I love my Honda Pilot.
Even though I purchased this car 10 years ago very regretfully, I now
love my car. I had a GMC Yukon with every bell and whistle that could be put on
a car; however, gas prices were almost $4.00 a gallon at the time and the Yukon
was a gas guzzler. Even though I was only going to/from school, running little
errands, and church twice a week, I was purchasing $80 in gas a week. It just
wasn’t a good financial decision to keep it. I found the Honda Pilot which had
a hybrid engine saving us even more money on gas. I turned in the Yukon and
purchased the Pilot. The Pilot has been a great car.
It is now 11 years old and has almost 200,000 miles on her.
I’ve run her all over the country. She has been a safe car. I never worried on
my solo monthly trips to DC. In the first year and a half of my doctoral
studies, I had to go to DC once a month for my cohort class. It was just too
costly to fly once a month, so she and I would make that solo trip every month.
I never had to worry. We’ve had countless family trips and adventures that all
started and ended in my Pilot. I taught Rosebro1 how to drive using this car. The
week before my Dad was killed by a drunk driver, he had a minor procedure and I
had to transport him home in my Pilot. Sometimes I see him sitting in the
passenger seat having a great conversation not knowing it was our last. Yet, my Pilot is starting to show her age.
Just recently, I thought she exploded on I-85.
Luckily, it was only a $300 fix, but I can tell it will not be too long..... It will not be too long before I will probably have to be trading her in and
purchasing a new car.
Because, obviously, I keep a car until the wheels literally
fall off (I mean I am a government employee), purchasing the right car is
important. I also have a hard time deciding on the right car. I need an SUV,
but I don’t need a BIG SUV. I need captain chairs in the second row (both
Rosebros are taller than me now) and this is almost impossible to find, I have
to have a sun roof (well, maybe not have
to….but I really want one), because I listen to podcast and books on long
trips and I pretend I am a grammy award winning singer around town-the sound
system is important, and I have a list of nerdy safety things that are
important to me in a car. So I’ve been looking into new cars. I’ve looked and looked and narrowed it down to 4
different kinds. Some are too popular…..seriously one particular car that I
liked has been purchased by every other person. I recently counted 40 of them
in our church parking lot one morning (I was driving the welcome golf cart in
the parking lot…not stalking cars). Another one that I liked is just too
expensive. I have two children soon to be in college and spending $65,000 on a
car is just not in the Rose family budget. The third one is okay, but there is
just something about it I don’t love-not sure what that is, but I just don’t
love it. The fourth one has limited leg room in the front passenger seat and
due to my extreme motion sickness, I must drive everywhere and I know my hubby
would not be comfortable in that car. This weekend, I went by a dealership and
saw something that surprised me. The
new, refined Honda Pilot is really, really great. I had
not even considered a Honda Pilot. I mean I’ve had one for 10 years would I not
want something new? The thing is, the
new Pilot is everything I love about my car and some great upgrades.
The new Pilot has not one but TWO moonroofs (or is it
moonrooves???). It has captain seats in the second row. The third row is bigger
and the luggage area is larger. Things that have been added: remote start, a
larger console, a better blue tooth system (it reads text messages to you), and
some nerdy safety features. I am sold. The new Honda Pilot will be my next car….as
soon as my old Honda Pilot finally bites the dust.
Now I am sure none of you are reading this as a commercial for
the new Honda Pilot (nor was that my intent when I started writing), but I
started thinking about us when I pulled off the car dealership lot. Honda has a great car in the Pilot. They’ve
sold millions of them and they last FOREVER so why change? The shape is
different, the style is different, the features are different, but some of the
greatest parts of the Pilot are still there. They’ve managed to take the best
parts of what they’ve done so very well and changed some other parts. As an
organization Honda has decided that they must not be stagnant. They are
continually growing and getting better- seriously y’all should see this new
Honda Pilot.
As a school, we need to be like Honda. We need to hold on to
what we do that is right-that is good-that will get us 200,000+ miles. But we
also need to incorporate innovation. We also need to eliminate things that are outdated
or can be done better. We are not just teachers. In order to be a teacher, you
must be a learner. You must continue to grow. You must continue to monitor what
works. You must look at data and figure out what isn’t working. You must change
to make things better.
So how does one continue to grow? Do not be a lone wolf.
Learn with and from others. Be confident in what you do really well and don’t
be ashamed to open up to others about what you struggle with. Read. Read a lot.
Your reading doesn’t have to be professional literature. I read books on a
variety of topics….education, leadership, fiction novels, devotionals, biographies,
blogs, twitter talks, etc. I do this because I love to read but also to help
make connections with our students, our parents, and in an effort to never stop
growing as a learner. And finally be a risk taker. Don’t be afraid to try
something new or different in your classroom-even if it fails. As I so often
say when you FAIL it is the First Attempt In Learning. I’d rather you fail than
to have never tried.
Continue to grow. Be a Honda...and if anyone knows a Honda salesman....I need their number.....
No comments:
Post a Comment