My favorite football player of all time is Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. He made national headlines this past week with an extraordinary performance. He led the team to a dramatic fourth quarter comeback, despite suffering a broken rib and a punctured lung in the first half.
At the all-school meeting that starts the school day at PSCS, we sit in a circle and share announcements and appreciations. The appreciations can be about anything—a beautiful sunrise, a kind gesture from a friend, a tender moment with a family member, even something seemingly trivial like a great movie on TV last night.
I was sitting in my chair, just dying to share an appreciation for Tony Romo’s courageous performance. I was hesitant, however, because I know there are only one or two other people who share my passion for football. I was worried that it would be somewhat embarrassing to be excited about something among a group of people where very, very few people would even know what I was talking about.
Then I remembered: it’s my job to show excitement for the things that excite me. In this way, I serve as a role model for the students and the rest of the school community. It’s everyone’s job to be excited about the things that excite them. To withhold that part of me means I’m not bringing my full authentic self to school, which makes it less safe for others to bring their full authentic selves to school.
A visitor to PSCS once told me, “This is quite an eclectic group of students you have here.” He was referring to the girl with the neon orange socks, and the boy who brings his guitar to his English class, and the girl with the fuzzy Russian hat.
The truth is, we are all weird. At PSCS, we want everyone to bring their full weirdness to school every day, which means being their true authentic selves. Always. That’s the best way to find out what you’re passionate about, which is the best way to achieve something meaningful and have an impact on the world.
Too often, big traditional schools are defined by an environment in which being cool is more important than being yourself. That makes it hard for kids to discover their passion, because their choices are limited to the things that are socially acceptable at that moment in time.
And so today, I was the first one to make an appreciation at the morning meeting. I may be a football-loving dude, but I’m much more than just that. And my job is to bring my full authentic self to work everyday, to be a role model for passion, enthusiasm, and, if you’ll pardon the expression, weirdness.
So I said it loud and proud: “I want to appreciate last night’s season premier of Glee!”
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