This morning, I welcomed new staff members to the Lincoln School community.  Of course some of them were spread all around the world – Austria, Malta, Costa Rica, the United States.  Personally, I was calling in from a hotel lobby in Boise, Idaho.  I don’t think any of us on the call would have anticipated an initial gathering like that.  Even those who are in Costa Rica are calling in from home.

Starting a new job under any circumstances can be both exciting and stressful.  Doing so this year, in the midst of a global pandemic, brings its own unique challenges.  I could sense that from those on the call – enthusiasm tempered by uncertainty and lots of questions – more than would be typical in starting a new job.  Honestly, we don’t have all of the answers.  We don’t know when some of them will be able to get to Costa Rica.  We don’t know when students will begin coming back to campus.

Of course I acknowledged the challenge of the moment, but then quickly pivoted to an invitation to embrace the opportunity of this moment to learn.  Each new teacher will have to forge meaningful relationships in a virtual context.  Each new teacher will have to design a powerful distance learning environment.  My invitation is embrace the opportunity to master new software, test out new instructional strategies, and design new strategies for virtual engagement.  Everyone will make mistakes and won’t get it right 100% of the time.  That entrepreneurial spirit to brainstorm solutions, test them out quickly, and then adapt and revise forward is exactly the type of approach to the world that we want our students and graduates to embrace.  We want students with flexible mindsets, creative problem solving, and a willingness to fail forward towards solutions with staying power.

I would never want to dismiss the very real feelings of anxiety and fear that can often accompany new jobs and overwhelming uncertainty.  I have had some of those feelings myself.  Yet, our students and communities need us to move forward with courage and determination, in spite of the obstacles.  We have a professional obligation to do the very best work of our lives, and chart a course forward on behalf of the young lives and minds in our care.