Sebastian Sasseville was 21 when he was diagnosed with late-onset Type I Diabetes. He could have allowed this diagnosis to turn into a "mountain" of limitations for himself. Instead, he literally turned to the mountains and drew both physical and inner strength from the challenge of climbing. In 2008, after five years of training, he was able to summit Mt. Everest. I found it interesting that Sebastian mentioned TRUST as one of the reasons for his success. In order to climb, he has to place absolute TRUST in the equipment and in the process. Failure of his equipment and/or failure in his diabetic management process would mean certain death. It takes courage to TRUST, but it is foundational to our success as human beings. In fact, TRUST is the fundamental natural resource. Think about it, without TRUST, nothing happens. TRUST stands in the gap between chaos and order. When we TRUST, our lives have certainty and dependability; but when TRUST is broken, our lives descend into chaos where it is dangerous and unfamiliar. Repairing broken TRUST is possible, but it is one of the most difficult things we can do in terms of relationships.
So, how does all this apply to us as educators? I think we play a role with TRUST in a variety of ways.
Our students need to be able to TRUST us, and we need to understand how to earn and keep that TRUST.
We need to model what a healthy, trusting relationship with adults is like. Many students have had TRUST relationships broken with the significant adults in their lives. Understandably, their ability to TRUST and their knowledge of what a trusting relationship is like, has been affected.
We need to TRUST the fact that it is necessary to take risks in our professional lives. The field of education is changing because the world is constantly changing. In order to reach our students, WE must constantly change. Failure to change is failure to grow; it's basically stagnation and retreat. Understanding our absolute need for professional growth, means that we have to get out of our comfort zones. It also means that we have to learn to TRUST those around us; our colleagues and our leaders.
Our world needs a lot more TRUST, and a lot less suspicion, division, and resentment. We have the power to improve that, and make the world a little better in doing so. TRUST...It changes the world!!