Reflection and Appreciation

Rachel’s Challenge

I want to thank Dave Tryon and Jack Tiano for bringing Rachel’s Challenge to our district.  As I sat in with middle and high school students and staff, you could hear a pin drop because their undivided attention was given to the presenter, Nicole Nowlan who was wounded and lived through the Columbine High School shootings.   Though Rachel’s Challenge was geared for students, no one could have anticipated the depth of the emotional impact that was experienced by teachers, administrators, staff, students, and parents who attended the presentation.  Everyone was touched with emotion and/or tears. It also brought to light the important things that really matter in our lives such as trust, honesty, compassion, and kindness.  Rachel illustrated her beliefs in an essay title My Ethics, My Codes of Life that she wrote in her English class. Below is an excerpt from the essay.

Trust and honesty is an investment you put in people;

if you build enough trust in them and show yourself to

be honest, they will do the same in you.  I value honesty

so much , and it is an expectation I have of myself.  I will

 put honesty before the risk of humiliation, before selfishness,

 and before anything less worth of the gospel truth.  My

definition of compassion is forgiving, loving, helping,

leading, and showing mercy for others.  I have this theory

 that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion,

 then it will start a chain reaction of the same.  People will never

 know how far a little kindness can go.

As I sat there and listened, it was quite clear that sometimes we all get into what I call the weeds of life and it takes disasters or an event such as Rachel’s Challenge to rise above the weeds or trivial details and pay attention to what really matters. Learning and developing these values are just as important as learning academics in school.  These values define who we are and how we will interact, work and live with others.  

This experience today demonstrated what I call the “ripple effect” which means the same thing as what Rachel calls a “chain reaction.”  Rachel’s Challenge is so powerful that everyone is inspired to be more thoughtful about making connections with their peers or co-workers.  Rachel’s inspiration is so contagious that you want to look for the “beauty” and “good” in others.  This experience today created a chain reaction in that we have the ability to make a positive difference for others.  For every action there is an equal or opposite reaction which causes a ripple effect by how we treat, relate, and understand each other.  This is evident in the following responses from our students about Rachel’s Challenge. 
 

"It was a real eye opener to see that the little things can make someone’s day.” 

“I thought it was very sad and touching.  This program should keep going on.  It might make people think twice.
”Even if we start with only ten people, we can make a difference.  It just takes one person at a time.” 

“I want to make sure I treat people better so that something like that doesn’t happen in our school.” 

“I really liked it and I’m going to try to do all five challenges.  Today I’m going to find someone I’ve been disrespectful to and say I’m sorry.”

Rachel Challenges all of us is to create a “ripple effect” or “chain reaction” by:

• Eliminating Prejudice by Looking for the Best in Others
• Daring to Dream and Set Goals in Our Lives
• Choosing Your Influences – What You “Input” in Yourself will Determine Your “Output” to Others
• Sharing Kind Words – Small Acts of Kindness = Impact
• Starting a Chain Reaction with Family, Friends, and Co-Workers

The chain reaction will continue at the middle and high schools with students who volunteered to start Friends of Rachel’s Club.