I like to say good morning to our students.  No, actually I love saying good morning to our students.   When I say this I mean to several hundred students as they arrive, and not a few as I may see them passing in the hall.  It’s a simple act that has a powerful set of returns.  In fact, today I took this simple act a step further and held the door open to those high school students who are dropped off, or who drive to school.  They slowly trickled in at one of the entrances to our secondary building, perhaps surprised that the Superintendent of Schools was there to hold the door open and greet them with a smile.

At a time when budgets are straining, security of our public spaces are practicing lockdowns, lockouts, active shooter, and evacuation drills, or as the pressure to perform on standardized tests ratchets up, it’s all the more important to demonstrate the importance of common decency and courtesy.  The civility of our engagement with the youth of our country is perhaps under the greatest strain of all.

Sure, I have many other pressing matters, all attenuated to the items listed above.  I must gather data to inform decisions that will impact the education of all students.  But one set of data that I find important is to study the faces of our students, and to listen carefully to the tone of their disposition as they arrive at school to start a day of learning and growing.  Do they appear sad and withdrawn?  Is there a sense of possibility and promise—a hopeful spirit filled with curiosity?   To greet them early each morning is to get a glimpse into their hearts and souls.  Some say good morning Mr. Gamberg, others say hi, while others may still be a bit sleepy.  Others however, have the demeanor of disengagement.  Of the few hundred students that I greet my mind wonders who is hurting inside.

You see, this week especially, our school community has the misfortune of not seeing one of those faces entering our high school building.  At this moment she is listed as missing.  A young, sixteen year old child has not reported to school this week.  The police are actively searching for her.  How do we best prevent whatever hurt may be inside a young person’s heart that they do not come to a safe place, greeted with a smile, and eager to journey down a path that respects them, stimulates their curiosity about life, and leads them towards a better understanding of the world around them and their place within it?  There are many pieces to such a complex puzzle.

Of this I am sure, however; the current zeal to rank, order, weed out, poke, prod and race to the top is no way to figure this out.  Let’s start by everyone giving an unranked, non-rubric scored, simple, and genuine “Good Morning” each and everyday that we have the good fortune to work in the company of children.