Victories by the Lions & Cubbies. The Ohio State upset. (The meaning of it all.) – SCN Encourager

School communicators already know the primo lesson of the weekend.

It can’t be ignored.

Miracles happen.

Yes, they do!

What was previously preordained (AKA predicted or assumed) suddenly no longer holds true.

Even if it’s just for a few days.

That’s how it is with many of  life’s pleasant pop-ups.

And this weekend’s events have special meaning for us because I believe school communicators view them from a unique vantage point.

Now, mind you, I’m not talking about us getting all hot and bothered about the game scores of our favorite sports teams, even though it might look this way.

(But I do this way more than I should, I know.)

I’m talking about how we approach what we do most everyday –
… striving to implement “systemic” certainty,
… responding to unanticipated flare-ups,
… and recognizing the many mini-miracles taking place in our midst.

And most of the time, we publicize the stories of our schools in the exact same order –
… how we strive to implement “systemic” certainty (curriculum, procedures, testing),
… how we respond to unanticipated flare-ups (crisis and emergencies),
… and how we recognize the many mini-miracles taking place in our midst (those moments of wonder).

The challenge we now face is this, as this weekend’s events and their connected buzz remind us – is to flip-flop the time and attention we typically give to our day-in and day-out school stories.

Maybe we’re underwhelming when we should be miracle-mining.

We’d help our cause immensely if we intentionally moved the stories about the mini-miracles in our schools to the front of the publicity line, well ahead of our routine run-down of the planned, scheduled, budgeted, powerpointed, and mandated.

People are obviously drawn to miracle moments.

We need to make sure they see and hear ours.

And we’ve got plenty of them, don’tcha think?

Far more than just a weekend’s worth.

So… as wonderful as the last few days were for Lions’ fans, Cubbie die-hards, and Buckeye foes, I think we’re all in environments where we can do even better.

It’s Monday.

There’s a brand new week ahead.

And we’re right where we need to be.

How cool is that?

There are miracles all around us if we just keep our eyes open.

You should know, though, I can only hold up my end of the bargain with only one eye.

I’ve got to keep one eye on the Red Wings tomorrow to see if they can extend their winning streak.

Sorry.

When it comes to miracles, I tend to get greedy.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –