For the Birds

     The other day I was driving and saw a flock of birds perfectly synchronized in their flight. It was a beautiful sight as the birds together seemed to “dance” in the sky. I wondered how they could do it. How did they know what the other birds' movements were going to be? I didn’t think much more about it at the time, but then today came across this video of a flock of 5 million starlings as they tried to escape the pursuit of a single peregrine falcon. The video itself is beautifully magnificent, however, the idea of the flock protecting each other is what is truly fascinating. Each bird protects 7 others around it. Amazingly, with this system, not one of these birds succumbed to the falcon that day. So why all this talk about the birds? Because there is a lesson that can be learned from these starlings? What if we were surrounded each day by people who were looking out for us in some sort of synchronized movement and action. Apply it to school.  How much more effective is education when the student is surrounded by people who care about and support them. It takes a flock of parents, teachers, administrators, peers, and support staff to create the best environment for a student to thrive. The magic with the birds that day was that in helping  the starlings around them, they also ended up saving themselves.  Funny how that happens!