{"id":641,"date":"2016-02-15T14:24:10","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T19:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/?p=641"},"modified":"2016-03-04T14:24:38","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T19:24:38","slug":"641","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/2016\/02\/15\/641\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming Education\u2014February 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come to the edge of all that you know, <\/em>
\nyou must believe one of two things:<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n

There will be ground to stand. Or you will grow wings to fly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u2014O.R. Melling<\/p>\n

A very dear friend, Caterina Cregor-Blitzer, shared this beautiful quote, by the Irish author O.R. Melling, with me. Caterina is one of those very special people who has the gift of somehow knowing what words of inspiration and encouragement I need at just the right time. I imagine that each of you has someone like that in your life, too. Perhaps you are that person for someone else.<\/p>\n

For many of us, the tragic loss of Susan Jordan, principal of Amy Beverland Elementary School<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township, Indianapolis, has caused us to reflect upon what we know and believe. The tributes that have been paid to honor Susan carried themes of her caring for others, making everyone she knew feel special, creating a joy and love of learning and teaching, and sacrificing her safety to protect others.<\/p>\n

As I read and watched the stories in the media, children and adults consistently shared how much Susan gave them solid ground to stand on. Children cited songs, poems, and stories that she had taught them and how it helped them believe in themselves. Her 22 years of being a building leader and creating a first-rate school demonstrated that she knew how to support her staff to find solid ground or grow wings to fly.<\/p>\n

To me, the wonderful tributes to Susan reflect Stephen Covey\u2019s admonition to “begin with the end in mind.\u201d How does each of us want to be remembered, based upon how we have lived our lives?<\/p>\n

In closing, I share with you a poem that is a great reminder to focus on the \u201cnow\u201d of our lives. Sometimes it is less about the wishing for the future and more about remembering what you are doing here and now with the child, colleague, or friend who is standing beside you. It can be as simple as words of hope and encouragement, a smile, a hug, or a song that someone will carry in their heart forever.<\/p>\n

We honor our colleague and College of Education alumna Susan Jordan MS \u201992 (EPPSP). Thank you, Susan, for giving us solid ground to stand on and wings with which to fly. You are the essence of living \u201cThe Dash.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dash<\/strong>
\n<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0by Linda Ellis\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u200bI read of a man who stood to speak
\nat the funeral of a friend.
\nHe referred to the dates on the tombstone
\nfrom the beginning \u2026 to the end.<\/p>\n

He noted that first came the date of birth
\nand spoke the following date with tears,
\nbut he said what mattered most of all
\nwas the dash between those years.<\/p>\n

For that dash represents all the time
\nthat they spent alive on earth.
\nAnd now only those who loved them
\nknow what that little line is worth.<\/p>\n

For it matters not, how much we own,
\nthe cars \u2026 the house \u2026 the cash.
\nWhat matters is how we live and love
\nand how we spend our dash.<\/p>\n

So, think about this long and hard.
\nAre there things you\u2019d like to change?
\nFor you never know how much time is left
\nthat can still be rearranged.<\/p>\n

If we could just slow down enough
\nto consider what\u2019s true and real
\nand always try to understand
\n\u200bthe way other people feel.<\/p>\n

And be less quick to anger
\nand show appreciation more
\nand love the people in our lives
\nlike we\u2019ve never loved before.<\/p>\n

If we treat each other with respect
\nand more often wear a smile,
\nremembering that this special dash
\nmight only last a little while.<\/p>\n

\u200bSo, when your eulogy is being read,
\nwith your life\u2019s actions to rehash \u2026
\nwould you be proud of the things they say
\nabout how you spent YOUR dash?<\/p>\n

Until next month,<\/p>\n

Dr. Ena Shelley<\/b><\/em>
\n<\/i><\/b>Dean, College of Education<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: There will be ground to stand. Or you will grow wings to fly.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1546,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11974,123338,123329,273672],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-dean-ena-shelley","category-deans-blog","category-transforming-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":643,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions\/643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/coe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}