From Rich Hill to Invictus...

#INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

The author, Henley, lost his foot and part of his leg to illness yet he still carries this positive and overcoming outlook on his life.  He is NOT afraid and makes that clear with this writing. At the other end of the spectrum, we meet three young men in the movie Rich Hill.

Rich Hill  

Movie Review: Rich Hill - Watching this film reminded us of a stream of consciousness recording the lives of three young men.  A few things happened in my mind and thought process

1. I saw the same behaviors, people and characteristics in many of our students.  (It seems like just the names were changed)
2. The three stars were trapped in a cyclic pattern that was too hard for them to get off without external support. (That could be teachers, coaches or other caring supporters.)
3. School there looked like school here. (Thinning hair, goat, and rehearsed speech, DFS, troubles and the geographic fix to solve their problems, because things were always better before, in the past.)
4. Motivation comes through the relationships. (These students tended to drive and push those that could help them the best farther and farther away, just by building their walls, acting out and doing the ONLY thing they know what to do.  WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS UNLESS WE ARE TAUGHT HOW TO DO THAT!)
5. We must deliberately remind ourselves who we are, what we do, and our purpose in this place.

Teachers, care givers, coaches, school staff and even administrators act with great confidence and compassion, offer such good variety, interest and enthusiasm all, while contributing to the lives of our students.  Students thoroughly enjoy those contributions to their lives but seldom do they express it the way we like to hear it.  Regardless, keep up the GREAT work. 

Tom McCracken

Winfield Middle School