September 2009 • Volume 41 • Number 1 • Page 54
Letter from the President
Cathie Thibodeau
"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" This is my thought at the beginning of each new school year. The excitement can be a new group of students, a new team, or the challenges that your particular position holds. The theme of National Middle School Association's Annual Conference and Exhibit, Indianapolis, Indiana, November 5–7, 2009, "Making a World of Difference" is a sentiment that I take to heart at the beginning of each new school year.
Students remember the teachers that made a difference in their lives. I witnessed a man who was partially blind and needed assistance entering a funeral home to pay respects to an educator and coach. In spite of the physical difficulties this man was experiencing, he made it known that he wished to pay homage—30 years later—to this person who made a difference in his life.
Our positions as middle grades educators give us ample opportunities to make a difference to people every day. We can make a world of difference by starting with one student or one colleague at a time. The joy you can experience by helping someone, coaching someone, encouraging someone, can also become contagious. Start with the student who brings challenges every day and see how you can make a difference in his or her life. Stand up for your belief in middle level education and write an article or share an idea with colleagues. Attend a professional development event and take away something new that you can try in your classroom or share with your team. We make a huge difference every day in everything we do: We focus on kids.
National Middle School Association—your association—offers professional development opportunities from research to books to events. The new edition of our position paper, This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, will be released at the annual conference along with a new online school assessment tool. The conference is packed with a powerful selection of sessions.
My personal goals for this year include making a difference by being an advocate for young adolescents and for those who serve them.
Copyright © 2009 by National Middle School Association