As I suspect is obvious to anyone who has read the blog this year, has been a year unlike ANY other I have ever lived.
Exactly nine months ago today, I posted Playlist ‘24-’25. Written prior to all of the events this year, the playlist has new resonance as I look back on it this week.
As I noted in August, readers of the blog may remember that, years ago, my good friend and educational leader Sean Gaillard (author of The Pepper Effect – great reading for any and all Beatles fans and a must read for educators!) introduced me to the idea of #OneSong which developed into the idea of a mixtape which morphed into the exercise of developing an annual playlist. For the last few years, I have put together a playlist to lead me with energy, optimism and enthusiasm into the upcoming school year.
My specific criterion for songs to make my list:
- songs whose lyrics of the song resonate with me,
- songs that move me,
- songs that inspire me,
- songs that send me.
Below are my reflections on the songs including one quote from them and how it resonated with me this year.
As I suspect is obvious to anyone who has read the blog this year, has been a year unlike ANY other I have ever lived… The playlist was designed to be about school, but it is impossible to review it through that lens alone.
Playlist ‘24-’25
Track One: Magic | Olivia Newton-John
And if all your hopes survive, destiny will arrive
If all my hopes can survive after this particular year – and I believe they have – I am grateful and know that they can survive anything the world can throw at me.
Track Two: September | Earth, Wind and Fire
Do you remember never a cloudy day?
This one is aspirational. I would like to never remember a cloudy day. This is a goal for my life. Move beyond the clouds.
Track Three: Overture – Star Trek the Motion Picture | Jerry Goldsmith
Instrumental
How I have needed my comfort food this year. Star Trek, in general, and Star Trek The Motion Picture in particular have ever been that for me. I must have rewatched it over five times these last nine months and listened to this soundtrack over 100 times. Really.
Track Four: Queen of California | John Mayer
If you see her say, “Hello” … The Queen of California is steppin’ down, down
And so she did, so shockingly unexpectedly.
Track Five: Upside Down | Diana Ross
Instinctively, you give to me the love that I need/ I cherish the moments with you
So, so, so many people have given me the love that I need this year. I hope I have shared half as much with them. How would I have made it through this particular year without the blessing of all these people? Answer: I would not have.
Track Six: Cool Change | Little River Band
Now that my life is so rearranged/ I know that it’s time for a cool change
My life is utterly rearranged. I know that changes are coming. I am embracing them…
Track Seven: I Can Do It with a Broken Heart | Taylor Swift
I was grinning like I’m winning, I was hitting my marks/ ‘Cause I can do it with a broken heart
I think this one might be self explanatory…
Track Eight: Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday | Stevie Wonder
What happened to/ The world we knew
This year has taught me that the world we knew becomes the world we know. That has to be okay. This is okay.
Track Nine: Change | Taylor Swift
Cause we never gave in/ And we’ll sing hallelujah, we sang hallelujah/ Hallelujah
In education, we cannot give in, even though we get tired, even though the days are long. The same is true of life: we cannot give in, even though we get crushed, even though the nights are longer than the days. I will not give in.
Track Ten: Hell of a View | Eric Church
You holdin’ me holdin’ you/ It’s a hell of a view
It is, indeed, one hell of a view.