My three-year-old granddaughter is into story telling. She is big into fairy tales. Her stories always begin with, “Once upon a time there was….” They always end with, “And they lived happily ever after.” The middle of the story is always different with one constant. They all have a scary ghost somewhere in the story. I realize that you’re probably thinking this is somewhat odd and what does this have to do with anything?

Well, wouldn’t it be great if all of us could begin each day with Once upon a time, and end each day with a happily ever after? The middle could be positive, good, cheery, and even warm and fuzzy! The reality is that all of us along with our children are exposed to many negative situations throughout the day. I blame part of this upon our advanced technology and communication skills. They have provided us with an instantaneous venue for all kinds of opportunities. I only wish that most of the opportunities were more positive.

The nightly news is mostly all about the bad and/or the inappropriate situations in our country and the world. Even the national news only focuses on the negative aspect of the weather. Do they ever talk about how beautiful the weather is in parts of our country? They may close out with a positive story, but it is usually a short one. Music needs to be edited for children as once again, the lyrics are inappropriate. The games for all of the various electronic systems are rated. Many either run over people or shoot at them, then you get to start all over again as they come back in the next game. They don’t come back though in real life. Movies are violent and also rated. Social media is a venue for negativity, foul language, and bullying. What about the good stuff?

I want to share the wonderful things happening in school during the middle of the story. As I walk through hallways and classrooms, learning is taking place in oh so many different ways. I am constantly in awe of the knowledge and dedication of the teachers as well as the enthusiasm and creativeness of the students. I have seen Dr. Seuss being celebrated in fun and motivating ways while students learn about literature, rhyming words, and a host of other activities. I’ve watched students go to the YMCA for swimming, and it was quite impressive. It’s such a wonderful experience for the students that can swim as well as those beginners. Imagine the fun of going to the pool during school with your entire class. I’ve seen lots of small group learning from reading to math. Each group focused specifically on skills for those particular students. I’ve seen students create their own ‘x-rays’ and build casts as they work with their team. I’ve been able to announce 28 talented artists who have their work displayed at the Coutts Museum. I’ve seen students solve long division problems with decimals on their iPads, and then have the opportunity to show and teach the class their work and process with airplay using Apple TV. I’ve also seen teachers work late and come in early. They’ve filled in for someone on recess duty or even in the classroom when a substitute wasn’t available. They work collaboratively on learning the latest ins and outs of new assessment software. It’s incredible.

In closing, I realize that we don’t live in a fairy tale. Although, wouldn’t it be great to begin each day with Once upon a time, just have a little bit of a scary ghost, and finally end each day with a happily ever after? I encourage you to give it a try. See if your days become a bit better and more positive. Your actions are readily picked up by those around you.