The response was overwhelming. Meghan and Kori led a breakout session that was standing room only. Before the day was over, over a dozen school districts approached us about bringing the Dignity Index to their schools. Project 351 volunteered to train their young leaders in the Dignity Index and to expand its reach to other student leadership groups. And the entire organization of superintendents asked for more.
Clearly, these educators are starving for tools to make their schools into places of dignity, and clearly, they were inspired by Benson Chang to be brave in trying. And just as clearly, all of us at UNITE are going to be brave in trying to support them.
And the rest of us have a role to play, too. We all have a choice: we may not be able to change the dominant culture, but we can each create a counterculture. We can each bring more dignity to our homes and our workplaces. We can each bring more dignity to our faith communities and our civic organizations. We can each meet contempt with dignity, especially when it’s hard.
Start wherever you are. We don’t have to wait for leaders to show us how; we are the leaders. That’s how countercultures work. A small group—sometimes only a few—decides that a new way is needed. And they live that new way. And they lead that way. And eventually, others take note.
Thanks to all the educators in America who are leading. We’re all taking note!
Tim
One final note: we are each endowed with dignity, and sometimes, that dignity shines through most at the beginning. Last week, Linda and I were blessed to be with our daughter, Rose, as she gave birth to their third child, a stunningly beautiful girl, and her husband, Joel. She is life at dawn, and in her, we have a new dawn in our family. Wherever life carries her tender soul, may she find love and goodness, and may she bring it too.
