The Power of Public Schools

"We'll be here until the last piece of mail is opened."

This morning I heard my Superintendent spouse say, "That shows you right there the power of public schools."
He was watching a piece on all the snowflakes arriving in Sandy Hook sent by the nation's children, in classes across America, to help children into a new school.
My students, coincidentally,  are cutting beautiful snowflake patterns and my intention is to send a small folder of ours in a few days-but I see they are flooded. I'm glad to know that every flake is seen as a truly wanted expression of all that is good in our world. Good for the world of schools.
It was a heartwarming piece- that I think I'll remember when I think about the power of community built within most public schools. I saw a piece written this morning by someone wanting to talk about their serious concern that public funds built the schools, own the properties, and these schools are becoming private entities. To some they are being stolen away.
It happened in our public hospitals.
I remember that.
When I was young my parents had worries, but one they did not have was affording my birth or our general care. My brother's arrival in 1965 cost $200. That was not due to inflation even remotely close to my children's arrival's cost, and my mother stayed about 5 days.
Anyway the short video I placed below, it's important to watch, heartwarming:



It reminded me of a Reading Rainbow that taught about how a community of children returned back to their school after 9-11. They produced art in this process, and they received art, and they valued those expressions of care eventually making a music video.

The Tin Forest from WVPT on Vimeo.

You may know, you may not know, but art functions in healing ways.
It allows us to express the depths of our feelings.
For children it is important. It allows them to process pain.

I was thinking about how a simple form made by cutting a square paper into a beautiful and unique form might comfort, support, cheer, and make beautiful a school. And how the sheer volume of these paper flakes in the video warmed my heart this morning.
(It seemed to be a day of crying over one emotional story or another that came to me.)

So if you need help making the snowflakes this is pretty clear: