A Letter from Shelly Cook, LEC Catalyst Mentor (English)
I've been reflecting on our semester of working together at a time when educators and students alike are "Waiting on Superman." We face challenges that I never dreamed teachers would face when I walked into my first classroom. International competition and growing national awareness of the task before us bring home the simple truth that the future DOES depend on you and what you do with the children in your charge. We stand at a crossroad where we can become a country in decline or meet the challenge to educate our children.
I am so proud to be part of an organization that is, with innovation and integrity, stepping forward to make a difference in this fight. I stand in awe of your courage and willingness to restore the soul of service for your students. I truly believe that by exploring possible solutions, working through the challenges, and and dedicating ourselves to the highest standards asked of us, we can be a dynamic part of the solution.
I hope the [following] poem warms your heart as you enter this restorative season and I look forward to crashing into the mapless wilderness yet again. It is an honor to work with you and seek True North.
Blessing, Shelly
We stand at the edge of a true wilderness
By Barbara Rohde, In The Simple Morning Light (1994)
We stand at the edge of a true wilderness.No one has entered it, nor worn a path for us. There are no maps.
We look toward that great openness in awe of the freedom and possibility before us. Yet there is also something in us that causes us to face the unknown territory cautiously and anxiously.
Now, in this place, we take time out of time to look back, to see where we have been and what we have been, to reflect on what we have learned thus far on our journey.
We gather together to remind each other to see our True north, and to encourage--to place courage in--one another.
When we leave this place, we must each find our true path. We must walk alone.
But now and then we may meet.
When we meet, may we offer each other the bread of our being.
And oh, my brothers, and oh, my sisters, if you hear me plunging wildly, despairingly, through the thicket, call out to me. Calm me.
And if you find me sleeping in the snow, awaken me, lest my heart to turn ice.
And if you hear my music, praising the mornings of the world, then in that other time, in the blackness of my night, sing it back to me.
