constituents with relevant information, support and motivation, and maybe a chance for a little friendly venting.