This article is Part 2 of Brent’s series, “What Teachers Need.” Part 1 can be found here.

December 14, 2022

There is a sculpture called “The Recovery Stroke” at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, a park in my hometown. The sculpture was designed by our famous local artist, Grainger McKoy. I know it well because twenty-two years ago my mother gifted me a miniature version pinned to a velvet cushion for graduation. A small plaque beneath the wing reads: “The recovery stroke of the duck’s flight is the moment that he is the most vulnerable. Simultaneously, he is gathering strength for the next power stroke to propel him forward.” The sculpture has helped carry me through those transitional spaces in life, between what was and what is to come, because it serves as a reminder that the vulnerability and insecurity of those moments are inescapable; in fact, it’s necessary if we are to move forward, to continue to emerge in our own story. Schools, students, parents, teachers, and school leaders are living in this in-between time…