February Reflections

February Reflections

               I hardly know where February has gone.  If this entire year passes as quickly as February I can hardly imagine having a project in place.  And then I remind myself that ideally, a foundation will be in place which can and will be built upon every year.  So often I find myself attempting to meet a goal quickly.  So quickly that my efforts are eventually found to be counter-productive.  Inadequate research, including the lack of a needs assessment specific to each project results in an inadequate end-product.  Worse yet is an irrelevant end-product.  Or just outputs as opposed to outcomes.  So I have taken a breath, forced myself to slow down and am no longer attempting to find an answer to all of the issues facing our middle-school students. 

               The resources provided thus far have been terrific. For me, a researcher at heart, the resources have been a fabulous distraction.  In reality, this researcher needs not to go off on every tangent and read each and every article listed in a document’s references. (The words “Publications” and “Research Summaries” make my heart race). Instead, I need to stay the course and learn how the library can fill the gaps in our young peoples’ preparation for life.  I reflect upon a statement that Katie made during our time in Atlanta.  Katie spoke about our youths’ “right to be happy.” Katie was referring to our youth exploring their values and talents, developing skills, and finding their niche instead of doing what the folks before them had done as a matter of course.  When we recognize, and help others recognize who they are, when we assist youth in preparation for life, we are assisting our youth in finding their niche. Surely anything we do towards this end goal is of value.