Dare Greatly

This quote is an excerpt from a speech given in April of 1910 from Theodore Roosevelt.  Recently, author Brene’ Brown wrote the book Dare Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.  I read an interview this author gave about the message of her book, and it is basically all about this Roosevelt quote, “…the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”  I believe this message applies to what TEACHERS are asked to do every day.  You step up in the arena where it is not easy and can come with criticism.  We try and sometimes fail, but we get back up and try again.  This kind of attitude is represented by people who reflect on areas they can grow, have the ability to seek help and feedback to improve, and have a willingness to change even when it isn’t comfortable.  So many of you are “daring greatly” this year.  Nothing is easy, that’s for sure, but each day you step up in the arena and strive valiantly.  When we come up short, we try and try again.  So, I ask you to continue to reflect on how we can be better, who can help us get better, and to be willing to make these changes to better impact our student’s achievement.  We can do this together!