How Today's Student Services Administrator Can Overcome the Odds and Make It to Heaven
by Marilyn D. Wright, Ph.D., Conference Chairman
One
of the highlights of the recent NAPSA Conference was the keynote address
by Mr. Jim Walsh, attorney, whose topic was "How Today's Student
Services Administrator Can Overcome the Odds and Make It to Heaven".
While Mr. Walsh's presentation was light-hearted and up-lifting in nature
as he shared his somewhat perilous path through parochial school, law
school and parenthood, his strong support of the work of teachers and
administrators in today's public school was evident.
At an early age, Mr. Walsh developed the premise that if you did good deeds in life, you would surely get to heaven. This theory was borne out by his education in parochial school. For a time, he considered becoming a priest, thereby insuring his eternal reward. But in high school he learned there was an opposite sex so the priesthood had some definite drawbacks. As a second choice, he opted for law school where he could champion the rights of the righteous and uphold the standards of virtue. It was only after he finished law school that he realized not everyone held lawyers in high esteem and that in all likelihood, he would spend more time with criminals than with law-abiding citizens. His pathway to heaven seemed in doubt.
But then he hit upon a plan. He would enter the field of school law where he would defend the rights of children and public schools and, perhaps, by associating with these good and righteous people, the angels of mercy would notice his good deeds and he would make it to heaven.
Mr. Walsh's premise is this: Public school teachers and, therefore, public school administrators, are God's chosen people sent on a special mission and given special gifts. It is his opinion that no matter what the challenge facing our world, it is a commonly held belief that it is public school personnel who hold the answer to every question and the balm for every hurt.
In attorney-like fashion, he presented his evidence:
- "When our country needed to inoculate the nation against the dreaded disease of polio, they chose public school as the arena in which to deliver the needed vaccine. The leaders of the land knew that public school teachers and administrators would have the skills and calming presence to allay the fears of students and parents and provide the needed organizational structure to inoculate a nation.
- "When our country was called to desegregate our society, they chose public school as the only venue in which this could be peacefully accomplished. The leaders of the land knew that public school teachers and administrators would have the skills and the finesse to bring races and ideologies together into peaceful coexistence.
- "When tragedy struck our nation through isolated acts of violence at Columbine High School and other schools across the country, it was public school teachers and administrators who held the nation together, offering factual information, counseling, support services, and solace. The leaders of the land knew that public school teachers and administrators would have the presence of mind to activate a plan to protect the innocent, the skills to contain a violent situation and the ability to remain calm and rational in a chaotic situation.
- "When our county was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, we united together as never before. We attended churches in record numbers and we displayed flags on our cars and at our homes. But when our nation's leaders called upon us to resume a sense of normalcy so as not to allow the terrorists to upset the American way of life, we sent our children back to school. The leaders of the land and the parents across the nation knew that public school teachers and administrators would know how to explain the tragic events to our young people. They trusted that somehow teachers and administrators would use the tragedy to cultivate character, instill patriotism and provide knowledge that would set the course for the future.
And, so it is, according to Mr. Walsh, that teachers and public school administrators are among God's chosen people: chosen to make sense out of chaos, truth out of ignorance and good out of evil. Often their good works are executed in anonymity and are taken for granted by the masses but no good deed goes unnoticed by The Master. Surely there is a special place in heaven being reserved for public school teachers and student services administrators who are doing the Lord's work each and every day here on earth.