Be a faucet

Superintendent’s Update

Over the past two days, I have had the opportunity to meet and visit with each campus principal during our midyear T-PESS meetings. And after each one, the word that kept resonating in my mind was “encouragement”. I have to admit that the past two weeks have seemed pretty long and while they have been good, they have also been a little draining. But hearing about the positive attitudes and the positive things that are going on in each of our campuses to help our students and staff be successful was encouraging!

I’ve heard Coach [Tommy] Gates use a phrase with his girls saying, “Be a faucet and not a drain!” I love that! What a great picture of being someone that gives and not always takes. Being someone that encourages and not criticizes. Being someone that builds up and doesn’t spend their time trying to tear down.

The dictionary defines the word encouragement as:

Encouragement: noun, the act of encouraging; the state of being encouraged; something that encourages.

Now, I remember my high school English classes and my senior English teacher, Coach Hinton, saying, “You can’t use the word you’re defining in the definition.” So, to define encouragement, we have to also look up the word encourage.

Encourage: verb, to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence; to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc.; to promote, advance, or foster.

One thing that also stands out in those two definitions is that one is a noun and one is a verb. While a noun is something that IS, a verb is something that DOES!

When it feels like you’re running on empty and your tank is drained, get to a faucet! Quickly! And when you see one of your teammates looking drained, be a faucet and give them that encouragement that they need.

Remember, we are ALL IN this TOGETHER!

Dr. Stu Musick is the Superintendent of Schools for Navasota Independent School District.