New school year' s resolutions

By RICHARD BROOKS
Superintendent of Coweta County Schools

One aspect of the schooling process that differs from most other professions is that we as teachers and students get to "start over" each year, so to speak.

The beginning of every new school year presents us all with opportunities to break bad habits, replace them with productive ones, and make other positive changes in our behavior and attitudes that will benefit us for a lifetime.

Just as many teachers return from having participated in summer training activities that have sharpened their skills, most students are anxious to begin a new period of learning and production with a clean slate.

Similar to New Year's Day, which is traditionally a time for people to make resolutions and changes in behavior, a new school year affords us all students, teachers, and parents the opportunity to resolve to make learning the priority it should be.

Teachers are quite accustomed to these new beginnings. New job assignments, locations, different graduation requirements, changes in standardized tests, and new students are simply a fact of life for teachers.

This situation presents teachers with innumerable opportunities to continue to answer our calling of influencing lives by providing guidance, shaping attitudes and honing knowledge and skills with students.

We can learn from past mistakes and failures, try the latest methods and approaches, and do what we do teach.

Students can also take advantage of the beginning of school to learn from past mistakes and grow with past victories. They can resolve to listen more actively, study more intently, participate more effectively and plan more appropriately. The "starting over" that occurs each new year is a great opportunity to begin new pages, chapters, and even volumes in this important endeavor we call education.

We, as teachers, countless times have witnessed on the first day the arrival of students coming back to school with attitudes totally improved from the previous year. Their new clothes and supplies are symbols of their fresh dedication to personal growth and progress. It is the effective and sensitive teacher indeed who recognizes and supports this new attitude, refusing to let reputation and past failures prejudice his or her mind.

Parents can perhaps be the most important part of this new beginning each year. As our most influential partners and supporters, parents have the opportunity to positively affect their students by setting goals and priorities and by becoming actively involved in the education of their young people. The best way to accomplish this task is by supporting your schools.

The annual Gallup poll regarding support for public education reveals each year that those parents who are closely involved in their children's school are much more supportive of those schools. The most important byproduct of parents' close relationship with schools, however, is what their children gain from the interchange: respect for school and authority, love for learning, a good work ethic and healthy self esteem.

The beginning of each new school year is indeed an exciting time. The new year signals the inevitable arrival of cooler temperatures, fall sports and an increased awareness of the cyclic nature of events. Let's take advantage of the new beginning we are afforded each year to set new goals, celebrate new accomplishments, and continue the progress that makes our community special.

Let's dedicate ourselves again to keeping Coweta County a place where good schools are a great investment.

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