The Rewards of Letting Go

Submitted by Sarah Currer on November 27, 2010.

It is always nice to be reminded why what you do is important.

I’m something of a perfectionist and it can be hard for me to let go of a project when I feel like I can do it better. So I was in a tricky position when I found myself with two of my high school students trying to craft a letter in a delicate political climate.

I work with the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC), a group of high school students that works in partnership with Boston Public Schools (BPS) to put the student voice in education reform. I’m always impressed with these students and what they’ve accomplished and the passion and savvy with which they argue. But they are a little rough around the edges, and BSAC always has to be careful about the stance we take because we work within the organization we are trying to change. Recently, BPS has been in a highly publicized fight with the teachers union and the Superintendent has proposed several highly controversial changes to the Boston school system, including closing several schools. In light of these things a newspaper article highly critical of the Superintendent was published.

My job with BSAC is to support the students in their advocacy, and usually this involves setting up meetings, answering emails and researching the current state of affairs. But last Wednesday afternoon it involved me sitting down with this harsh newspaper article, two students, and the instructions to write up some sort of response. I had them read the article themselves without any explanation and then asked them what they thought. Through our discussion we reached the same conclusion that my boss had: the students should personally write the Superintendent. As they put down their initial thoughts I cringed a little internally and had to go do work at another desk to not say anything.

To my surprise, though, as they continued their back and forth on each word, sentence, and paragraph that they typed, the letter got more and more refined. The initial outpouring of sympathy and support, peppered with SAT vocabulary slightly misused and the awkward wordage that can come from English as a second language, was slowly transforming. As I answered their questions and they continued to pour over their work I became really impressed with the document they were producing. Their heartfelt, genuine emotions and unguarded turn of phrase were so much more meaningful than any precise and careful response I could have written, however beautiful my turn of phrase. Letting them take the reins not only gave them a better sense of the difficulties of political relationships and got them more personally invested in their project. It also produced better results! Their letter brought a smile to its recipient’s face and reminded me how powerful it can be to step back and let others speak up.