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                     SEPTEMBER 2007                      

Lessons From The Lone Cypress Tree

In my sojourn along the coast at the Asilomar Presidents Conference, I had occasion to stop by a coastal landmark called the Lone Cypress Tree. Its plight spoke to me in a manner I would never have imagined.

          As you approach the viewpoint you cannot help but be moved by the marvel and majesty of the tree, alone and unshaken by its circumstances perched within a narrow finger reaching out in the vast Pacific. I believe its stubbornness in the face of the circumstances appeals to our own American psyche to persist in the face of sometimes overwhelming opposition that enamors us to the tree. However, closer observation belies the success of that defiant isolation.

          Over time, the sea in its unwavering consistency, has worn away all but a small stretch of cliff around it. Attempts to slow nature’s progress by buttressing beneath the tree will only stave off the inevitable. And so it is with our own organization if it becomes isolated. Unlike the tree, however, our organization has become more integrated in this last year as more individuals have committed their time and energy to promoting your local association. With that commitment, we have grown stronger and have put down deeper roots. Still we need more teachers to come forward and support their brothers and sisters in the united education profession.  It is through collective commitment that our long term health is secured.

          So let us draw a lesson from the Cypress Tree, that although beautiful in its lonely splendor, we risk extinction through isolation, but guarantee a thriving future through sticking close to each other and sinking deep roots in the strong soil of community.