While my students and I celebrate small successes in building a loving classroom environment, we know that the world outside is getting worse. The world is full of anger, fear, divisiveness, and blame, and these realities are leading us in the wrong direction. We need to come together, listen to one another, and discover new solutions together. Instead of going in circles by recycling the same strategies and proposals, let’s work together to invent new comprehensive solutions. Let’s try many different solutions, learn from our mistakes, and modify our plans to be more effective so we can reach every individual in our communities. Let’s unite on the common goal of building safe and hopeful communities centered on truth and love.

I would like this blog to be a think tank with students, parents, and teachers sharing their thoughts and feelings, proposing possible solutions, and implementing action plans together. Let’s look more deeply at our goals, discuss possible paths for achieving those goals, then follow through on those plans. The biggest obstacle is that we must construct proposals that promote the best interests of all parties. We must be willing to sacrifice personal gain for the wellbeing of the whole. We must have faith that asking hard questions with a loving heart will result in a positive outcome. We must bring hope, compassion, and trust back into our communities.

Next week I hope to start posting input from other people in our community. If you have something you would like to share, please email it to me at ryanshelton7@yahoo.com and I will post them in the order they are received. I look forward to a positive, healthy, and constructive conversation.