Build your legacy

Tuesday 1 October 2019

What legacy are we giving our children?

Baseball player Jackie Robinson said: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." Mark Twain said: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."

I began an earlier blog asking the question 'what makes an education worthwhile?' It is easy to get side-tracked into slavish adherence to a high stakes assessment culture and forget that at the heart of what we, as educators, do is to nurture young people with deep values who will go out into the world and make a positive impact on it in the service of others (a la the IB mission statement).

This video says it all by posing the question: what is your legacy going to be?

What is your legacy? Which values and what character are we developing in our children?

“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” (John Lewis [1940-2020], who devoted much of his life to promoting equality, justice and human rights for all people)

It is call to action, a summons to urgency and agency. It asks for leaders to step forward and not wait for another time.

What are you passionate about? What inspires you? What lights your soul on fire? If you set out to bring about positive change, what contribution would you make to the world?


Tags: character, legacy