Kansas City, Kansas, Public School teachers and staff heard an inspirational message from keynote speaker Morris Morrison at the convocation on Tuesday morning at Wyandotte High School.
Morrison, who was an orphan, shared lessons he had learned while growing up.
“We change and we grow either when our minds are open or our hearts are broken,” Morrison said.
He encouraged teachers and other district employees to be open, not close-minded, and to not miss the music around them.
He said he built his life around three lessons a doctor told him: Don’t be a victim; take ownership and responsibility for your life; and never expect somebody to give you anything that you don’t work for. He added he started companies on these values and his relationships are also based on them.
Morrison, whose latest book is “Disrupt Yourself,” was speaking in conjunction with the superintendent’s theme this year, “Re-Bound, Re-Imagine and Re-New.”
Superintendent Anna Stubblefield said at the convocation that this year’s theme came out of last year’s experiences, when the district was forced to be adaptive, flexible and meet the needs of the students in the moment. This year will be about rebounding from what they experienced last year, she said.
Dr. Stubblefield this year will focus on high quality Tier 1 instruction while meeting the social and emotional needs of all students.
School starts Wednesday and Thursday in the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools.
The convocation was online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2o9dt4JjME.