Inspiration

Funny how you can be inspired and motivated at the strangest times, in the most unexpected places.  During a breakfast celebration for students that have achieved Honor Roll this morning,  the Teacher of the Year gave a speech to the students.  This is customary at this event, but the speech was anything but ordinary.  Often when a speech is regarded as great, it is because of the words.  In this case, it was rather the message.  Although the words and the flow of the speech were not rehearsed, the message came through concise and clear.   The speaker spoke, not of his profession as a teacher, not of his concentration in math, not of his passion for sports or competitive math, but of art, and Italy, and the Great Michelangelo. 

The Teacher of the Year's first inspiration came as he discussed his summer trip with his wife to Italy.  Inspiring in and of itself, because it is rare that such a young educator would be in the position for world travel.  Although maybe not evident to the students, this is an obvious indication of his drive to succeed.  He then talked about the works of Michelangelo.  Again an obvious inspiration, but with a new spin.  He spoke of how the artist worked all day on one piece of work because he was being paid, and at night on another because it was his passion.  The inspiration being this, hard work.  Although the artist had achieved success and was being commissioned for his work, he strove in his own time for more, for the masterpiece.  The speaker then equated this to the lives of the students.  He congratulated the students on their obvious achievements, hence the mention on Honor Roll and the Breakfast Celebration.  However, he also reminded them that tens of thousands of hours of work are required by those that achieve greatness.  He asked the students to consider what their Masterpiece would be, and reminded them that they would need to continue to work hard in order to continue to achieve. 

The speech was refreshing in that not only did it recognize and praise achievement, the goal of the function, but also inspire, and not just the students.  Anytime children are honored for achievements, it invokes a sense of achievement for the parents.  I have attended approximately 15 of these events in past years and hope to be invited to another 5 or so in the future.  But this particular speech got me thinking.  I have three pretty great masterpieces of my own, my children.  I attend these events with some friends at the high school level and others at the middle school level, but it is rare that anyone has the honor of attending at both levels as I regularly do.  I have logged in the extra hours, some just last night in fact.  Earlier this week, I was told one teacher was surprised to hear that we had never spanked our three children.  Surprised because she finds them to be "good" kids and research shows that is hard to get without corporal punishment.  But this morning, I was educated by the Teacher of the Year.  My eyes were opened to the fact that maybe I don't have a best selling novel, and maybe our attempt at business ownership did not succeed, but as parents we have nearly achieved Masterpiece.  Of course we have years to go and the possibility for additional achievements other than children, but today I recognize and praise mine and my husband's achievements as parents, and am inspired and motivated to get through another day parenting teens.