Re-engaging the CTE Blog

As we approach a new school year (and July is shaping up to be quite busy), I am going to make an effort to post more regularly on this blog. I think it is too easy for me to cite busyness and not enough time as excuses for not posting, but i also find myself writing more and wanting to engage others in ideas that I am thinking about. So we will see how long I can keep it up but let us begin!

I was blessed to be named a Parhara Institute Education Fellow and we had our first gathering in Park City, Utah at the end of June. It was an extraordinary experience to be with 24 extraordinary educators and three extremely capable moderators. This was the first of four sessions and it focused on the challenge of leadership. I will be processing for a while because there was so much conveyed, shared and learned but I am very excited for the rest of the sessions.

While I was in Utah, I was listening to a podcast and heard a recommendation about a bit from James Corden’s show where he rides around in a car and signs karaoke with a famous singer. This particular one was with Paul McCartney. I have not watched much of this in the past but I took the 20 minutes to see this one and I was really glad I did. First, it is incredibly endearing – I have no idea if Paul McCartney has just been famous for so long and gets how to interact and appear humble but he clearly seemed happy to be back in Liverpool. And he exhibits great humility throughout as he interacts with surprised people from his home town.

The part that struck me in particular was about how Paul McCartney wrote Let It Be. He talks about having a difficult time and having his deceased mother come to him in a dream to let him know all will be well and to just let it be. James Corden is moved by the story and tells him how his dad and grandfather, who was a musician, had him listen to Let It Be when he was a little boy to know what real songwriting is like. He then tears up and says he wishes his grandfather could see him right now sitting with the writer of the song. Paul McCartney gently reassures him that his grandfather is indeed looking at him right now.

I think these small moments of faith and spirituality are important and I used this little story to speak with our first year principals last week as they went through their on-boarding process. My message was essentially to always know that you are not alone and that we can be inspired and motivated when we believe that loved ones who passed before us are watching us on our journey today. After all, our success is directly tied to the impact they have had on us in our lives.

A footnote to this story is that after I had spoken to the principals one of them approached me to let me know that Fr. Jim Martin had posted an article on the America Magazine website about the Corden/McCartney interaction. As you would expect, Fr. Martin does a much more capable job of communicating the grace and power of the interaction but it made me feel good to be in such great company!