“Greatness Lies Within Each of Us – Sometimes We Just Need Help in Getting It Out”

My favorite movie as a kid was Space Jam. I know, I know, it’s not exactly a film of critical acclaim, but something about watching Michael Jordan lead a rag-tag group of toons in a high-stakes basketball game just resonated with me when I saw it for the first time as a middle schooler. Recently, I’ve re-watched it a couple of times as my two children have discovered the movie and taken a liking to it as well.

Even though I’m now a principal, I’ll always be a teacher at heart – always looking for teachable moments and opportunities to impart life lessons to anyone who’ll listen – or at least pretend to listen! So imagine my excitement, then, as the plot of Space Jam unfolded, illustrating one of life’s most important lessons, especially for educators…

For context, Michael Jordan and the toons (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.) are playing in a basketball game against a group of aliens who have stolen and harnessed the talent of several NBA legends. At halftime, Michael Jordan and the toons are losing to the aliens by a score of 1,039 to 37, and the toons are ready to forfeit when Michael encourages the toons to drink from a water bottle labeled “Michael’s Secret Stuff.” The “Secret Stuff” magically gives the toons the skills of Michael Jordan, and they go out and lead an impassioned comeback, ultimately winning the game. Later on, it is revealed that the “Secret Stuff” was actually just water, and the toons, as Michael tells them, “had the ‘Secret Stuff’ inside (them) all along.” They just needed encouragement and someone to believe in them for it to come out.

Watching this, I thought about the students, faculties, and staff at schools across the state. How can we help them grow, thrive, and realize that they each have greatness inside of them? Are we doing everything we can to help them become the best version of themselves? What else can we do to be their “Michael Jordan” and bring out the “Secret Stuff” that they already inside of them?

While my school doesn’t have all the answers, and we’re always focused on continuous improvement, these are a few of the steps we’ve taken to try and help each person on my campus be seen, heard, and empowered:

• I paired with my counselors, and we met with every single student, individually, face-to-face, for one-minute meetings to get to know our students and their goals, along with gauging their safety and feel for school.
• We created a teacher-leader pipeline and empowered our faculty to create the initiatives and professional learning they needed to succeed.
• We formed a Principal’s Advisory Student Committee to provide me with feedback on our school and what we can do to make the educational experience better for everyone.
• We trained our teachers in Mindfulness, and now every class period begins with 10-30 seconds of focused breathing as students learn to center themselves, self-regulate, and be present in the moment.
• We educate everyone on our campus on the Growth Mindset and help them understand that their brain is a muscle that grows, and they can learn to improve skills that they focus on and commit effort to.

Again, we don’t have it all figured out, but our student, family, and faculty surveys all indicate that we’re making progress, and the students and teachers on our campus largely feel empowered and fulfilled.

I believe this is especially important work because many of these steps, especially Growth Mindset and Mindfulness, are tools our students and faculty can carry with them and utilize for the rest of their lives. These are intrinsic tools and can be applied in any endeavor, at any time, and are a solid foundation to stand on when life gets tough or when challenges come our way. After all, part of our core work is preparing those we serve for the road ahead.

Michael Jordan was my idol as a child – When adults would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would tell them that I wanted to be in the NBA. While a professional sports career ultimately wasn’t in the cards for me, I’m glad that I have the opportunity to “Be Like Mike” by helping others become the best version of themselves and empowering them with the realization that they are enough and already have everything inside of them that they need to be successful and live out their dreams.

–Dr. David Schexnaydre, Jr.

2023 Louisiana State Principal of the Year
Harry Hurst Middle School,
Principal/St. Charles Parish Public Schools  

School Website: https://www.stcharles.k12.la.us/hurst

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