Helping Students Find Their Wings Part II

Choosing Possibility in a Time When It’s Hard to See

“If I had to choose between a world based on fear and scarcity and one based on possibility… I’d choose possibility.”
— Dewitt Jones, Celebrate What’s Right with the World. 

In that one-line, National Geographic photographer Dewitt Jones captures what every educator is feeling right now.  

Classrooms feel heavy. Challenging behavior is up, energy is down, and purpose sometimes feels like it’s slipping away.  Yet possibility still exists.  It lives in the courage of a teacher who keeps showing up, in the student who tries again after a hard day, and in the quiet belief that growth is still possible even in chaos.

Watch the one-minute clip here (3:59 – 5:35): Celebrate What’s Right With the World – Dewitt Jones

From Fear to Flight. When students act out or shut down, it’s rarely defiance, it’s discouragement.  They want to belong, but they’re afraid to be seen trying. Our role isn’t to fix them; it’s to help them believe again.

“If we see scarcity, we shrink possibility. If we see potential, we give them room to rise.”

That shift in perspective changes everything. When we see possibility, we teach students to see it too.

Belief as the Lift. During one of the most difficult seasons I can remember, I had the privilege of leading professional development sessions for educators across the country built around this very Dewitt Jones video.  Something remarkable happened.  As teachers watched, you could feel the shift — shoulders relaxed, eyes brightened.  They remembered why they became a teacher!   Soon, principals began showing the clip in staff meetings.  Administrators sent it to remind their teams: “We can still choose possibility.”

That’s when I realized — we don’t have to wait for calmer skies.  We can take the lead.
When we model belief, praise effort, and raise expectations with love, we help students — and colleagues — find their wings again.  I’ve shown this video in rooms full of exhausted educators, and every time something changes.  Hope walks back in.  Because when we choose possibility, we don’t just change our classrooms — we change the culture around us.

Here’s to every teacher, every leader, every mentor choosing to see what’s right with the world …and helping students find their wings.