Imagine

 

Imagine. 

 

What a word.  It implies no boundaries, no limitations, endless possibilities.  There aren’t many words I can say I love but man, I love that word.  I can think of nothing in my life that I enjoy, I value, that I’m proud of that I didn’t first imagine.

 

One of my favorite composers of all time – John Lennon –wrote one of my all-time favorite songs entitled, “Imagine.”  He created some controversy with some of the lyrics – by asking us to imagine there was no heaven and that we should just do things right because it was the right thing to do.  My message today is not about John Lennon and his controversy.  Today, I want to encourage us to imagine and to encourage others to do the same.  It isn’t hard to do.

 

As administrators, we have watched our students in action.  We’ve seen them in the weight room.  We’ve peeked in on practice and rehearsals.  We’ve stood outside the band and choir rooms sometimes and just listened.  We watch students perform and watch them compete.  If your experience is anything like mine was, you are often simply in awe of what you see and hear. 

 

And then I think, “imagine.”  Imagine what our schools would be if students took the energy, the passion, the commitment, the dedication they show in the weight room, the stage, the court, the field, the mat, the pool, the bowling lane, and every other venue they perform and compete…imagine if they took it all and applied it to every part of their lives.  Imagine the possibilities. 

 

Imagine every classroom transformed into places where the effort to not just get through but where the desire to learn, to do, and to become experts was the driving force.  Imagine the test scores, the GPA’s.  More importantly, imagine the satisfaction of knowing they gave their best.  Imagine the confidence of realizing that when they commit to something, when they dedicate themselves to become the best, they are capable of just about anything.  Imagine how contagious the passion for learning could become.

 

Imagine the culture in our schools if every student and every one of us made a commitment to make today and tomorrow and the next everyone else’s best day.  Imagine a school where everyone believed that someone cared, that no matter how bad a day was, students could count on someone to pick them up. Imagine a school where no one dared hurt another.  Where Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. were used to celebrate all that is good about friends and classmates and were never used to embarrass, taunt or bring down anyone.  As John Lennon sang, “imagine all the people, living life in peace.”

 

Imagine our community and our world, if we encouraged our students to make it a priority to serve.  Imagine if our students donated, served meals, repaired houses, provided clothing and essentials to those marginalized in our society as if they were brothers and sisters.  Imagine all the people, sharing all the world.

 

As educators, we have a responsibility to run programs, schools, and districts.  But we have a greater responsibility – a calling.  And it is that calling that encourages, if not demands, that we imagine.

 

Imagine – no boundaries, no limitations, endless possibilities. You may say I’m a dreamer.  But I’m not the only one.  I hope someday you’ll join us and create a school and a community that can live as one.