Charles Maxwell

I have been think lately about how changes in our culture affect education. This past year has seen many ups and downs, new awarenesses – in my mind, opportunities to teach and lead. Although there is a fine line between espousing personal beliefs and objectively guiding the educational landscape through a conversation, I believe that education cannot live in a vacuum. We must be able to address the issues of the day in the classroom, and must be aware of the same issues as they affect the educational workplace.

I have to say, though, it pains me to see the two extremes: educators explicitly sharing their opinions in a non-objective manner, leading to trouble; on the other end of the spectrum schools and districts prohibiting certain topics from being discussed altogether. Every community is different and every district has to meet the needs of the communities they serve. My hope is that all of us in education, when presented with the opportunity, model good citizenship and social consciousness in the face of any topic or situation. This is the citizenry that I hope will come out of our schools – able to meet the challenges of today and prepared to encounter the unknown challenges of tomorrow.