Encouragement

Today I told a story at our Monday Morning Meeting about a couple of frogs who fell into a deep hole.   The other frogs peered down into this very deep hole and decided it was impossible for them to jump their way out.  They kept hollering down to forget it, it was just too deep to get out.  One frog eventually gave up.   The other frog fought on, jumping,  grasping, and persistently trying to get out.  He did!  In the end he did the seemingly impossible.  When the frogs at the top asked him why he didn’t listen to them and just give up - the valiant frog told them he was hard of hearing and thought they were cheering him on and encouraging him.    What a lesson!  The value of encouragement in the face of what seems impossible can be the difference between success and failure.  

At the IAA we strive to encourage all of our students and we strive to create an environment in which our students encourage each other.   This week we had some beautiful examples of this; our 4th graders created a geodesic dome together that required hard, collaborative work.  When it collapsed, the groups encouraged each other to solve the construction problems.   We also had a group of 5th graders at Friday Town Meeting perform a beautiful dance they create.  It was a dance that highlighted their unit on human rights and showcased some basic human rights they felt all people should have access to.  The students needed to create together, and then needed to encourage each other during their very public performance.  These are just two examples of how even a little encouragement makes a huge difference.   

Artfully,                                                                                                 
Mr. Bobby