Every time I would hear somebody in the business world talk about a Christmas bonus or end-of-the-year bonus worth thousands of dollars, I would always twinge a little bit. I would ask myself wow how come we don’t get that in the education world?
Educators are professionals as well, their families would also benefit from those bonuses.
Well, I got the best bonus this past spring. A parent of one of my students from years ago, reached out to me at their child’s college graduation. It had been years since I had spoken to them.
She reached out to say thank you. I had forgotten their story, but she reminded me that her child did not get into their first choice of college, and wound up going to their second choice. The young man was quite upset about this situation, and I reached out to the parent. I left her a voicemail which was directed towards him. I told him to keep his head up, and that everything would work out for the best, and that he’s a great kid and good things are going to happen for him.
Well, good things did happen. The young man reapplied to his first choice at the end of his freshman year of college and got in as a transfer student for his sophomore year. He had a great experience, and was graduating this spring.
It was the best bonus and I’m so grateful she called. She wanted to thank me for supporting her child not only when he was in school, but reaching out when he was down. So many times in our lives, we don’t know what to do in certain situations, whether there is a death, a tragedy, someone loses their job or just a tough situation.
What’s appropriate? What is the best thing to do? We always question ourselves. Well, it was a simple phone call that I didn’t even remember making, but she said it meant the world to him and to their family.
This reinforced this idea with me and reinvigorated me to make more calls and do more for our families, especially in times of need. It’s easy to give a high five or a congratulations, but sometimes it’s challenging to reach out when the chips are down.
But that was the best bonus! A heartfelt thank you for completing a relationship builder. This is just part of my job as a school leader, but sometimes we get too busy and forget these things. This is a reminder that they are the most important and the true work that we do.
I wish you a restful and enjoyable summer and keep surviving and thriving!
Make those calls, write those letters and reach out. You just never know the impact that you can have on someone’s life.
