Stop Evading, Start Engaging: Our Kids Can’t Wait
Political fights won’t fix our schools—real conversations will. It’s time to stop dodging the hard stuff and start doing right by our kids.
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
— Abraham Lincoln
This quote from President Lincoln has stuck with me lately—not just as history, but as a mirror. A mirror for us as parents. As voters. As neighbors. And yes, as leaders.
Too often, we find ourselves locked into bitter political debates while our kids’ education hangs in the balance. We argue about who's “winning” instead of asking what our children are actually learning. We spend more time shouting across the aisle than sitting at the table.
Here’s the truth: Headlines don’t teach kids. Soundbites don’t solve curriculum gaps. And hashtags can’t replace honest, in-the-room conversations.
The responsibility of tomorrow—the success of our children, the strength of our schools, the future of our communities—demands action today. Not just from lawmakers or school boards, but from all of us. Parents. Teachers. Community leaders. Anyone who gives a damn about the next generation.
We can’t keep pushing this off, hoping the “right” party gets elected or the “perfect” plan magically appears. While we wait, our kids keep falling behind. That’s not a system failure—that’s a leadership failure. And we all wear it.
But there’s good news, too. Because real change doesn’t start in Harrisburg or Washington—it starts right here. Around dinner tables. At PTA meetings. On the sidelines of little league games. In coffee shops where parents compare IEP notes and school lunch menus. It starts when people—real people—show up, speak honestly, and actually listen.
I’m not interested in more political theater. I’m interested in bridges, not battlegrounds. We need rooms filled with people who don’t always agree, but who respect each other enough to share ideas, not just positions. Because when that happens? Solutions start to show up. Hope shows up. And most importantly, our kids see what real leadership looks like.
Lincoln didn’t duck tough conversations. Neither should we.
So let’s stop evading. Let’s start engaging. Because tomorrow’s coming, ready or not.
And our kids deserve leaders who are ready