A CASE FOR OPTIMISM

By Dan Scinto
President, International Schools Services, Inc.

As I write this article, I’m sitting on a balcony in Sorrento, Italy, at the ECIS Administrators Conference. Bells are ringing in the town square, the mountainsides are green, the water is calm, and people are going about their daily business.

Contrast this picturesque scene to the daily newscasts that illustrate the chaos of war, words of hate, and pictures of the sufferings of innocent people around the world. Why a case for optimism? Because without optimism, we would have no future, no dreams, and no ability to improve life for our children and grandchildren.

As I participated in this conference and listened to the speakers, I began to see a broad spectrum of optimism. Hundreds of educators have attended this conference, coming from dozens of countries around the world. We represent ethnic, religious, political, and regional groups who are able to put aside our differences and work toward a common objective. Our goal, to foster understanding through improved education for students, swept away any individual idiosyncrasies that stood in our way of moving our world citizens (our students) forward. Many times at educational conferences I have witnessed people put aside their individual backgrounds and prejudices in order to increase the understanding and cooperation needed to move our schools and society toward tolerance, knowledge, and acceptance. Such motivation is inspiring for me.

After 35 years in the education field, I still believe that education is the key to a more benevolent world. I still believe that, while there may be large numbers of people who hate and want to destroy, there are millions more who desire to live in peace, who want to improve their lives, and who long for the chance to give more to their children than they had themselves.

I believe optimism is the basic driving force within humans that ultimately will free us from the evil that surrounds us. What better way to spend one’s life than to bring that hope to others?

I hope you’ll forgive me for putting such a personal thought to paper. I’m generally not inclined to be publicly philosophical, but the moment seems right to do so today. As I conclude, I hear the bells in the town square again. In such a tranquil setting, I personally believe they ring for an optimistic future that we, as educators, can help to nourish and grow.