The Starfish Story

In one of my Facebook groups right now, we're working together as a team to help each other in the marketing of our product (essential oils) and figure out how we are to reach our customers, not only as clients, but as people - building those relationships is KEY...

Obviously this applied and hit home with me as a teacher, and really started thinking about it more in terms of my classroom, than my "side hustle." Read on...

The Starfish Story

(You may have heard this one before, but it is always a good reminder!)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,

"It made a difference for that one.”
- Loren Eiseley

Who are you in this story? Are you the man…the one that feels hopeless and less than optimistic?  Or are you the boy…filled with hope and wonder and dreams? Are you even at a point that you feel you are the starfish? Hoping to have someone take the moment an make a difference, in what seems like a hopeless situation?

Now, who do you want to be? What can you do to switch your position in this story, if that is what you want?

Education is a tough business. Where do you want to go with it? Where do you want to take your students? What relationships have you formed, to "make a difference for that one?"