The Epitome of 'Every Day'

'Every Day' is the one of the most overused mantras in schools.  It has been cliche for years. Schools use 'Every Day' as a slogan for what they do for kids.  We serve kids every day.  We educate kids every day.  We work hard every day.  But, let's be honest.  Isn't that what we're expected to do?  What I mean is, I send my kids to school and expect that they learn every day from a school where learning and hard work occurs every day.   Every school pretty much does this for kids every day, so the term, every day, really doesn't have much of a powerful meaning.


One of my favorite songs is "Every Day" by Rascal Flatts.  If you watch this video and listen to the lyrics, you can instantly see why the phrase, 'Every Day' needs to mean so much more.

So I propose a new definition for the mantra, 'Every Day'.

'Every Day' - n.

1. The action of service in such a way that it changes a student's life.
2. A deep rooted commitment to never giving up on a child no matter what the circumstances may be.
3. A stubborn refusal to allow a student to fail.
4. A constant effort to build life-changing relationships with those that you teach and work with.
5. A selfless action of being a rock for others.
6. An unwavering belief that one has tremendous power and a moral obligation each and every day to not only change lives, but save them.

So as we get into the 2nd month of school (3rd for my friends in North Carolina), I challenge you  to transform your work into an 'Every Day' mentality.  Look beyond the tasks, deadlines and obstacles and accept the challenge to save lives, elicit excellence and inspire students and fellow colleagues in a such a way that they are compelled to find their purpose in life.

Think about it.  If we adopted an 'Every Day' mentality, don't you think that learning content, raising test scores and meeting state accountability would take care of itself?  

Final Question

Does your school have the 'Every Day' mentality?  Do you have an 'Every Day' mentality?  If so, please share what y'all do, so we can help others come up with practical strategies to make 'Every Day' truly count.