I had a great time last night meeting with some long-time friends of Flat Rock schools. We shared a pizza and talked about the big picture in education.

One of the big things we talked about was kids succeeding. You know not every kid in Flat Rock is going to succeed in the same way, and if we don’t think like that then less will succeed at all. Let me tell you a personal story to illustrate my point…

I was lucky when I went through school. The classroom was easy for me, grades we easy for me, sports were easy for me. I graduated from High School and got a Congressional Appointment to the Air Force Academy. I did get my butt kicked a little there because I was competing against the best in the Nation, at everything. But, still pretty easy. What most people think of when they think education was pretty easy for me.

Now, let me tell you the story of my brother. He did okay in school, probably because he loved wrestling and needed grades to keep him on the team. He went to the local university where I grew-up. He failed out twice. Then he did what he was passionate about–he went and learned to be an auto mechanic. He graduated at the top of his class. He is the best auto mechanic in Kentucky. I am proud of my little brother!

Did we succeed? Yes!

We both have wonderful marriages, beautiful children, nice homes, and provide well for the family. We both succeeded, but our paths to equal successes were much different.

I believe that giving our children the best opportunity for success in the future means being mindful of the big picture in education. That requires us to pave multiple roads to success.

We need to bring together all the resources of Flat Rock to ensure all our kids have these multiple routes to success. We need to consider our classrooms, our teachers, our parents, our athletics, our specials, our community when we make decisions about education. After all, some kids will perform better because of a teacher, a coach, a sport, the band, a civic club, their church, a community leader.

It does take a village to raise a child. And I believe we have one of the best ones.

What do you think?

I would love to hear your thoughts. What are we doing really well in Flat Rock education? What do you think are opportunities for us to improve? Leave a comment below, email me: wmrice@gmail.com, or call me 734-775-4487.

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